Amer (Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani, 2009)

[swo17]

A search for this film here only yielded a few posts of discussion hidden in the ten pages of the Enter the Void thread. Oh that these figures could be reversed. I can imagine Amer being just as polarizing (I actually started off being slightly annoyed by it) but for my money it's just so colorful and fun that its exuberance eventually won me over. Its technique of shooting in mostly frantic close-ups (like Requiem for a Dream on even more drugs, though Amer actually has quite a bit more in common with Black Swan) can make it difficult at times to follow what exactly is supposed to be happening, but the film uses this to its advantage, allowing, for example,

Spoiler

a scene depicting tight quarters in a cramped public bus to be confused with what could be a rape. (Actually, a lot of mundane activities in the film--even the wind blowing clothing against the skin--are portrayed as or could be mistaken for a violation.)

I think I enjoyed the midsection of the film most of all, because in hindsight, nothing really happens at all, the weather looks spectacular and it should all play like leisurely vacation footage, but instead it's filmed like an extremely traumatic event. Which I suppose it is for the protagonist. Because make no mistake, this is a horror film, about the horror of being alive. Only, you know, in a playful, lollipop-colored kind of way. Watch it!

P.S. This comes out on DVD in America on March 29 from Olive Films. There's also a BD release out now in the UK.

[zedz]

I enjoyed this, in an all-sizzle-no-steak kind of a way - which is entirely the point, and the middle section is the one that probably takes that approach to the extreme - though it did feel like a short film conceit pushed beyond breaking point (which may also be the point, if the point is that horror is entirely a question of style). So personally, I enjoyed the gothic first section the best, since that was the most like what I assumed the intention to be: Suspiria or Inferno with the substance dialled way down and the style dialled way up, pushing right through genre in order to reach the avant garde.

[swo17]

I think the first part, well done as it is, can be pretty well extrapolated from your description, and was basically what I was expecting as well, so it wasn't until the film suddenly switched gears to, um, whatever you might call that second part, that I really sat up and realized there was something else going on here. So I suppose that's why that section of Amer sticks out to me the most, though I should really watch the whole film again to reevaluate each section in context.

In the first part (without us knowing any better I suppose), the menace seems like it could be physically real (i.e. an actual evil presence), whereas later, when the film begins to externalize the protagonist's sexual angst, the threat seems more obvious and almost comically exaggerated, but is still, I think, entirely relatable. And then in the final section, we get a sort of middle ground, where the object of fear is more vague but also much more violent. Perhaps this is just the inevitable conclusion to any giallo thriller, but I think there's enough cleverness here that the film doesn't lose itself in its genre machinations.

[zedz]

Well, the second part is conceptually the most potent, I feel, as it pushes the gimmick the furthest, and it's hysterical in more ways than one, but the niggle with me was that it was also the section most like an over-ambitious short film and the most like an arty commercial. But then again, that fact is sort of interesting in terms of how we (okay, how I) process extreme stylization.

I guess we agree that returns start to diminish in the third section, though. It seems to me that the filmmakers run out of ways to fillet the same bloody corpse.

[swo17]

I guess we agree that returns start to diminish in the third section, though. It seems to me that the filmmakers run out of ways to fillet the same bloody corpse.

Perhaps, in the sense that it is only in the third act that the film's content starts to overwhelm its style (which was supposed to be the point, right?). And that content isn't the least bit grounded in reality, so it's difficult to know what the stakes really are. That being said, I do really love the very last scene, and I still highly recommend the film on the whole.

[thirtyframesasecond]

This had a brief run at the ICA in London, which is where I caught it. It's incredibly stylish and has a very sensual element to it but is self-consciously conceptual. Worth seeking out for those who like Argento's films but done in a far more artsy fashion.

[R0lf]

Spoiler

I'm completely baffled by so many people describing this movie as all style and no substance when at the end of the film it is revealed that the stylised giallo image is a narrative device used to illustrate the characters unravelling mind. Yes its a simple device and a simple conceit for a story but I think the movie carries it off.

[zedz]

Well, I see that alibi as a lack of nerve on the part of the filmmakers, since to me the film is far more provocative and interesting as an exploration of the implications of style than it is as just another horror movie using the favourite cliche of the decade (which is a pretty low hurdle to attain the level of 'substance', if you ask me). Though even with that alibi in place, I think the film is excessive enough to, by and large, pull off its more formal and experimental aspirations. Which is another way of saying that Amer has little or no interest for me as a narrative film but ample as a non-narrative one.

[conspirator12]

Brilliant sound design

[R0lf]

Well, I see that alibi as a lack of nerve on the part of the filmmakers, since to me the film is far more provocative and interesting as an exploration of the implications of style than it is as just another horror movie using the favourite cliche of the decade (which is a pretty low hurdle to attain the level of 'substance', if you ask me). Though even with that alibi in place, I think the film is excessive enough to, by and large, pull off its more formal and experimental aspirations. Which is another way of saying that Amer has little or no interest for me as a narrative film but ample as a non-narrative one.

Spoiler

I don't think using the image as a narrative device is necessarily a bad idea but I agree I was a bit disappointed with the way the story then went with her killing the taxi driver and herself. However since the movie was so strongly wearing its Giallo influences on its shoulder its hardly surprising the movie went this way. Also when I place it squarely in that genre it seems to hold water against its peers.

[AlexHansen]

Some kind soul has made their ABCs of Death short available.

[Morbii]

I first heard tell of this film while searching out new sci-fi to watch. I read a brief review on Los cronocrímenes that compared it to doing for sci-fi what Amer and Berberian Sound Studio did for the modern Gialli (incidentally, I quite liked Los cronocrímenes, even if it was a bit predictable).

As a giant Italian Gialli fan in general (Argento being my favorite), I felt obligated to check it out.

I left extremely disappointed, sadly. I saw a definite dose of both Suspiria and Deep Red, with a tiny drop of Tenebre, but it felt like style for the sake of imitation. I'm not even sure I would classify it as a Giallo, but could be wrong on that point (and the style definitely owes a lot to Gialli either way).

The biggest drawback for me was the sound design. It felt very much like "first year film student finds the foley studio" to me, and it was distracting. I also felt there was some editing that was pretty damn bad in a small handful of places, but not nearly as pervasive as the sound design.

Follow those technical negatives up with one of those "gotcha" endings, and for me this was truly an eye-roller and a waste of 90 minutes.

Like zeds, this did also feel more like a short pushed past the breaking point to me. I am in the middle of watching the 5 shorts they made before this which are a definite precursor to Amer itself. They are very similar in style; maybe even more extreme.

As far as plusses, I did feel the first couple minutes were GREAT! Meaning, the opening credits and approach to the house. I loved that. I was also quite taken with the theme song. Unfortunately, it mostly went downhill for me after that.

Spoiler

(Actually, a lot of mundane activities in the film--even the wind blowing clothing against the skin--are portrayed as or could be mistaken for a violation.)

This was another high point for me with this film, and an area that I felt was well done.

I would say that I was most impressed by whoever did the casting, as the four actresses looked legitimately related or a different incarnation of the same woman (where applicable), and were all quite capable.