Boarding Gate
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Movie Reviews of Boarding Gate
Movie Review: improves as it goes along
Summary: 3 Stars
"Boarding Gate" is an initially verbose French crime drama that, for the first half at least, threatens to talk itself and us to a standstill. Luckily, at about the midway point, the pacing picks up considerably and it turns into a stylish, gripping thriller.
The film chronicles the stormy relationship between an unscrupulous businessman and the ex-mistress he routinely pimps out to his clients. However, it's only after she's lured into committing murder and forced to go on the lam to Hong Kong that the movie becomes an intriguing, multi-layered look at infidelity and betrayal.
Italian actress Asia Argento, who's a dead-ringer for Uma Thurman, commands the screen with her pouting eroticism and natural charisma, and she gets strong support from Michael Madsen and Carl Ng as the two main men in her life, as well as from Kelly Lin as a romantic rival who reluctantly helps Argento out in the end. The direction by Olivier Assayas - in the second half at least - is crisp, focused and exciting, and the visuals alone are enough to compensate for some of the gaping holes in the storyline.
One caveat, however: while technically a French movie, most of the dialogue is actually in English. However, there are times when the movie unaccountably lapses into un-subtitled French and Chinese, leaving the audience in the dark as to a few, possibly crucial, details in the story, proving yet again that a picture is not necessarily always worth a thousand words.
Movie Review: BOADING GATE
Summary: 3 Stars
I only purchased this movie because Isia Argento looked sexy in it, it is not a bad movie if you are bored you can watch it and waste some time on it.Movie Review: A swirling mass of confusion saved only by Asia Argento
Summary: 2 Stars
My husband and I only watched this because of the provocative DVD cover and lived to regret it. Sure, Asia Argento looks sexy on the cover, giving the impression that this is some sort of sexy thriller. It really is neither - the sexy bits are all kind of fuzzy, and some of the sexy scenes end up being more brutal than sexy, and as for the thriller part, the meandering script adds more to one's confusion than answer questions.
The basic plot - Argento plays Sandra, an ex-hooker who has a sordid history with financier, Miles [Michael Madsen] who is based in Paris. Sandra needs money to buy herself a new life running a club partnership in Beijing, and this causes her to re-enter Miles' life as well as an Asian couple, Lester and Sue [Carl Ng and Kelly Lin]. A tryst gone wrong ends with an unexpected murder and Sandra finds herself on the run - taking off to Hong Kong where even more plot intrigues abound and the movie itself becomes a derailed mess.
There is even an appearance by Kim Gordon [of Sonic Youth] here - quite memorable if only because she is spewing Cantonese. At various points in the movie, we not only get an earful of English [and badly spoken English at times ], but also French and Cantonese.
As for eroticism, yes, there is a bit of that in the sex scenes between Sandra and Miles/ Sandra and Lester - but the chemistry really isn't very credible. What is credible though is Asia Argento's performance - she portrays a troubled woman convincingly, one who is able to exude a sense of the erotic whilst appearing demented. She really should be in better movies [not B-graders like this].
Final verdict: watchable for Argento's performance.
Movie Review: Asia Argento is reason enough to see this French thriller.
Summary: 3 Stars
Asia Argento (Mother of Tears; Transylvania) saves this 2007 erotic French thriller whenever it teeters on the edge of disaster. Written and directed by Olivier Assayas, Boarding Gate stars Argento (the beautiful daughter of Italian horror film director, Dario Argento), Michael Madsen, Carl Ng, Kelly Lin, and Kim Gordon (of the band Sonic Youth). Set in Paris and Hong Kong, the B-movie tells the story of a sexy drug runner, Sandra (Argento), and her sleazy underworld entrepreneur ex-lover, Miles Rennberg (Madsen). Their relationship mostly involves drinking, masochism, co-dependency, and a variety of sexual games. It eventually leads Sandra into a labyrinthine of danger in the streets of Hong Kong. Asia Argento sets the screen on fire her stunning physical presence. This movie is at its best when the camera is fixed on her in various states of undress, and she makes it easy to forgive this film (which features a soundtrack by Brian Eno) for its many faults.
G. Merritt
Movie Review: Nice DVD Jacket, Which Tells You Nothing About the Film
Summary: 1 Stars
The greatest thing about "Boarding Gate" is its poster. Whoever made the poster and DVD jacket of the film knows the film's only merit: Asia Argento. The film has nothing to offer but her acting, which is impressive considering the mess she is in.
First you must know a few things about Asia Argento's role Sandra because "Boarding Gate" may be tagged as "Thriller," her character is neither professional assassin nor femme fatale. She is just an ordinary woman trapped between men and their intrigues. I mean, two bad men.
One of them is Miles played by Michael Madsen. The film opens with Sandra and Miles in his office, and long dialogues between Sandra and Miles suggest their past relationship and the underground business of Miles who used her for money. Their uninteresting talk goes on and on, never getting to the point. But what is the point? The film barely passes the 10 minute mark, but you start to think: Who cares?
But you still need to sit through the terribly drawn-out story of a woman who "lost control"; another man and a drug deal; a married Chinese couple; and dead bodies and escape in Hong Kong. Writer/director Olivier Assayas, as he did in "Demonlover," tries to say something about the dark side of humanity in modern civilization. What he is trying to say with his convoluted screenplay is all-too-familiar, however, and his pretentious direction only reveals the film's emptiness.
Anyone who loves Asia Argento should see "B. Monkey." It is not the greatest thriller, but at least it knows what it is doing. And the poster is great.