It's hard to know what to make of Ulrich Siedl's 'Paradise' trilogy, a series of films about the lives of unhappy middle-aged women. 'Faith' tells the story of someone dementedly committed to spreading the love of Jesus, in a life tragically devoid of any love from other humans. Her unexplained marriage to a paralysed, Muslim man is the source of especial unhappiness, although she seeks out misery apparently believing this is what God wants of her. It's grim, and believable, but the purpose of the first two films, with their pathetic yet unsympathetic protagonists and complete lack of redemption narrative, remains unclear. Somehow I'm not expecting a song-and-dance in film three either.
Review of Paradise: Faith
