The Lost Door (2008)

Just perfect...

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

There is little that is not a struggle or confrontation in life. This movie shows the showdown between two people, at opposite odds, who are not able to understand one another. But who may be the same. Production values are high, while production costs are well below almost virtually all studio budgets. And produced and directed by a singular artist. While there are structural problems in the script, an attempt was made to make up for them, that is obvious. Casting is uneven, but the actions and the situations of the characters are engaging and make the viewer want to see and listen to more. Stuart's photography and lighting, well-known via his books, highlight erotic and dramatic moments that bring to life real people in a contemporary art scheme of life: nothing matters, but that nothing is a matter of life or death.

I think summarising the whole film I could to the least say that it is nicely filmedalthough the contents of it are not to my usual likes..maybe as a movie is not suited but to a particular kind of audience.However the main character Kristina has a very powerful presence and for that alone the film deserves to be seen and merits to be appreciatedI would recommend to watch this more than only ones as you may find that it has a certain provocative intentions that go behind expectations Mikaela Fisher is an astonish actressof a breath taking beauty and has got a real flair !!

When I saw the film, I was disappointed.Mr.Stuart is very expressive as photographer, what unfortunately I cannot say from his work as filmmaker.I have the impression he put picture to picture, but forgot content and message.It seems, he was lost in The Lost Door and had problems to make the story together.What I enjoyed:The music - original and emotional. And the characters of Kristina and Catherine: - credible and absolutely authentic.Thanks to the outstanding performance of Mikaela Fisher and Anna Bielska the film has a professional touch.With your abilities, Mr. Stuart and the talent of such actors you would be able to do an exceptional work in future.

The Lost Door is an erotic thriller that straddles the line between fantasy and reality. This interplay is already a dominant theme in Stuart's photography and it is explored in a new light with the added complexities of dialogue, motion and music. The driving energy of this film derives from imbalanced relationships- captor and inmate; teacher and student; lover and seducer... The roles of domination and submission are in continuous flux; fantasy and reality become alternately indistinguishable as characters surrender to their desires and then succumb to reason.The cast of actors perform passionately and Nicole Auberger is a particular standout- both for her endearing naivety and phenomenal beauty. The musical score heightens the romance and intrigue, with sudden pauses of silence applied to good dramatic effect. Quirky details indulge us with insight into Stuart's creative mind: carefully captured reflections off a pair of sunglasses, the odd line of dialogue in Chinese, the humor of a tree shaped like a vulva.The outtakes and supplemental scenes are a must-see, particularly the beggar who fakes an injured leg. Stuart likes to explore different fantasies in his work and the hot beggar is a good one. Anybody who has spent time around Paris will understand.This is a complex and multifaceted film, the type that you will want to watch at least once.