Attenberg

So, thanks to a Netflix recommendation I saw this unique film from Greece. It was made back in 2010 and was their submission to the 2012 Oscars for their foreign language entry. It's won 7 awards from various small film festivals around the country as well. I'm a sucker for foreign language movies if they have the little film festival olive branch thingys on the cover. Throw into the mix the story revolves around an awkward female hermit and I'm in.

The story is a character study revolving around Marina, a 23 year old Greek girl who's father is slowly dying of cancer. She's been brought up to live as a hermit with little contact to the outside world, save her best friend, Bella, who matches Marina's awkwardness with promiscuity. Marina finds herself opening up to the world as she must deal with her father's matter-of-fact atheist views in a small abandoned factory town.

I really enjoy how foreign films are not afraid of silence or sexual taboos. That being said, they were plentiful in this film. Marina's character was not a She's All That awkward, where she wears glasses but is secretly pretty cool. Her character was truly awkward and inept with social norms, be it carrying a conversation, kissing, or even the way she eats. There was enough plot action to keep this movie out of the mumblecore genre (which I'm not a huge fan of). The father-daughter relationship in the movie was written rather superbly. You really saw the connection through these characters.

The movie felt as though the director took the actors around to different locations and just filmed them some of the times. None of the shots looked planned out at all. There was very little framing, lighting, or anything typical of pre-planned cinematography. Most notable would be the handheld camera work and very jumpy rack focusing. While this type of cinematography veers to the raw side and some might be put off from it, I think it helped to give realism to the characters. Being a character study, it's about the characters and not the sets or plot. I think it was a smart choice by the director, although it may have also been due to the budget.

There was a genuine connection between these actors on screen. I must say that it portrays one of my new favorite father-daughter film portrayals. The actress that plays Marina, Ariane Labed, was a standout in the movie. In fact, two of the seven awards were for her performance. She somehow brought an air of innocence and extreme maturity to the role. There were some quite intimate scenes she had to do and pulled them off without hesitation. The three other main actors were right up there with her.

Even with the limited resources, this was a nice little movie. As with most independent foreign movies, there are some 'taboos' in the movie that won't appeal to certain mainstream audiences (example, I couldn't find an accessible picture of the movie cover that didn't cut off the bottom). "So much is said with one look the first time you meet a gorilla".