A Vingança de Alexandra

Yes, this movie is probably the height of sickness. And it probably should be rated <R> instead of <MA15+> But it was kind of interesting. This is a female revenge type movie, but not your typical thelma and louise. Most of the film is a video that the wife has taped, which some find tedious but it puts a bit of a spin on it. The greatest irony in the movie is that the husband works for the Australian psychological society but has not picked up on the fact that his wife is suffering acute depression. DO NOT TAKE KIDS WHO ARE UNDER 15 TO SEE THIS (unless you really don't care about censorship, which i don't but i'm just warning the general public). But if you don't mind an interesting flick which is based on a bad marriage and a screwed up housewife, then you may enjoy it.

"Alexandra's Project" played on TV in my country the other day I watched it since I had heard and read several praising things about it. Several of the reviews I encountered used the terms "sick" and "disturbing", and those type of films always grab my attention as a fan of horror and obscure cult cinema. Now, I wouldn't really describe the events of "Alexandra's Project" as sick or disturbing. It's merely a bleak and very unpleasant viewing experience. I'm not too familiar with the work of the Dutch born writer/director Rolf De Heer (apparently he emigrated to Australia at young age), but he doesn't exactly come across as the most cheerful and sociable person based on this film. In fact, the film tremendously reminded me of the earlier work of Michael Haneke; more particularly "Benny's Video" and "Funny Games". The stories of all these films are extremely basic and substantially void, but the slow and brooding atmosphere literally makes you feel uncomfortable. Most of the running time, there's practically nothing going on, but you just know drama and emotional agony will ensue at a certain point. Steve is having a fabulous birthday so far. He made another promotion at work and he can't wait to return home, because he suspect that his wife and loving children prepared a surprise party for him. His wife Alexandra occasionally suffers from depressions and insomnia, but generally speaking his marriage is successful and stable. Or so he thinks… The only surprises that await him are an empty dark house and a videotape message from his wife Alexandra. What begins as an exciting private striptease quickly escalates into a discomforting monologue full of hatred, condemnation, humiliation and domestic tragedy. I can't really say I found "Alexandra's Project" to be a good film. The narrative is compelling and the film definitely benefices from the marvelous performances of Gary Sweet and Helen Buday, but the material is too implausible and far-fetched. To label "Alexandra's Project" as a feminist statement or even a thought-provoking humane drama would be far too much honor.

The movie was perfectly shot. I was nervous and afraid from beginning to end. The director brought me along every step of the story. The acting is spectacular. What shocked me the most about this movie is the utter, pure hate. I have one question though: what is wrong with Anglo-Saxon culture? What inspired Rolf De Heer to write a story about a woman who hates her husband so much that she wants to humiliate, debase, destroy and keep him from his own children forever. I understand that she would want to get back at him for having humiliated and neglected her but not want him killed alive. I've noticed that women in Anglo-Saxon movies can be protrayed as extremely hatefull and vendictive. This movie made me realise how bad things could become between two people. If anyone wants to get married they should first see this movie. Then if they still want to, they will have been forewarned.

What a cruel demented movie this is, from the same distributors as "Wolves in the Snow", one of my favorite thrillers this year without a doubt. This Australian movie is much different, as it is about a man, Steve, celebrating his birthday. His morning starts with happy birthday stuff from his lovely family and his pretty wife Alexandra. But before leaving for work, his Wife tells him her main birthday present for him will be when he returns from work. He goes to work thinking everything is rosy, has a great day, they have a surprise party for him, and then he gets called in and receives a promotion. WOW, Steve is definitely having a great birthday, and he still has his lovely Wife's surprise gift to look forward to. When he arrives home, everything is dark, all the light bulbs have been removed, nobody is in sight, not his children, not his Wife, nobody. Furniture has been turned upside down, and Steve is still thinking Alexandra is playing a cute little joke on him and searches around his home, but finds nothing UNTIL!!!! In one room, he finds a package from his wife with a videotape inside, with a label that says "play me". His easy chair is all ready for him, with a VCR and television waiting. When he starts playing the tape, his Wife gives him a happy birthday message, and then goes into a slow strip tease for him, and Steve is smiles from ear to ear. BUT, things go rapidly downhill from there, and before long, Steve is starting to wish this whole thing is a bad nightmare. Steve gets subjected to remorse, deception and revenge, and then even a bigger shock, as the tape stops, but the video feed continues revealing that the next portion is indeed live, and he is locked in his house. This is a one of a kind psycho-sexual thriller, and I have never seen a movie like this before, and it had me mesmerized to say the least. It goes all the way from being highly erotic, to down right as mean spirited as hell. The studio that is putting these movies out, is the first to release award winning movies at theaters and on DVD at the same time. And based on the only two I have seen so far, the movies are remarkable. The subscription service is located at www.filmmovement.com , and definitely deserves attention.

I have never sat through a more gut wrenchingly horrid and frustrating film than Alexandra's Project. You'll be stuck in a cramped room with a crazy woman ranting about her hang ups with sex on a video for the better part of an hour.... pray your remote still works and that you can eject this before you throw something through your television.