Irina Palm
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Jenny Agutter, Kevin Bishop, Marianne Faithfull, Meg Wynn Owen, Miki Manojlovic Director: Sam Garbarski DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language) Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen Picture Format: 1.66:1 Running Time: 103 minutes DVD Release Date: 2008-08-12 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Strand Releasing |
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Movie Reviews of Irina Palm
Movie Review: Unpleasant movie watching experience
Summary: 2 Stars
This is an odd movie by Sam Garbarsky, a Belgian former advertising person who now makes feature films. Although it technically well done and has received respectful reviews here and other places, I found it unpleasant and depressing.
The two principal actors, Marianne Faithful and Miki Manojlovic, are excellent in difficult parts. However, the atmosphere is distasteful. Irina, a middle aged woman who needs money for her grandson, is constrained to go to work giving anonymous handjobs in a seamy sex parlor. In the first place, this is a preposterous premise; it is just hard to believe this is what any 50 year old conservative grandmother would actually do in real life, and there is nothing we learn about Irina's background that would make this plausible. Second, the atmosphere of the sex shop is unappealing and the movie spends a lot of time there. Third, her son and daughter-in-law are disrespectful to her, cruel really, which I found even more unpleasant to watch and seemed unecessary to the premise. When her involvement as a sex worker is discovered, her son and her friends are merciless in their contempt. If that is not enough to depress you, the backstory is a terminally ill grandchild. Really cheery way to spend a couple of hours. There is a love story between the principals, but it's not enough to redeem the whole.
Not every movie has to be fun and lighthearted of course but difficult or disturbing films reward us with a powerful drama or a powerful truth. In this case, I did admire the filmaking skill but watching this was just not enjoyable, and I failed to see the point.
If you would like to see an also difficult but much more uplifting European drama of family conflict, I recommend "Edge of Heaven."