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Amer (2009)

Posted By: Someonelse
Date: 25 Jul 2011 21:27:51
Amer (2009)

Amer (2009)
720p BluRay Rip | MKV | 1280 x 544 | x264 @ 6136 Kbps | 01:30:29 | 4,50 Gb
Audio: French DTS 5.1 @ 755 Kbps | Subs: English
Genre: Horror, Thriller | 7 wins | France, Belgium

Three key moments, all of them sensual, define Ana's life. Her carnal search sways between reality and colored fantasies becoming more and more oppressive. A black laced hand prevents her from screaming. The wind lifts her dress and caresses her thighs. A razor blade brushes her skin, where will this chaotic and carnivorous journey leave her?

IMDB

Cooked up by Belgian directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani in homage to Italian giallo horror films of the 1960s and ’70s, this tripartite melodramedy explores how a young woman’s twisted childhood affects her evolving carnality—which, if you know your Dario Argento, doesn’t exactly follow the high school sex-ed manual. A marriage of grossness and opulent beauty, this all but wordless movie takes us through the oppressive childhood of Ana, played at different stages by three actresses with bee-stung lips and haughty stares, in a baroque seaside chateau. From there, it moves through her adolescence—where a day at the beach with Mom, and a posse of leathered bikers, turns out to be no picnic—and on to her return to the chateau for some hackle-raising recovered memory involving granite-jawed men and very sharp knives. Amer, which means bitterness, plays down giallo icon Argento’s vivacious black comedy in favor of an arty creepiness that literally gives equal opportunity to the male and female gaze in an orgy of dueling eyeballs. The pleasures of this gorgeous, clever, and visceral film are almost exclusively aesthetic. Those unmoved or alienated by the porn of pain may be left flopping as nervelessly as one of the movie’s severed limbs.
Ella Taylor, The Village Voice
Amer (2009)

SCREENED AT THE 2010 BOSTON UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL: The most popular phrases being used to describe "Amer" tend to include the word giallo - it is giallo-inspired, reminiscent of the giallo films of the 1970s, etc., etc. This is true, but also misleading, because such descriptions often serve to subtly warn non-fans of the genre away. Everyone who enjoys good cinema and maybe a good scare should give "Amer" a chance, though; it's a thrilling, sexy, eye-watering gem.

Amer (2009)

It is split into three distinct vignettes: In the first, a young girl (Cassandra ForГЄt)sneaks around in her family's old house, catching glimpses of spooky things (as well as other things that people do at night). In the second, a teenager (Charlotte EugГЁne-Guibbaud), bored while while her mother visits the hairdresser, wanders off with a young man. In the third, a woman (Marie Bos) returns to her childhood home, now overgrown, but as evening comes, she finds that she may not be alone.

Amer (2009)

Whether these three are supposed to be the same person at three stages of her life or just represent three stages of life themselves is relatively unimportant; although you can find obvious links between the episodes, what is important is that each features its protagonist confronting sexuality and mortality. In the first, it's glimpses of her parents' lovemaking and an apparently mummified corpse; in the second, we seem to be catching her at the very moment she is blossoming into womanhood, a tipping point between pretty and sexy, with new dangers presenting themselves; and, finally, we see the house itself appearing dead and the lady sexy, but reserved in public.

Amer (2009)

Really digging into that sort of symbolism will likely require a second viewing, though, as the first one will likely be spent on things like biting nails and "look at that!" Filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani tell their stories in large part without words, though not silently - aside from excellent use of ambient noise and surround sound, they re-purpose giallo scores Tarantino-style (choosing a little Ennio Morricone, a little Bruno Nicolai, and a lot of Stelvio Cipriani) to build up the tension. That's already cranked nearly as high as it can go, as Amer is a master class in evoking emotion through cinematography and editing. The colors are lush, and while establishing shots will often make the lakeside town and manor look idyllic, the middle of action will pull into extreme close-ups and rapid cutting in a way that plays on the audience's nerves. Cattet, Forzani, and editor Bernard Beets excel at using that style to keep the audience on its toes or indicate that the leading lady doesn't know what's out there in the dark (and neither do we!) without making the events actually shown confusing.

Amer (2009)

And what we're seeing is some good, down-to-earth horror. The opening act is a quality kid's nightmare, with monsters not only under the bed but seeming to come out of every darkened corner, plenty eerie before the bony hands start with the grabbing and then a thrill ride. Despite little exposition being given, it's not hard to piece together one's own story from the iconic bits shown. The third act is similar, with what seems like a different monster presented in a simple but unnerving way; it also invites us to invent a history for its main character, perhaps including what goes on in the first part, or perhaps what has gone on in between. The middle is a respite of sorts, providing a different, sweeter sort of tension.

Amer (2009)

All three lead actresses do impressive jobs. Maybe Charlotte Eugène-Guibeaud has the hardest; I don't think she ever speaks, and though she seems to have a permanent teenage scowl, there's a full range of emotions going on behind it. Marie Bos is quite good, too, tense right from her entrance, holding something back, and breaking down as the danger grows. I confess, though, that my favorite might be Cassandra ForГЄt; the little girl does a great job not just screaming in terror but making her seem clever as well as scared, as well as nosy and otherwise not perfect.

All three headline fine miniature films on their on, but all three segments become richer and more intriguing as they are merged into a whole. The complete "Amer" is something special; gorgeous to look at and as tense as they come.
Jay Seaver, eFilmCritic
Amer (2009)

Any objective understanding of the narrative is tangled up in the subjective experience of Ana (played by three different actress) and the expressionist delirium served up by Cattet and Forzani. But this isn’t mere tribute to the genre, it’s a celebration of the style, the texture, the psycho-sexual atmosphere of the best films, recreated in a triptych that could be a horror film, a coming-of-age story or a twisted Walter Mitty adventure from a Dario Argento fanatic. It isn’t necessary to know the genre to enjoy the film. While it borrows from more films than I can identify (not simply visually but its choice selection of soundtrack themes as well), it’s not commenting on any individual film so much as appropriating the style and sensibility for its own purposes. It doesn’t merely acknowledge the expressionist possibilities in a genre beloved horror fans but unknown to most people, it condenses it into a concentrated extract: a 90-minute hit of the essence of giallo as a surreal subjective journey, part sexual awakening, part repressed fear, part rarified death dream. And while the cinematic phantasmagoria is more interesting than any psychological reading or narrative understanding, it’s like mainlining decades of giallo highlights in a single screening. Quite a trip indeed.
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
Amer (2009)

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