Violet Lives Upstairs (2003) Poster

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9/10
sour grapes
nconrau2 June 2005
It seems to me that "hiroshimamonamour" has some very personal conflicts about the film.

For me, telephone conversations are incredibly exciting -- as is the languid camera, pastel and dizzy lines of the woman's apartment and the camp (but truthful) lovingly made lampshade.

The actress' performance was perfectly pitched and expresses all the frustration, humor and inner world necessary. The casting also ascribes an alienating quality to this "sort of woman" and "sort of story". Her heavy Polish features are reminiscent of Barbra Streisand -- and the gestural style of acting puts the emphasis on the irony and playfulness of the story. A naturalistic style of actress would have made this film "mawkish" but it is clear the reader has no understanding or historical reference for camp aesthetics or style.

People neglect camp cinema because they've never had to experience being on the outside or fringe of society. They have grown up with religion and dogma -- and have never had to see their life from more than one angle. This is why it took the world so long to catch on the Hartley, Allen, Almodovar, Waters and Haynes..... Like the gay guy in high school -- most people feel frustrated by their lack of so called "truth" because the truth is not represented in the way they want it to be represented.

The camp nature of this sort of aesthetic is pertinent for a mills and Boone type story such as this : the material comments on itself and is critically savvy. Afraid of being overly earnest or raw -- the film reflects the woman's fear in it's style and execution with excellent control.
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7/10
a sly comedy
susanfroemke17 October 2005
This is one of those sly comedy films that really leaves you never sure where you sit. One minute, it seems quirky and the next it seems like a drama. I liked the lead actress a whole lot and I think the director has a nice eye. One thing that bothered me was the father character but by the end he was quite sensual and I suppose the woman found the father also a bit cornball until the end as well. Id like to see this film at a longer length to see how it copes with the drama that i assume would come after its final moment. I saw this in a session of Australian shorts and there was another one that also stood up to memory, but it was a lot faster paced. ******* 1/2 out of ten
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10/10
a beautiful aussie short film. very clever!
hotblast118 January 2004
This film was a really clever look at how we romanticise the italian language, culture etc. Through a woman being seduced by a

father and son neighbour (one in words on the phone, one in

actions in "the real world") this woman is challenged with ideas

about how she feels about love and romance. It also makes funny

references to the cliches of italian cinema and language without

ever becoming too overt.

Nothing too obvious or overstated and the performances are really

well pitched. Saw it with a few other aussie films (roundabout?

and martha's new coat) and this was definitely the standout.

Music was a bit student films at times but sort of suited the film

better towards the end. In fact, the sets and everything felt a bit

colourful and postmodern and the camera work did nothing showy

-- wonderfully understated.

My only criticism is that is set up such an interesting world that it

should either have been longer to give us more context or back

story to know who this woman is. Then the film would have felt

less like a grandiose metaphor and maybe less tongue in cheek.

Understanding the woman more, the consequences of her choices and actions would have really broken our hearts if we

knew where she had come from. A small quibble...this is a tasty

little morsel.
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10/10
setubal: world perspectives
primitifcinema1 August 2005
i think is a strange movie but worth seeing from a woman's perspective. It is strange to me that a man can understand this sort of thing. Actually, some of this movie made me annoyed (and so short) but in the end of session of short films I think this was the most original. The lady does not look Australian to me but maybe that is the point but the movie does feel very quirky and there is many sexual double jokes to make you laugh. It is also artificial like Fassbinder perhaps so maybe I am too literal in my responses. I wonder if there are Australian feature films with same style or feeling. I have seen "Muriel's Wedding" but that is more kitsch than this.
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1/10
Grab bag of art house clichés and banality
gidjet18 May 2005
What could be less cinematic than endless telephone conversations? Especially between an astonishingly dull actress (playing an implausibly dull and 'quirky' character) and an Australian Italian laboring over a sultry Italian accent for the purpose of whispering poetry down said telephone to said dull actress.

This film has all the art house tropes: a lonely, unrequited woman. a mysterious, elusive man. walks along the beach. frustrated artistic ambition (if only the filmmaker had felt so frustrated). On this point, I assume that the production designer thought it would be a subtle touch to make the central characters homemade lampshades look like they had been made in a sheltered workshop.

I was surprised this was a funded film, it seemed more typical film school graduate pap. Mawkish, tedious and pretentious. I was moved to write this review after having read the previous review which ascribes various literary allusions that strike me as absurdly overblown.

The truth is that this film is a barely entertaining confection. Nothing more.
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