ON BODY AND SOUL (2017)
2/2/2018 - On body and soul (2017) - 7-/10
A slow and heavily idiosyncratic film that grew into its strange little place, however despairingly alien or acutely European subdued that might be. It is weird, quiet, dreamy, and introverted. The scenery vacillates between idyllic and utilitarian, all the while delivering a recognizable vessel for a unique description and experience of love & its ineffable connection. The heart of this film pulses and bathes you, bending you to its weight and the sentimentality of recognizing the inner nature of the two leads.
A little examination of some kind of an adult autistic savant woman and an over-the-hill man with a non-functional arm. They are both “broken” in society’s eyes, but their dreams set them free to meet each other and connect. There was cuteness, wry humor, and some deeper cutting emotional baggage; all framed against the backdrop of this beautiful their daily existence/special deer dream. Both actors brought a reticent passion and thirst in their eyes, as their faces were marble statues.
It lulled at the beginning but drew me in as I grappled with and identified with these characters. Very much a film that you either adapt to and embrace, or it won’t work for you. It is not trying to be widely loved or take you on a magical realism holiday. It is sad, but tinged with an alchemical tenderness and personality that leave you satisfied.
Special note: The use of Laura Marling’s “What He Wrote” just worked so well, plus that song is fantastic.