The Lost Door

The Lost Door is an erotic thriller that straddles the line between fantasy and reality. This interplay is already a dominant theme in Stuart's photography and it is explored in a new light with the added complexities of dialogue, motion and music. The driving energy of this film derives from imbalanced relationships- captor and inmate; teacher and student; lover and seducer... The roles of domination and submission are in continuous flux; fantasy and reality become alternately indistinguishable as characters surrender to their desires and then succumb to reason.

The cast of actors perform passionately and Nicole Auberger is a particular standout- both for her endearing naivety and phenomenal beauty. The musical score heightens the romance and intrigue, with sudden pauses of silence applied to good dramatic effect. Quirky details indulge us with insight into Stuart's creative mind: carefully captured reflections off a pair of sunglasses, the odd line of dialogue in Chinese, the humor of a tree shaped like a vulva.

The outtakes and supplemental scenes are a must-see, particularly the beggar who fakes an injured leg. Stuart likes to explore different fantasies in his work and the hot beggar is a good one. Anybody who has spent time around Paris will understand.

This is a complex and multifaceted film, the type that you will want to watch at least once.

I have seen the movie a couple of times...and I could...probably will... look at it more often. It's a piece of contemporary Art, in mine eyes, which triggers my perception in many ways. Like; what's the movie trying to say? Every time that I look at it I see different things. Things such as; Light instead of heavy, a flash trough the head, earth, sex?, live/death, good/bad, pleasure and most of all nothingness; pop up in my head. The whole thing is beautifully done in Mr. Stuart's typical style. I see interesting looking people, a lot of emotion triggering my own and its pleasant and quite unique (to me). The pale, cold and natural look make the movie pretty and erotically stimulating in a chic hysterical kind of way. It leaves me thinking; it doesn't really matter. And; it tastes like more. I cant completely understand / put my finger on it, it being the movie, and I think that that the Artist's intent is. Cause that's what keeps on playing in my mind strongest after having watched it. Very Nicely done!

When I saw the film, I was disappointed.

Mr.Stuart is very expressive as photographer, what unfortunately I cannot say from his work as filmmaker.I have the impression he put picture to picture, but forgot content and message.It seems, he was lost in The Lost Door and had problems to make the story together.

What I enjoyed:

The music - original and emotional. And the characters of Kristina and Catherine: - credible and absolutely authentic.

Thanks to the outstanding performance of Mikaela Fisher and Anna Bielska the film has a professional touch.

With your abilities, Mr. Stuart and the talent of such actors you would be able to do an exceptional work in future.

Pretty complex flick for moron like me. Main problem is producer don't understand he is trying to behave like old white men who making laws for abortions. Second point is he couldn't catch females have different mentality no matter at all media noise. Another point is any society always at civil war within itself and, as language don't have formal value, it never ends.

There is little that is not a struggle or confrontation in life. This movie shows the showdown between two people, at opposite odds, who are not able to understand one another. But who may be the same. Production values are high, while production costs are well below almost virtually all studio budgets. And produced and directed by a singular artist. While there are structural problems in the script, an attempt was made to make up for them, that is obvious. Casting is uneven, but the actions and the situations of the characters are engaging and make the viewer want to see and listen to more. Stuart's photography and lighting, well-known via his books, highlight erotic and dramatic moments that bring to life real people in a contemporary art scheme of life: nothing matters, but that nothing is a matter of life or death.