Sereias

I absolutely love this truly erotic film. An exploration of the awakening of a woman's sexuality, it is beautifully filmed and acted, and has many moments of wit and humour.

Some reviewers object to the heavily laden symbolism attributed to various parts, such as the shots of the snake. Well, symbolism is part of what good writers refer to as "subtext", it isn't too often seen these days, and is at least part of an attempt to have the film say more than what the characters say to each other. This is an artistically valid thing for any film to do, and raises the level of film culture generally, if only a little.

I have yet to see anyone commenting on the superb score - this wonderful music by Rachel Portman (whose work I otherwise do not know) is a delight from start to finish, and unlike most movie music, would stand on its own as a concert piece. The main theme, quirky, cheerful and rhythmically very interesting, seems to take as its inspiration the Vaughan Williams "March of the Kitchen Utensils" heard at the very start of the film as we follow Hugh Grant's feet walking through the art gallery, but it is very much an excellent piece of music in its own right. The "Dream Variations" are suitably dreamy, and coupled with the slow motion photography make for a superb piece of cinema.

John Duigan (writer, director) is not often mentioned in the same breath as other well known Australian directors such as George Miller or Peter Weir or Bruce Beresford, but personally I think he stands up with the best of them. A true Auteur (he has scripted most of the films he has directed) his films are always very interesting character studies. A more well known recent film he made was "The Leading Man" which starred Jon Bon Jovi as an American actor who comes to London to appear in a West End Play, and is "hired" by the director to seduce his wife. As in The Leading Man, Sirens is about the interactions between characters, this providing in my view more than enough in the way of plot and sub-plot. If Duigan's films always seem to be about human sexuality, well, after all, that is what drives most human relationships, whether we want to admit it or not. I think what stands out about Duigan's films, and particularly about Sirens, is their total honesty about human sexuality, without (and I know some will disagree) being excessively prurient.

A final line - I love the helicopter shot at the very, very end of the film. It is a beautiful, painterly landscape scene (which fades out *just* too soon), but one's love of its beauty is strengthened by one's admiration of the five actresses, who had to climb to the top of this sheer-looking rocky outcrop and remove all their clothes for the shot! They have my appreciation, and my sympathy!

It is not the bosoms, really. No, there is an earnest quality here that is dependent on performances and landscapes and an essential moral tale than on the bounteousness of bums and bosoms frolicking in Australia. Neil is always good, Tara Fitzgerland is fine, and that often one-note Hugh Grant works perfectly as a priggish English priest who opens up ever so slightly when all is said and done. And much is said and some is done. There is some absolutley wonderful photography and some perfectly awful and obvious photography that would make Hallmark blush. Pretty good script with the story wandering about more than a bit. Shorter would have been better and the blue shots of nude statuary of indifferent quality by this nice but hardly profound Australian artist(on whose life and an episode therein, is it based)could have been a one-shot affair for my money. But I liked it for the performances.

I knew nothing about this movie, but offered to accompany a woman I had known for some time, but had never been on more than vaguely friendly terms. I was not prepared for the charm, playfulness, joy and raw sensuality that this film captured. Sam Neill is the ultimate sensualist, yet indulges his children's fancies with innocent abandon. Hugh Grant is a likable doofus, and he is far outpaced by Tara Fitzgerald's acceptance of the pleasures of the flesh. In many ways, this couple reminded me of Brad & Janet in "Rocky Horror" - the man is either unable or too clueless to accept the sensual awakening that his companion does. Thus, I was pleased at my date's choice of film, and any discomfort of my own at being seduced by the screen on a first date soon passed from my date's reactions to the sexy scenes. On the anniversary of that date, I paid the outrageous price of $59.95 for a VHS copy, and the repeat viewings were as pleasant as th first. We later married, and this was her idea, too.

P.S.: I recommend "The Advocate" for those who like "Sirens".

P.P.S.: I agree for the most part with Eamon Buchanan's comments, but, the models were "painted"in the nude, not "painting", and it was the Anglican church that was upset, not the Catholic (the Campions could not have been married if they were Catholic).

Having lived through similar experiences while in my late 20's, early 30's I found the movie both entertaining as well as sensitive. I suppose there could have been more graphic scenes for those of a more shallow nature needing to see some models naked and doing more, but that was not necessary for my wife and I to enjoy it- having been there, we knew what was not pictured.

Men, like the Preacher, often fail to see the sensuous side of women, either that or it frightens them. They see "sex" when they should be seeing loving and caring. The movie illustrates that nicely. The two townsmen who come to visit the models are a clear example of sex versus loving and sensuality. The clueless type is the Preacher.

"Sirens" seems to have touched a nerve here. Some reviewers dismiss it as derivative soft-core drivel. Others love it. It probably helps to know that there's little derivative about the story-it's based on real people and a real incident. Sam Neill's character--Norman Lindsay--was real. Lindsay, a prolific artist and novelist, was also a libertine living a Hugh Hefner lifestyle when the rest of the world was awakening from the Victorian Age. "Sirens" was filmed at the Lindsay home and gallery, a 40-acre estate now run by the Australian National Trust. The artworks are all Lindsay's. And the storyline is based on an incident in which the Anglican Church dispatched a cleric to convey concerns about "The Crucifixion of Venus." As for the plot, it's simply a humorous retelling of what might have been--with lots of voluptuous nudes and erotic symbolism tossed in for good measure. Yes, it's all quite predictable. You know five minutes into the film that the Converters will become the Converted. But it's a fun ride getting to that inevitable destination. `Sirens' is not for everyone. If full-frontal male and female nudity offends, you will be offended. If ridiculing the Church or its values offends, you will be offended. And if the notion that the cure for a boring marriage is a little extra-marital dalliance offends, you will truly be offended. Otherwise, it's a little erotic gem and a great way to start an even better evening. :)