Los amantes del Círculo Polar

Ana and Otto met when they were children. She was running in the woods after hearing of her father's death; he was running to get a football. When they met, he fell for her immediately and she could see her dead father inside him. Sadly coincidences lead her mother to fall in love with his father and, before long, they are brother and sister. Over the years though, their affection grows and they begin a relationship that is so secret that they barely know it themselves. In this circle of love and life, strange things occur that they see from different perspectives.

This film is the sort of foreign art-house cinema that will make some viewers pull their hair or fall asleep with boredom, so maybe be careful if you are the type of viewer more at home with Porky's rather than anything cerebral; but for everyone else this strange yet engaging film is well worth a look. The plot is about a stepbrother and sister who are sort of in love but to just describe it as that is to do it an injustice. It is much more than that, not all necessarily good, but all interesting enough to watch. The plot movies in little circles – like their names, it has a palindromic effect with one large circle and lots of little ones within; it is very smartly written and I did enjoy it for this. This doesn't help the heart of the film though, and at times I did find it very cold and uninvolving – the characters weren't really real enough and I found the coincidences to actually stop the story being moving and occasionally did make it feel gimmicky. It is also knowingly weird at times and that also put me off; but the overall effect is good.

The cast are little more than players within this tricky little film and, as such, they mainly struggle to deliver real characters. Ono and Anna are played pretty flat and cold but it is at least good that they were played consistently over the generation jumps and each acting partnership. It is not really their fault because the film is more interested in the ironies of the circling life and coincidences rather than getting to the heart of the characters – they try hard but this is not a film to watch for strong acting performances.

Overall this is a good film but one that may leave many viewers cold and unimpressed by the gimmicks; however many others will be won over by the clever delivery that is filled with mini circles within circles all within the overall palindrome of the total product. At times the cold telling is a bit distracting and the coincidences are not as deep as the film would have us believe but generally it is worth a shot and is a memorable little film.

For people who do not like Medems work, it will be hard to watch and boring. If you liked any of his other films you will love it. Otherwise you will have to sit and be patient to let Medem touch you. Everyone will recognize some parts his own falling in love, or his relationship with his parents. Medem describes all this in a poetic and heartbreaking way, edited in multiple viewpoints. If you can open up yourself on these subjects, this film will make you think over your own life, love and parents. It is also nice to see that this film fits exactly between "Tierra" and "Sex and Lucia", Medems other masterpieces made before and after this movie. Absolutely great stuff.

It's really difficult to understand European cinema after watching thousands of American-Big Studio films.

At least that's what looks clearly apparent when I read many of the comments in imdb. But for some of us, who are in contact with a different way of making films, this one excels at the visual poetry from the very start.

And from a cinematographer's point of view, as a real jewel in filmmaking. What Los Amantes is about, is love, and only that. The way this story is portrayed is quite original, in a way some directors have tried and done pretty good jobs (Alejandro González Iñárritu, for instance, in his two films: Amores Perros and 21 Grams). It's a compelling way to explain simple things in reverse. Thoughts, and internal processes are not directly understood or apparent to the viewer. Medem demands his audience to think (remember Abre los Ojos).

It's really sad to think that linear and flat plots that only demand to sit and watch are what most people see as good films. When something catches them out of balance, sometimes they refuse to stay tuned and think.

The revelation, as is with this film, comes at the very end. And it deserves a second session to go through the small details -which are plenty in Medem's work.

It's a long film... some argue. What is a long film when everything is like a whirlpool that draws you in? I don't think this is a long film. Me and many of my friends have pored through it many, many times. So many, in fact, that we had to throw away the original video. A pity, because it was in it's original widescreen version, not as the recently issued dvd that's been murderously cropped.

Whatever it is what you like to see, take a look at this film. It can open a lot of possibilities to widen your taste, and your approach to "long" films.

Los Amantes del Círculo Polar is probably not a movie to everybody's taste. If you want to see a lot of action, great comedy or some astonishing special effects, you better don't even think about watching this one. In fact it hasn't much more to offer but some philosophical thinking. Thinking about destiny and how we can't escape from it, thinking about life and love, thinking about coincidences...

It starts with a young boy running through a forest because he wants to retrieve a soccer ball. A girl of about his age is running through the same forest. She's running because her mother told her that her father has died. He follows her and she falls on the ground. She sees him and immediately recognizes her father in him, he on the other hand immediately falls in love with her... Because of some coincidences his father and her mother start a relationship and they become "brother and sister". As they grow older their love for each other doesn't fade, but their lives separate. In the end they meet each other again, not in Spain, but in Lapland (Finland).

Los Amantes del Círculo Polar is shot in a very original way. First you get the scene from the point of view of one of the two characters, than you get the scene again, but this time from the other character's side. Even though the director has paid more attention to the story and the way it was told than to the performances of the actors, this still is a very impressive movie. I give it an 8.5/10

"Lovers Of The Arctic Circle" When "Map Of The Human Heart" is one of my favorite movies, I can't fault this film for almost stealing the entire concept. A Spanish language film about two children who meet at school and fall in love with each other. Through the years, the two manage to carry out a sexual relationship even as their respective parents marry each other and outside forces try to separate them. The rest of the film is nearly a scene by scene recreation of 1993's "Map". But I stress that I liked this film. Cinematographer Gonzalo F. Berridi and Director Julio Medem make a very specific effort to make their film visually memorable. Some of the shots on display here are breathtaking. Leads Najwa Nimri and Fele Martinez do a wonderful job as the two lovers. Their scenes of courtship are fascinating to watch and Medem sharply chooses to show both sides of the story. By understanding the two perspectives on this plot, the film is that much more satisfying. I enjoyed this story. I applaud the effort the filmmakers made to not tell this story in any way I might have suspected. It's a slippery slope when it comes to melodramatic romance, yet the film is graceful and competent. ---------------- 8