Cinephile (Foreign Film): Desire
2/5 Stars
Plot: “In a social context deteriorated by a countrywide economic crisis, the life of several people will be turned upside down after they meet Cecile, a character who symbolizes desire.” -IMDB
Review: During the 90s, I officially became a sexually frustrated teen. Like many of my peers, I had confusing thoughts, feelings, and urges, but no real outlet. This remained true until a friend of mine and I discovered Cinemax. Desire is one of those movies we would have prayed to stumble across. Containing lots of sex and very little substance, it would have blown our teenage minds.
As a grown man, attempting to understand and decode the art of cinema, I found every interaction between the characters on screen to be overly aggressive, sexually explicit, and frustrating. Oh! How have the times changed?
From the opening scene, this movie pulls no punches. Within five minutes, you will know exactly where you stand. As you progress, this movie becomes an exercise in patience as we wait to see if they can pull together all the plot points in some substantial way. Without a doubt, there are fascinating ideas this film is pondering. Ideas around desire, grief, loss, liberation, and a lost generation incapable of joy all make an appearance. Unfortunately, this film does not seem interested in answering the profound questions it poses. Instead, these characters seem to be solely interested in sex while they wash everything else over with broad generalizations.
It is the lack of character development that forces this film to stumble; a fall from which it never fully recovers. With everything we experience while watching this movie, it is hard to muster any concern for our main character’s trauma. If the execution would have been slightly better, this would have been an experience worth recommending. Instead, it serves as nothing more than a reminder of a bygone era for this former American teenage boy.
Be good to each other,
Nathan
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