American Translation

This film is not for everyone, but for certain guys like me it is everything. And I'm talking orgasm time. I think it's safe to say that 99% of the people in the world will not get this film, but for the 1% of us who do this film is something else - not only a work of art but arousing as well. It deals with a subject that is known only to a very small group of guys who cultivate it as much as they can within safe and sane boundaries. Some guys alas fall off the edge and end up in very dire circumstances. The newspapers are full of these stories. The cops just look the other way. They've seen it before and they will see it again. The very core of man's nature is dark and sinister and the male lead in this film demonstrates that to a degree that is shocking, but also, a turn-on, for those of us consumed with dark and sinister sexual fantasies.

I'm not a big fan of French director/actor Jean-Marc Barr who co-directed this and has a supporting role. He is somewhat of an acolyte of Lars Von Trier, but he actually somewhat deserves the criticism that various ignorami are always making about Von Trier and other Euro "arthouse" director. His films are rather pretentious and he does to some extent try to pass off porn as art.

This movie about a naive young girl who falls in love with a bisexual hustler and serial killer may be a little pretentious in that it owes an obvious debt to the Jean-Luc Goddard French classic "Breathless". It's definitely heavy on the sex. Barr-regular Pierre Perrier is one of the prettiest pretty-boys in the land of wine of truffles. He's not especially believable as vicious serial killer, but he would probably be a great cellmate if you were doing life in prison. Lizzy Brochere is a little more talented and bilingual and she really made an impression (her beauteous bare butt especially)when she appeared on American TV in the second season of "American Horror Story". I don't know which of these two has more nude scenes, but probably Perrier. The most memorable might be when HE gives HER a long lapdance and you can see why Barr also prominently cast him in his "arty" hardcore porn film "Sexual Chronicles of a French Family" (unfortunately, he couldn't get Brochere, but it was probably better for her international career that he didn't).

This is actually not a BAD movie though. At least for the first half. Both actors do a decent job, especially Brochere who--in another nod to "Breathless"--is supposed to be an "American" girl (well, half-American anyway). There's an interesting scene in the middle where they return to the guy's hometown where everyone blames him for the suicide of his childhood friend. I wish they had done more with this plot thread, but the movie just becomes very repetitive after that with the pair picking up teenage hustlers for the purposes of sex and murder. The ending is disappointing and lot of added-on text about serial killers might be interesting if you've never seen the 1 million movies they've made in America about serial killers. Ultimately, this movie doesn't offer much insight on the serial killer phenomenon (which would be a dubious achievement anyway), but it certainly does create a tres SEXY pair of them.

It's a disgusting movie, where are no sense and no art. It reminded me of old and good film "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" of 86 th year with Michael Rooker, where were all what you need, real story, interesting plot, charismatic and brutal main character, good acting and scaring tension. In "American Translation" there is nothing similar. On a screen I just saw the stupid and revolting lovers who doing nothing except murder and sex, they have no motivation, no reason for that, just they are bored. They are much talking about love but they didn't love each other really. They are unfeeling and blind for each other and for me such characters not interesting. I don't know why and for whom made this film.

This movie disturbed me. Just finished it now, I'm left with a feeling of unease, probably even at myself. I feel like disgusted. I don't' know maybe the movie is successful to the extent to which I feel kind of close to the serial killer. Not approving what he does, but the really deep inside perspective is what puts you alongside the serial killer. And what is successful is the well done mix of elements that puts the viewer (or at least me) close to Chris. So, a story only focused on the serial killer would have prompted harsher condemnations of him. But here we have first of all a new perspective on the serial killer: victim and torturer. And this is explained while she looks on internet for information about serial killer and also at the end, as it is written that serial killers are people suffering of a huge pain and killing is the only way to them to express this pain. Beyond this new perspective (serial killers are always depicted as the evil on mass-media), her presence. So, first of all, her physical appearance: very beautiful but of a normal beauty, baby-face and like an angel (also his face is extremely fresh and innocent, as he smiles - she says to he's got a teenager smile). So, she further smooth up the presence of the serial killer. Plus her love, plus the great complicity between the two. And then also their wish of freedom, problems with the adult world generally, and both of them with their parents. Then and above all, her understanding of him, so this gives the viewer the new perspective, that one of pain. So, I'm 27 years old, nearly their age, and I am undertaking a route of personal freedom, emancipation and self realisation, so the movie had a grab on me for these reasons. And that is why the figure of the serial killer doesn't pop up as violently as if it was all focused on it. A viewer with characteristics as I do, recognizes him/herself in them, in their wish of love, in their love, actually pure and untouched by society, family and so on. But beyond this, the drama of the serial killer stays behind and eventually comes out with all its strenght. So, the two are eventually naked, out of their wish of freedom, their love, their parental Independence. He hasn't got anymore his self-confidence, so you can see him crying (even if he said during the movie already that he had fear), and she too. So the big message the movie aims at transmitting (or one of them) is that serial killers can be watched from another perspective, for how hard this can reasonably and comprehensively be, which is not a justification, but a mere understanding. And maybe a better understanding can lead us to help them, and in turn help the entire humanity. So what was lying behind the whole movie (his sickness, fear and pain) exploded at the end of the movie, with his arrest and further exploded with her face crying. The face of somebody who understood (even if her understanding made her guilty too, but understanding doesn't entail agreeing, as I said before) the behind-situation of a serial killer, crying for him. And we have to look at this from her perspective, without judging if she was sick as well (probably she was) or not. Just the perspective offered by somebody crying for a serial killer. Something totally new, that stays at the opposite than the usual, short-term, limited hate for serial killers.

This movie shows a lot of skin. I'm not telling you this to get you to see this movie (there's plenty of other movies that will fulfill that and might be more interesting than this one), but just in case you don't like the fact or don't want to see that in a movie. Apart from that, this is much more then the skin you are going to see.

The movie is a disturbing drama. A movie that does not care if you like it's main character (I'm almost certain it wants you to hate him), but has an interesting journey to follow. Our main guy acts like he does, because he can. Should the main female character behave differently though? It's a tough movie and it might not be to everyones taste. Can't really recommend it, but if you like weird movies, then try it (I liked it, despite its flaws).