Paradise: Love (2012)

Wonderfully offbeat film!

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

To begin with, this movie would certainly be rated NC-17, and it is impossible for it to get a wide commercial release with the subject matter and nudity. The acting and scenery is terrific, and has an almost documentary-like feel to it. The realism of the characters makes some parts even more cringe-worthy and difficult to watch. The movie also tackled a lot of different aspects in western society, such as the pressures placed on women about physical appearances. The main actress in the movie is really convincing in her role and really puts herself out there for the viewers. Its interesting how she starts off trying to be like her friends, but then seeks out love in her naivete. Even during the birthday party and with the bartender, she shows how she is not like her other boy-toy seeking friends.

Finally some meaningful film on the repertoire! I loved it although I found it a little bit slow, but I still gave it 7 out of 10. Life in reality is slow, so it is natural.So is sex. Natural! That is showing in this film. Everyone needs sex and love! So do fat Austrian women. In Austria they probably would not get any, so they have to travel to Kenya. Kenyan are so poor that it is a way to make some money. It is business! Sex tourism! There is so much of it today all over the world. Sad and funny and heartwarming at the same time.If you want a little bit break from Hollywood, please watch this.

This film is certainly not for the faint of heart. A woman (a nurse). who is obsessive compulsive about cleanliness and who micromanages her daughter, escapes to Kenya for a vacation. She 'loves' her daughter and she wants 'love' from these male prostitutes. The whole concept is extremely sad. Maybe it is true that this is the human condition for some women but I just found it too offensive to watch. It made me sick to my stomach to see the racism and objectification going on. I disagree with other reviewers' descriptions of the sexual frankness and naturalness. The whole film is fraught with awkwardness and vulgarity. None of these characters is really there for love. It is a docu-drama on sexual exploitation and racism. And it reveals painfully the incredible imbalance of power that exists on this planet as well as the extreme lack of sexual maturity and ability to create intimacy in our lives. Eros permeates everything and is what can lead us to experience true intimacy and ecstasy. But when all is seen as an object for one's own pleasure, for an escape from pain, there is no eros, no love. Of course, the filmmaker isn't trying to show us true love. Obviously, this is about the whole problem of the emptiness in these women's lives. And perhaps it shows men who are into sex tourism just what they're doing better than if it were a male centric sex tourist film. But I find it so flat and I agree with one of the reviewers that that is because the director never takes a moment to allow even a bit of connection, true humanity to shine through. It's hard to find this scenario plausible because I can't believe that the only thing these woman want to do is get laid. But then again, I might be naive. Maybe that is all they want after all.

Unfortunately, Paradies: Liebe doesn't really meet my criteria for a thought-provoking cinematic masterpiece and I have to say there is usually much better stuff in Cannes to watch than this. Then again, the subject may be interesting for age groups of 40+ where aging, feeling of belonging, dream of true everlasting love etc is definitely much more relevant. For me, the movie felt empty and a bit too slow. There were some interesting clues left to point finger on how the Western world is dealing with the 3rd world problem or how shallow most people are in foreign cultures but other than that, it was a rather painful trip through a world of grotesque reality.To sum up: go and see if you're a huge fan of social criticism or Ulrich Seidl, otherwise don't waste your time please. Although I have to admit, the movie did create some interest towards Seidl's other works, as the underlying idea was good, just the execution lacked and I hope the other works in the series work out better. Overall 5/10 from a demanding movie-goer.