harlock-2

Bjork makes a stunning dramatical debut in this heart wrenching drama by Lars von Trier. Thanks to a small cast, the film stays intimate with it's main characters (much like Drowning Mona) you are always at their side. The ending is especially worth the two-hour wait. The only fault I found with the film is the ultra-shaky handheld camera, which detracted from the drama.

The other problem was the musical numbers, without which the film would not suffer in the tiniest bit, and bring it's running length back under control. In addition to adding nothing to the story, the songs were all shot on video with multiple cameras to save time and money, and the resulting video to film transfer is disqueting and cheapens the film. When used correctly (Natural Born Killers) the technique can add a lot to a picture, but not when so obviously used for certain shots. ("Oh look, the picture is soft with edge-aliasing, over-saturation and high-speed grain...it must be time for another musical number!")

Bjork, make more films, Lars...stop using tired gimmicks in your cinematography and just shoot the scene! I give the film an 8.5 out of 10.

This film has everything...beautiful lovemaking, a redhead, and the opium dens of Paris.

It's a slow moving plot that's intended to exhibit a series of different fantasy scenarios lived out by the main character, as she writes them down into a private collection for an anonymous client, with some good plot twisting towards the end.

The cinematography, costuming and makeup are exquisite, making this film pure eye candy. Enjoy.