Earwig

Pretty pictures do not a film make.

Though Earwig has great cinematography and an ethereal glass harmonica score, it is dramatically inert from the word go.

It comes off as dull and pretentious and squanders its moody setting and mysterious premise.

Lucille Hadzihallilovic's third feature is arguably her weakest and most self-indulgent yet.

It's a visually attractive movie that makes you think that there is some goal or explanation, yet this never arrives. The environment is dark, dim, damp, old, ghostly. The characters behave in ways that only a writer can force upon, as their behaviors don't match with real people. You could bet that there is some bigger secret or explanation for such artificiality, yet nope. Again, there isn't.

The ending is a whimsical and random and slightly disgusting as the whole movie and you could play games about the explanation. But this is faux depth. Is trying to make the viewer or reader the creator, and that's a horrible technique.

I'm not a fan of films that are (literally) so dark I can't see what's going on. I know that this is a popular directors' device to "enhance engagement" but IMHO it risks losing the audience completely. In this case, I stuck with it, but remained quite irritated.

Fortunately, the tone and mood compensate somewhat, and the air of mystery is well-maintained, and the occasional bursts of extreme violence are appropriately shocking. I can't honestly say I worked out what it all meant and what was "really happening", but it was quite interesting nevertheless.

Worth a look - I preferred "Evolution" though.

This movie is very clearly open to many different interpretations, mine is mostly based on my emotional response. I think in a way this work kinda dives into the hidden fear and repulsion many people have towards the female body: menstruations, fertility, pregnancy, etc.

Albert is scared by Mia's first symbolic period, has unnerving memories of his wife's pregnancy and Celeste's character speaks for itself. The war barely ended so we also have another layer of violence to add to the complex situation.

It's a very very interesting movie but the pacing is glacial so I can't give it more than 5.

Earwig is so dark and twisted that you will either love it or hate it.

It reminds me of a 1989 movie I saw with a friend that was so bizarre and dark, that i never forgot it, never want to see it again, but in an odd way love it. That was, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Love.

Though Earwig's story is nothing like it, it has that same kind of darkness running throughout.

It pulls off so many technical concepts they teach in film school excellently, to the point I gave it at least a star or two higher than maybe i would if I hadn't gone to film school.

I don't think there is a good way to describe this movies story.

It is very much an artistic movie from a story perspective, with minimal dialogue and there are elements of it that remind of Tim Burton's darker movies.

100% recommended for anyone in film school or interested in filmmaking or cinematography.

Otherwise, it's dark, weird, and strange enough I'd say don't watch it unless your in a good mood and mentally healthy.

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