Hardcore

Saw this movie at the int. film-festival of Gent. First of all : this movie is not for people who are easily chocked.

Through the eyes of two young prostitutes named Nadia & Martha (who start a lesbian relationship) we are sucked into a dark world of sex, drugs and violence... but not without content ! The film is about jealousy, the need for a home and family (especially in Martha's case) but above all how hard it is to get out this kind of underground scene. During their relationship Nadia turns out more and more ambitious and manipulative what finally lead to manipulation and even murder. The story started rather slow but the ended very strong.

The movie is best described as an urban fairytale of love and betrayal.

Hardcore it is not.

It wants to be, though. It's got violence, but compared to what it could have been, it's not much worse than a Disney movie.

It's got sex, but it's so fake you could watch this with your mother without feeling awkward. Also, as an aside, in a five man gangbang there will be at least two guys who are going to look mighty dumb doing the thrusting moves.

Thinking about it, the only thing hardcore about this whole thing is me, for sitting it out all the way.

This is in no small part due to the two leads, who were mesmerizing to look at. I can't vouch for their acting skills, since the movie was so aggressively incoherent that I couldn't determine if a face they were making was appropriate to the situation they were in. I will reference one scene by saying that's most definitely not how you suffocate someone with a pillow. Don't ask me how I know, officer.

It also didn't help that I had to make due with the subtitles, considering I only know two words of Greek. Though I heard both of them, it didn't help me much.

Perhaps I should return to this film after I've learned Greek. Maybe then it'll make some sense.

It's too bad. This movie could have been interesting to me if it didn't get up its own ass so much. Less "art" would have gone a long way in making sense of some of the girls' actions, and once a character is dead, I don't want to have to try and figure out why they're suddenly at the dinner table again.

So, three stars for what it could have been.

Seeing Hardcore, many would mistake it for a somewhat ripoff (or homeage) of Quentin Tarantino's films. But it's not. Based on a Greek book, Hardcore brings the life and times of two girls, which adventures start from the gutter and move through a journey to success, with a price.

Dennis Iliadis succeeds into what other directors couldn't do in the so called "new Greek cinema" wave.His film captivates the attention of the audience, along with the two actresses who can really act, given the fact that the film does contain nude sequences.

It's a perfect mixture of guns, drugs, sex and violence, a trip through corruption and redemption. The film is a little more lengthy though, and it seems that there are two films combined.

Wow spell binding is all I can say, Greek cinema doesn't break out to international crowds often, so when it does you can damned bet its special.

Plot is pretty bleak to say the least, revolving around two young 16-17 year old female prostitutes and their day to day struggle, and their dreams to get out of the grim life they've been living in not helped by their pimp. Along for part the ride they are joined by 2 fellow male prostitutes, then a client who falls for the youngest of the two girls.

Its not so much the plot that wins you over in this film, but the grand manner its filmed in. The film spins from darker music video gloss in the mould of Chris Cunningham or Gaspar Noe to comical Dennis Potter dream style montages.

The two central female leads do a stunning job in what must surely have been hard to film scenes. Slight warning is it won't be suitable for everyone has it has strong sexual content throughout. But then what do you expect from a film about this subject and with a title like Hardcore. [7.5 out of 10 would be my rating.]

HARDCORE is a very decent film about the lives of two young girls caught up in prostitution and drugs. Whoever likens this to a Tarantino film obviously didn't see the same film I did. HARDCORE is more comparable to something like KIDS than any of Tarantino's films. Good story-line and very strong performances make this one add up to a very good film overall...

Nadia and Martha are two young Greek hookers who begin a strange and tumultuous lesbian relationship. Quickly working their way up the "ranks" - the girls are offered better and higher-paying tricks based on their past "performance". Nadia is a level-headed and ambitious young girl, while Martha is more needy and reliant on Nadia's guidance. When the two girls beat a potential murder-rap after the killing of their pimp - Nadia falls into a modeling career and becomes successful very quickly. Although Nadia takes care of Martha and allows her to live with her - Martha becomes more needy as she see's Nadia use and being used by shady agents and magazine publishers. This all ends in a strong climax, where Martha realizes that she will never be truly happy while living in Nadia's shadow...

HARDCORE is an all-around strong film that deals with subject matter and content that may bother some. The girls are 16 and 17 respectively when they begin their prostitution career, and the audience is shown some strong scenes of their sexual liaisons with clients and others. Fans of films like KIDS, and BULLY (and numerous other late-teen angst films) will definitely be into this one. The performances by the two female leads are dead-on, and the way the story-line progresses is interesting and original. Definitely worth a look...8.5/10