Sirènes

I never heard of this film until the director for our theater company mentioned it as a possible project to adapt to live theater. I have to say when I first viewed the film I was a bit shocked for personal reasons. We have a fairly small group and if taken directly it would mean I would be playing one of the nude models. After studying the film's critiques and background I slowly came around to appreciate the film's merits, if not completely comfortable with the nudity. The point is that the nudity is not suppose to be comfortable from the audience point of view. The story takes place in an almost mystical world untarnished by outside influences and taboos. It is indeed a wonderful Eden. As an actress I had to be comfortable within the Eden created on stage, despite being uncomfortable in front of fellow "actors" and the audience. This has become one of my favorite films for helping me grow as an actress and as a member of the audience.

While this film is often not taken seriously because of its explicit nudity, it is in fact one of the most thought-provoking commentaries on religious values I have ever seen on the screen. This film provides us with the stark contrast of the repressed preacher from London and the artist's three models in rural Australia, a throwback to Shakespeare's "Green World." The fulcrum of this contrast is the preacher's wife, being pulled in both the oppressive, "moral" direction by her upbringing and her husband and the free and expressive direction of the artist. The breathtaking cinematography and stunning visual symbolism of this film contribute to make it into a powerful attack on the Christian moral code that dominates western thinking. I have been scoffed at on more than one occasion for praising Sirens, but I left the theater questioning my own views about what is and is not moral. The fact that this film's sexual content seems to invalidate it as art in many people's eyes merely underscores the value of its message. Along with Sling Blade, Sirens to me stands as the most provocative film about morality made in the 1990's. A solid 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.

It is not the bosoms, really. No, there is an earnest quality here that is dependent on performances and landscapes and an essential moral tale than on the bounteousness of bums and bosoms frolicking in Australia. Neil is always good, Tara Fitzgerland is fine, and that often one-note Hugh Grant works perfectly as a priggish English priest who opens up ever so slightly when all is said and done. And much is said and some is done. There is some absolutley wonderful photography and some perfectly awful and obvious photography that would make Hallmark blush. Pretty good script with the story wandering about more than a bit. Shorter would have been better and the blue shots of nude statuary of indifferent quality by this nice but hardly profound Australian artist(on whose life and an episode therein, is it based)could have been a one-shot affair for my money. But I liked it for the performances.

"Sirens" seems to have touched a nerve here. Some reviewers dismiss it as derivative soft-core drivel. Others love it. It probably helps to know that there's little derivative about the story-it's based on real people and a real incident. Sam Neill's character--Norman Lindsay--was real. Lindsay, a prolific artist and novelist, was also a libertine living a Hugh Hefner lifestyle when the rest of the world was awakening from the Victorian Age. "Sirens" was filmed at the Lindsay home and gallery, a 40-acre estate now run by the Australian National Trust. The artworks are all Lindsay's. And the storyline is based on an incident in which the Anglican Church dispatched a cleric to convey concerns about "The Crucifixion of Venus." As for the plot, it's simply a humorous retelling of what might have been--with lots of voluptuous nudes and erotic symbolism tossed in for good measure. Yes, it's all quite predictable. You know five minutes into the film that the Converters will become the Converted. But it's a fun ride getting to that inevitable destination. `Sirens' is not for everyone. If full-frontal male and female nudity offends, you will be offended. If ridiculing the Church or its values offends, you will be offended. And if the notion that the cure for a boring marriage is a little extra-marital dalliance offends, you will truly be offended. Otherwise, it's a little erotic gem and a great way to start an even better evening. :)

I personally believe this film is "so" subtle that it cruises under the scope of the average person - no insult intended! So many say they "liked this film but..." just goes to show how subtle this film really is. The photography is absolutely breathtaking. Film stills would make such a collage - oy! The acting is so right on and precise from each and every actor - the characters so well defined. The story is so exquisitely told...! During the whole movie, I kept expecting that statue (you know the one!) to take off walking. At the end, in the dream sequence when the statue stepped down from her pedestal and walked off into the mist, it nearly blew my mind! The way the story switches back & forth between conscious & unconscious day-to-day experiences so seamlessly amazes me. I fell totally in love w/this movie. I went thru a stage of watching it at least once a day for about 1 1/2 years - almost w/out fail! I am married to an artist. I have been his model. I am a woman. This film speaks to these matters with such clarity it's truly amazing. The transition Tara Fitzgerald's character goes thru in waking up to her womanhood is also an integral and major part of the story. The symbolism of the painting of the dual woman - and her being awakened each night by something in the natural/instinctive world calling her to consciousness. Lucid dreaming - becoming conscious thru internal knowledges calling forth her true nature. Please forgive me for not writing in complete proper syntax. I'm usually much better at expressing myself than this. But my relationship with this film is so very personal as to be abstract in tho't. Plus, I've never tried to express my feelings about "Sirens" before. I am almost shocked when I read that some of you think it was less than a "10"! "Predictable"?! Maybe you are more on the ball than I am and than I am giving you credit for. Pardon me please! This is "one" of the all time best movies ever - for me anyway! And - really! - when the preacher & his wife arrive - one of the first people to greet them on their mission is the old fella on the car bumper with,"Get f***ed!" Ya gotta love that!