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If you thought Disney's "The Little Mermaid" was the definitive telling of Hans Christian Andersen, then you might wanna sit down and brush up on your CPR. "The Lure" (original title: "Córki dancingu" or "Daughters of Dance Clubs") is a wild interpretation of the classic fable which can only be described as a dark comedy horror romcom musical fantasy crime drama art flick.
Fabulously set in the 1980s, with excellent music that echoes this era, we get an unforgettable story of 2 mermaid sisters who slither out of the Wisla River to have a little fun and eat some humans before continuing to America. Yes, the story draws from the original Greek myths of mermaids being monsters of the deep who use their sexuality and hypnotizing voices to lure sailors to their horrible deaths. But it also focuses on the Andersenian theme of love, betrayal and transformation. It's the transformation part that becomes fascinating, powerful and ultimately profound as we realize that the mermaid metaphor applies not only to the hazards of love, but very pointedly it's a metaphor for a young girl's transformation into womanhood. This occurs in physical, emotional and social illustrations that are so perfectly done that, even if you're a male like me, you suddenly feel the growing pains of womanhood on a visceral level. The embarrassment, the objectification, and ultimately either the power or the defeat that comes with sexual maturity.
Even if you don't immediately key in on that central theme, there are some great dance numbers and some bloody carnage scenes to keep you interested.
This is a musical. Supposedly it's Poland's first musical, and that meant it had no template to follow. I have to say, I hope all musicals are like this from now on. There's a wonderful lack of cinematic self-awareness here. By that I mean the film doesn't pigeonhole itself into a particular type of storytelling, but instead it hops boldly and outrageously between fantasy, realism, humor and drama. For example, one scene may be realistic and gritty like a thriller but then abruptly we jump to a grand, colorful MGM-type musical production with hundreds of singing & dancing extras. Then we're back to a more intimate style of storytelling with tremendous sentimentality and heart. It should be noted that this is the debut feature film of director Agnieszka Smoczynska, and already she shows an absolute mastery of cinema.
The acting is fantastic with the 2 sisters of course stealing the show. One sister "Silver" (Marta Mazurek) is the innocent romantic who chooses to pursue love while the darker sister is "Golden" (Michalina Olszanska) who is... quite literally... a maneater. Both play their extreme differences perfectly while keeping a tight sibling connection which makes us realize that they are basically the same. Loved the way they communicate in a secret musical dolphin language with each other, and conversely when they argue they are shown as wild animals communicating in growls and bared fangs.
"The Lure" is an excellent film that can be enjoyed on so many levels. Like I said: dark comedy, horror, romcom, musical, fantasy, crime drama, art flick. Pick one and run with it. Er... swim with it.
Fabulously set in the 1980s, with excellent music that echoes this era, we get an unforgettable story of 2 mermaid sisters who slither out of the Wisla River to have a little fun and eat some humans before continuing to America. Yes, the story draws from the original Greek myths of mermaids being monsters of the deep who use their sexuality and hypnotizing voices to lure sailors to their horrible deaths. But it also focuses on the Andersenian theme of love, betrayal and transformation. It's the transformation part that becomes fascinating, powerful and ultimately profound as we realize that the mermaid metaphor applies not only to the hazards of love, but very pointedly it's a metaphor for a young girl's transformation into womanhood. This occurs in physical, emotional and social illustrations that are so perfectly done that, even if you're a male like me, you suddenly feel the growing pains of womanhood on a visceral level. The embarrassment, the objectification, and ultimately either the power or the defeat that comes with sexual maturity.
Even if you don't immediately key in on that central theme, there are some great dance numbers and some bloody carnage scenes to keep you interested.
This is a musical. Supposedly it's Poland's first musical, and that meant it had no template to follow. I have to say, I hope all musicals are like this from now on. There's a wonderful lack of cinematic self-awareness here. By that I mean the film doesn't pigeonhole itself into a particular type of storytelling, but instead it hops boldly and outrageously between fantasy, realism, humor and drama. For example, one scene may be realistic and gritty like a thriller but then abruptly we jump to a grand, colorful MGM-type musical production with hundreds of singing & dancing extras. Then we're back to a more intimate style of storytelling with tremendous sentimentality and heart. It should be noted that this is the debut feature film of director Agnieszka Smoczynska, and already she shows an absolute mastery of cinema.
