Siberia

Love to have been at the meeting where Ferrara pitched this film and someone told him 'Go make it.' I love to say something about 'Siberia's' story but there isn't one. Well acted and I'd love to give it props for production but as far as I can tell it's just a lot of weirdness posing as something profound.

And appropriately I fell asleep halfway through. I did wake up eventually and watch it all but only with a few cups of coffee to keep me going. I usually love Ferrara and thought I could watch Dafoe in anything. This tested that theory to destruction. Oh there are some excellent scenes but on the whole it's just so soporific. Maybe it's all that snow..............................

This film has no story. It is just a collection of scenes which are sexual, twisted or bloody. I find it quite a torture to watch.

I just watched it at Berlinale festival and liked it. Many people left the theatre during the film. For example when they saw a naked person or something they might not understand. Sure, it's not a Larry wants Harry to meet Barry film. I watched such horrible films. The last days. And this one was beautifully shot. People are not able anymore to just watch and try to understand. They need it all clear and dull. And as soon they see a naked woman they call it sexist, even when it's intention is the complete opposite. It's a philosophical film about life and relationships and also about the human nature and nature itself within its powers way beyond ours. It's episodically filmed with many layers. I'm so saddened about what I experienced around me in the cinema. Ferrara was always edgy and thank god he is. That's art. That's freedom of art. Unpleasant. My favorite film of the Berlinale so far.

If my dreams would be that boring, I would simply stay awake till I get some real trippy stuff going on in my mind. Verdict: pseudo-artsy-intellectual movie that achieved mainly one emotion in my soul: boredom by torture (if this of course was/is the aim of writer and director, they did well). Some introspective scenes including some nudity and violence don't make something good by itself, and even Mr. Dafoe's acting skills could not save this movie for me - and I really like some of his more experimental and trippy movies like The Lighthouse (2019, also directed by Abel Ferrara) or Antichrist (2009, Lars von Trier).