EROS
Hong Kong, US, Italy, 2004, 116 minutes, Colour.
The Hand, Gong Li, Chang Chen, 39 minutes.
Directed by Wong Kar Wai;
Equilibrium, 25 minutes, Robert Downey Jnr, Alan Arkin, Ele Keats.
Directed by Steven Soderberg;
The Dangerous Threat of Things, 30 minutes Christopher Buchholz, Regina Nemni, Louisa Ranieri.
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.
Eros is a compendium movie, consisting of three short stories. There is opening animation done by Lorenzo Mattotti, which recurs between the episodes. It is a focus on the themes of erotic relationships and love. There is also a theme song, by Caetano Veloso, entitled “Antonioni’s Love”, which is also sung before each story.
The best of the stories is the first, that by Wong Kah Wei (In the Mood for Love, 2046, Happy Together). It is a chamber piece, set in Hong Kong in 1963. It features Gong Li (the lead in so many of Zhang Yimou’s features of the 1990s, Raise the Red Lantern, The Story of Qui Ju). She works with Chang Keng in this film and portrays a prostitute who has several wealthy patrons. He is her tailor. The film is set in lush hotel rooms as well as in the tailor’s workplace. The film develops the relationship between the two, her arrogance and dominance, her seductive use of the tailor for her own wishes, her downfall – as well as his growing obsession and continued fidelity to her. The film was photographed by Christopher Doyle, who photographed so many of Wong Kah Weis films as well as Philip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof? Fence and The Quiet American. The film is very moving, has excellent performances and an adult treatment of themes.
The second story is an amusing one by Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape, Solaris, Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve). It is in both black and white and colour, the black and white section being a therapy session where executive Robert Downey Jr is talking about his dreams to therapist, Alan Arkin, who prefers to be looking at people outside the window and making paper planes to alert them to what he wants to communicate. There is a wry comedy in the characterisation of the two men as well as their interaction - which is capped off by the revelation that Arkin also plays Downey’s boss in the real life sequences and is the subject of humour with his false toupee.
The third story is by veteran Michelangelo Antonioni, so much admired in the 1960s with such films as L’Avventura?, La Notte, Blow Up. This is a story of a brittle marriage – however, the stilted acting does not help audience sympathise with or understand the bickering couple. When they see a young woman riding on the beach on a horse, the husband is tempted and goes to her tower house and has a sexual encounter with her. She later lies on the beach and encounters the wife. The film is open in its depiction of sexuality and nudity – and, if Antonioni’s name was not on the film, it could be mistaken for an exploitation film, a kind of soft-core porn short story by a dirty old man. It is a pity to see this as one of the last films by Antonioni, no matter how worthy his intentions of portraying a brittle marriage and of lust.
1.The overall effect of the film? The theme of Eros, sensuality, sexuality, physical, psychological, emotional? The sketches in the interlinking segments? Style, subject? The song and its being a song about Antonioni?
2.The Hand: the work of Wong Kar Wai, the beauty of the design, costumes? The lighting? Lush and gorgeous? The structure, the flashback with the tailor meeting Miss Hua? Her asking him to remember the first time they met, his shyness, listening to her clients and the sex, going in, her haughtiness, the sexual encounter, the hand? The effect on him? His making her clothes, the continued visits, her dependence on him yet spurning him? Her lifestyle, her clients and patrons? The reaction of the senior tailor? Her owing money? The years passing, her disappearing, the man not marrying? Her illness, hospital? The return, his not having sold her clothes, altering them for her? The kiss, the sexual encounter, the hand? Her not wanting him to catch her disease? The farewell, the effect on him? Portrait of a courtesan? Portrait of a tailor?
3.Equilibrium: the black and white photography, the colour? Dreams, fantasy and reality? The woman of the dream, the bath, getting dressed, her bag and hat? The woman of the dreams, revealed as Nick’s wife? Nick, his therapy session, walking around nervously, continually talking, talking about his boss’s hairpiece, his lack of ideas for advertising alarm clocks, the symbolism of the alarms, clocks, waking up? His lying down, talking, describing his dream in detail, the implications, his psychology, sexuality, decision-making, needing to wake up? The final revelation of reality, his being with his boss, Alan Arkin as the boss and the therapist, the hairpiece, the failure of the advertising campaign? His future? Waking up from his dreams, seeing his wife go to work? The therapy sessions with the therapist, his paying attention, his not paying attention, getting the binoculars, looking out the window, carrying on his therapy as if there was no disturbance? Making the paper planes, throwing them out the window, signing and making arrangements with the person in the other building? The finale with the paper planes going out of the building?
4.The Dangerous Thread of Things: a soft-core pornography story, the work of Antonioni, isolation, marriage and breakdown, sensuality and sexuality, lack of communication? The man, his irritation with his wife, the drive, the restaurant, the beach, the encounter with the young woman, going to the tower, sex, his future? The wife, sunning herself, getting dressed, anger, at the restaurant? The young woman, the horses, the tower, her sensual approach, the sexual encounter? The aftermath on the beach with the two women? The purpose of the film?