The acting is fantastic with the 2 sisters of course stealing the show. One sister "Silver" (Marta Mazurek) is the innocent romantic who chooses to pursue love while the darker sister is "Golden" (Michalina Olszanska) who is... quite literally... a maneater. Both play their extreme differences perfectly while keeping a tight sibling connection which makes us realize that they are basically the same. Loved the way they communicate in a secret musical dolphin language with each other, and conversely when they argue they are shown as wild animals communicating in growls and bared fangs.
"The Lure" is an excellent film that can be enjoyed on so many levels. Like I said: dark comedy, horror, romcom, musical, fantasy, crime drama, art flick. Pick one and run with it. Er... swim with it.
Have you seen the 1948 Italian classic "Bicycle Thieves"? Yeah think that, pumped up on crack. This is "Italian neorealism" but set in Belgium a half century later.
The character "Rosetta" is a 16-year-old girl who lives in a camper with her nearly catatonic, alcoholic mother and is, as the filmmakers say, "a thin aluminum wall away from living on the streets". The fact that Rosetta is barely an adolescent who is thrust into the role of provider and responsible adult is a clever twist that further turns this social statement upside down. It becomes not just a tale of survival but terrifyingly a coming-of-age flick. Rosetta is socially and emotionally stunted, unfinished and handicapped. It's fascinating to see Rosetta (excellently played by Émilie Dequenne who won Best Actress at Cannes) attempting to grasp concepts of morality and ethics even though she has clearly had no guidance. There is a certain wild animal quality to her which you will immediately feel, and though she is tough and headstrong, she is still just a teenager who doesn't know how to dance, doesn't know what a "friend" is, and whose only reality consists of obsessively trying to find a legitimate job because she feels that's the coveted symbol of having a normal life.
In that respect, this film provides something we can all apply to our lives whether we're 16-year-old homeless kids or rising corporate execs. It's the idea that an obsessive pursuit of some type of social status, or social achievement, or even a relationship, is what we cling to as proof that we have a "normal life".
In a memorable scene our protagonist Rosetta talks herself to sleep by whispering, "Your name is Rosetta. My name is Rosetta. You found a job. I found a job. You've got a friend. I've got a friend. You have a normal life. I have a normal life. You won't fall into the abyss. I won't fall into the abyss. Good night. Good night."
The camera remains very tight, almost claustrophobically so, on Rosetta throughout the entire film which exaggerates the microscopic world she lives in. She repeats routines and engages in trivial labors which are shown to us in almost tedious repetition, but the effect is powerful in conveying a sense of quiet, lonely desperation.
Throughout the history of cinema, there have been many films that document "how the other half lives" but most of them approach the subject as if we are spectators, almost in a patronizing or voyeuristic way that leaves us thinking after the credits roll "phew I'm glad that's not me" but here in "Rosetta" we get a sense that the bizarre life of this 16 year old outcast might very well be the story of the human race.
The character "Rosetta" is a 16-year-old girl who lives in a camper with her nearly catatonic, alcoholic mother and is, as the filmmakers say, "a thin aluminum wall away from living on the streets". The fact that Rosetta is barely an adolescent who is thrust into the role of provider and responsible adult is a clever twist that further turns this social statement upside down. It becomes not just a tale of survival but terrifyingly a coming-of-age flick. Rosetta is socially and emotionally stunted, unfinished and handicapped. It's fascinating to see Rosetta (excellently played by Émilie Dequenne who won Best Actress at Cannes) attempting to grasp concepts of morality and ethics even though she has clearly had no guidance. There is a certain wild animal quality to her which you will immediately feel, and though she is tough and headstrong, she is still just a teenager who doesn't know how to dance, doesn't know what a "friend" is, and whose only reality consists of obsessively trying to find a legitimate job because she feels that's the coveted symbol of having a normal life.
In that respect, this film provides something we can all apply to our lives whether we're 16-year-old homeless kids or rising corporate execs. It's the idea that an obsessive pursuit of some type of social status, or social achievement, or even a relationship, is what we cling to as proof that we have a "normal life".
In a memorable scene our protagonist Rosetta talks herself to sleep by whispering, "Your name is Rosetta. My name is Rosetta. You found a job. I found a job. You've got a friend. I've got a friend. You have a normal life. I have a normal life. You won't fall into the abyss. I won't fall into the abyss. Good night. Good night."
The camera remains very tight, almost claustrophobically so, on Rosetta throughout the entire film which exaggerates the microscopic world she lives in. She repeats routines and engages in trivial labors which are shown to us in almost tedious repetition, but the effect is powerful in conveying a sense of quiet, lonely desperation.
