Transylvania

I saw Tony Gatliff's film Transylvania in Melbourne, and, despite the presence of horror princess Asia Argento, the film has absolutely nothing to do with vampires. Part travelogue and part exploration of two masochistic lost souls, this incredibly strange, surreal, lonely, music-filled journey is unlike anything I can recall seeing before. If nothing else, it proves that cinema is not dead: not every film is manufactured in pitch meetings and script workshops. This is clearly a film not overly designed to appeal to any audience at all-perhaps explaining its practically nonexistent release outside of film festivals and special retrospectives since its Cannes debut in 2006-and, for better or worse, this is no doubt the film Tony Gatliff wanted to make, directorial flourishes and all.

Asia Argento . . . she's getting there. Though not a great actress, she's earned her place in history already, I think, by sheer measure of her persona and willingness to go places few would have the balls to explore, say french kissing a dog. In terms of physicality, she's incredibly skilled in the ways she's able to use her body. She can brandish it violently, smashing herself up against a wall in a moment of ecstasy and deep sorrow, or twist it painfully and quietly into a crumpled ball of limbs and self-induced isolation. Hurling herself full force into a musical cyclone and smashing dishes with the flick of a hand, Argento is able to bring the character to life.

It is in her line readings, during scenes that call her to sell the character in words rather than physical manifestations, that Argento never quite manages to reach the point of believability required of her. Her voice often settles into an off-putting monotone that, in quieter moments, can undermine the inner complications and emotions meant to come through in what she is saying.

Aided by often remarkable shots of a countryside not normally used in film and a truly impressive collection of folk music, Transylvania is not easy an easy film to recommend nor is it easy to dismiss as yet another self-indulgent festival film created by a director trying to force more of his vision into 100 minutes than it can support. I am unsure if the film works on every level, I suspect that it does not, but the ways in which the film both indulges in its own artistry and refuses to go out of it way to cater to the personal tastes of anyone other than its own makers are strangely admirable. Even if you don't like Transylvania, it's nice to know a film like it can be made at all.

Transylvania (2006)

** (out of 4)

Strange French film has Asia Argento playing a pregnant woman who travels to Romania to locate her lover. When she finds him he turns his back on her so she sets off to discover herself and eventually gets caught up in the country's Gypsy culture. There's been a large storm of controversy over how the country is made to look in this film but I have no opinions on that since I know very little about the country. As for the film, it's a pretty boring affair due in large part to the character Argento plays. Argento delivers a good performance here and really hits some raw energy but her character is so ugly that I had a hard time caring what happened to her. Seeing a pregnant woman constantly throwing down vodka took away some of my feelings for her and although her character is suppose to be going through a hard time it hit me as a crazy woman. Another problem with the film is that it seems to have been written as it went along as there's never a clear path as to what type of film its trying to be. To say the film is uneven might be an understatement. The strangest scene in the movie has to be where Argento's character is in a white robe and gets a milk bath as some sort of ritual. This offers a tad bit of nudity from the actress and this here is certainly the only energy the film has going for it. The actress also offers a look at her rather amazing tattoo on her stomach.

Well, actually I was told about the movie by a lady-colleague of mine. Interestingly, she is a Hungarian born in Southern Slovakia, and she has been living for many years in Prague. The movie made her excited. But I told myself: Oh, wasn't her excitement only because she had some roots and historical sentiments there in Transylvania? So I forgot the movie. Some time thereafter, again, my friends told me about the movie. But meanwhile it nearly completely disappeared from Prague cinemas! Clearly as the attendance was not "money-making". Finally, by chance, I discovered the movie's projection in a small, something like "suburb" or forgotten vintage cinema not far away from my house. So me and my friends went there. Not more then 20 people altogether were watching the movie that night... But I have to say that the over-mentioned Hungarian lady-colleague of mine was absolutely right in her feelings. Transylvania is really heart moving movie. Very different from Kusturica's plain mixture of comedy and tragic. Transylvania has been telling us an archetypal story about loosing and finding human bonds, human bodies and human souls. That's why I consider Transylvania as a heart moving movie. It talks about the quality of our hearts. About their weighing by gold and by love. About countries in our hearts and minds. About subconscious and non-conscious powers that direct our values and lives. Transylvania as a country - and as a movie - is the place where people have been still living their very real life; while there in the West humans' life is hardly something more then a process of consuming - the products, goods, sex, thoughts and ideas. So, maybe the main message of the movie Transylvania is in the unspoken words of Zingarina: "It is of no key importance that Transylvania has been coming back to Europe - but just the opposite: that our hearts have free choice of leaving the prison of consumed life and return back to place where we can give our lives their true meanings."

Zingarina (Asia Argento), who is two-month pregnant, travels from France to Transylvania with her friend Marie (Amira Casar) to seek out her lover Milan Agustin (Marco Castoldi) that was deported from France. They hire the guide and interpreter Luminitsa (Alexandra Beaujard) to help them to find the musician Milan. When she finds him, she is rejected and Milan tells that he was not deported, but left her.

Zingarina has a breakdown and leaves Marie on the road, wandering with a street boy. Soon she meets the traveling trader Tchangalo (Birol Ünel) and she joins him in a road travel without destiny.

"Transylvania" is a pretentious, boring, senseless and pointless love story. Pretentious since it is spoken in several languages without coherency with the character's nationality and has a cheap surrealism. Boring since there is no story or character development, only a storyline filled with music, giving the sensation that in Transylvania there are only vampires and music (sorry for the joke). Senseless since nothing makes sense in this movie. Pointless since there is no message and no nothing but a senseless love story. The good thing is the cast that is excellent, especially for me since I am fan of Asia Argento. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Transilvânia" ("Transylvania")

So I guess it has to do with the fact that I left Romania 8 years ago that I find this movie so .. Romanian. Truly enchanting. Human. Real. Refreshingly spontaneous. :) - it is easier to perceive something objectively once you've stepped out of it. There are SO many moments where I was simply entranced with the reality of it all, the "wow, I know exactly that spot" Granted, there are things missing from the landscape and some things are exaggerated but it's a MOVIE and overall I found the story, the message , the setting, the characters, the music - fantastic! I am crying because I know this reality that we hate so much in Romania now will be soon obsolete (yee) by the fake lawns and malls and permits to go into the forest. Mark my words, people will watch this movie in 20 years and get very very nostalgic over it. I have my own copy and intend to keep it safe :)