Aus heiterem Himmel

A brilliant, ever-shifting intimately-scaled comedy-adventure movie exploring the complicated relationships among about ten characters, young and old, mostly women. It is by turns a bit scary and sadistic, gentle, bawdy, warmly sympathetic, mysterious, yet ultimately rather clear.

Shot in B&W on blown-up 16 mm, and reminiscent of Jarmusch's "Stranger Than Paradise." An edgy celebration of life, humanity, and vulnerabilities. Well worth seeing.

Marcia (Tatiana Saphir) is a heavy-set woman who is stuck in a dead-end job selling underwear in a lingerie shop that attracts few customers. Rejected by her fiancé after a two-year courtship, she goes through the motions of living. Her world is turned upside down, however, when she is kidnapped at knife point by two sullen, ice-cold, look-alike lesbians named Mao (Carla Crespo) and Lenin (Veronica Hassan) who tell her how much they want to have sex with her.

Based on the novel La Prueba by Argentine writer Cesar Aria, Deigo Lerman's Suddenly is a fascinating examination of power struggles in relationships that takes us to unexpected places - suddenly. Filmed in 16mm black and white by cinematographers Diego del Piano and Luciano Zito and reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch's episodic style, Lerman's first feature has, according to the director, "contradictions reveling in contradictions".

The film contains moments of comedy but these are undercut by a mysteriously sinister air that keeps us guessing as to where the film is headed. Marcia is scared but does not attempt to run away and seems curious about their overtures. The tough young women hijack a taxi and drive Marcia to visit Lenin's seventy-year old Aunt Blanca (Beatriz Thibaudin), who lives in Rosario, a seaside town near Buenos Aires with her two tenants, the shy Felipe (Marcos Ferrante), a Biology student and Delia (Maria Merlino), a painter and part-time teacher. Aunt Blanca in a fine performance by Thibaudin, is one of the few sympathetic characters in the film and her unconventional warmth allows Lenin to connect with the value of relationships.

When Marcia tells Mao that she enjoyed being with her, she tells Marcia to shut up and go to sleep. Mao is an unpleasant bully who, after consummating her relationship with Marcia, neglects her and rudely shifts her interest to Felipe. Passive to the end, Marcia does not stand up for herself or try to leave. Felipe seems bewildered by the girls but supports Mao in a shoplifting spree without considering the ramifications. Suddenly is a strangely involving film that shows great promise by the director but the lesbian butch women are caricatures that detract from the film's message, which after all is quite simple - when people are finished playing ego games with each other, what is left is love.

Argentina, like the United States, is a country whose ideal female is thin, tall and blonde. Marcia (Tatiana Saphir), is none of these things. She is fat, short and dark and stuck in a working class job staffing the counter of a tiny lingerie store in Buenos Aires with almost no customers. With few friends and no man in her life, there's little likelihood that anything will ever happen to change Marcia's life.

Suddenly, Marcia's tedious routine of sleep, work, and food followed by more of the same is interrupted by the arrival of Mao (Carla Crespo) and Lenin (Veronica Hassan), two young lesbians who approach her on the street. Mao declares her love for Marcia and the three women spend a long weekend together that takes them to Mar del Plata, Rosario, and back to Buenos Aires and teaches everybody involved lessons about the pleasures and pains of life.

Director Diego Lerman films this story in a moody and hip black-and-white style that recalls the early work of Jim Jarmusch and other independent filmmakers of the 1980s. All the actors give good performances, particularly Beatriz Thibaudin as the elderly aunt Blanca who does a terrific dance number. Strongly recommended.

8/10

Two lesbians Mao and Lenin kidnap a shop girl Marcia and take off with her in a taxi. Before too long Marcia goes along with things including having sex with the Mao? (one of the lesbians).

This grainy black and white film has no interesting story no cinematography to speak of and no acting! This is the kind of film that might come out of a college class.

Save yourself the trouble and money and rent some good Argentine movies like The Aura or Live In Maid or Intimate Stories...vastly better than this ?? term project at a junior college.

Do not recommend.

I was almost not seeing this film, taking into account the negative comments of another user and the average of 6 it received from IMDB users. I went to the screening at Istanbul Film Festival because we had nothing better to do and left with great contentment that only a sincere, non-pretentious and lean film as this could provide. it reminded me of jarmusch's "stranger than paradise" with it's close to life approach. characters are real, acting is very good. it introduced me a fresh, new director from Argentina.