Throughout the history of cinema, there have been many films that document "how the other half lives" but most of them approach the subject as if we are spectators, almost in a patronizing or voyeuristic way that leaves us thinking after the credits roll "phew I'm glad that's not me" but here in "Rosetta" we get a sense that the bizarre life of this 16 year old outcast might very well be the story of the human race.
If you're a follower of the Criterion Collection you might be baffled as to why they would include a seemingly schlocky scifi flick like this in their repertoire. The answer is that this is a landmark in scifi cinema which probably heralded, if not directly influenced, the new direction of science-based scifi in the late 60s-70s such as "2001: A Space Odyssey." Make no mistake, watched back to back with "2001", "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" looks like a Bazooka Joe comic strip. But what's fascinating is that for possibly the first time in the history of scifi, the story isn't afraid to get real--that is, to spend 20 mins investigating how to breathe on an extraterrestrial world, or how to find water, or how to light a fire--rather than letting the audience assume that everything just works as usual.
Made in 1964, 5 years before we landed on the moon, and nearly a quarter century before our probes would give us appreciable images and data about the Martian terrain, "RC on Mars" relied heavily on the then-accepted scientific assumptions made by amateur astronomer Percival Lowell. Yes, I have an old 60s set of Encyclopedia Britannica which states that there are canals and green objects on the surface of Mars that could be vegetation or evidence of habitation. This is what the screenwriters used as a starting point.
What follows is by today's scientific standards hilarious, but much like Edgar Allen Poe's "A Voyage to the Moon" in which he lucidly and meticulously describes riding a hot air balloon into space, science isn't the point so much as it's the vehicle for a scientific approach. Today's (serious) scifi has cranked out some great, mostly-realistic films about survival such as "The Martian" or "Gravity", and "RC on Mars" is certainly right in line with that spirit even though it came half a century earlier. The writers' creative approach to practical human necessities like oxygen, water, food and--perhaps for the 1st time ever acknowledged in film--the madness of loneliness is a real treat to watch, even if you find it hard to accept the solutions with today's knowledge.
The last half takes us into pure fantasy territory with the appearance of aliens and the idea that there is possibly a superior race of intergalactic slave owners exploiting inferior species for their profits. But even this can be taken as a poignant and realistic metaphor that applies today right here on earth. As a side note, the aliens' spacecraft are TERRIFYING, the way they dart about unnaturally in jerky motions like coked up dragonflies. This is something I've never seen in any scifi flick since, and I think future filmmakers should really revisit this frightening approach.
Ultimately I agree with Criterion that this is a film that deserves the royal treatment, or at the very least it deserves to be recognized as the first of its kind: the grandfather of all survival-in-space flicks.
Made in 1964, 5 years before we landed on the moon, and nearly a quarter century before our probes would give us appreciable images and data about the Martian terrain, "RC on Mars" relied heavily on the then-accepted scientific assumptions made by amateur astronomer Percival Lowell. Yes, I have an old 60s set of Encyclopedia Britannica which states that there are canals and green objects on the surface of Mars that could be vegetation or evidence of habitation. This is what the screenwriters used as a starting point.
What follows is by today's scientific standards hilarious, but much like Edgar Allen Poe's "A Voyage to the Moon" in which he lucidly and meticulously describes riding a hot air balloon into space, science isn't the point so much as it's the vehicle for a scientific approach. Today's (serious) scifi has cranked out some great, mostly-realistic films about survival such as "The Martian" or "Gravity", and "RC on Mars" is certainly right in line with that spirit even though it came half a century earlier. The writers' creative approach to practical human necessities like oxygen, water, food and--perhaps for the 1st time ever acknowledged in film--the madness of loneliness is a real treat to watch, even if you find it hard to accept the solutions with today's knowledge.
The last half takes us into pure fantasy territory with the appearance of aliens and the idea that there is possibly a superior race of intergalactic slave owners exploiting inferior species for their profits. But even this can be taken as a poignant and realistic metaphor that applies today right here on earth. As a side note, the aliens' spacecraft are TERRIFYING, the way they dart about unnaturally in jerky motions like coked up dragonflies. This is something I've never seen in any scifi flick since, and I think future filmmakers should really revisit this frightening approach.
Ultimately I agree with Criterion that this is a film that deserves the royal treatment, or at the very least it deserves to be recognized as the first of its kind: the grandfather of all survival-in-space flicks.