Film Review: Ulrich Seidl’s ‘Paradise’ Trilogy Proves Darkly Transfixing

Submitted by mattmovieman on May 30, 2013 - 8:16am

CHICAGO – What is paradise but a mirage unaccustomed to reality? It hovers over us at all times, tantalizing our minds with illusions of perfection, divinity and eternal harmony. Only when one reaches out with desiring hands does it fade into the ether. No one seeks utopia without setting themselves up for certain disappointment.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Ulrich Seidl’s “Paradise” trilogy is a meditation on this theme in three movements. It presents us with three women each looking for their own impassioned conceptualization of paradise in all the wrong places. Watching them unfold is like bearing witness to a train wreck in slow-motion, but Seidl (the brilliant Austrian director of “Import/Export”) makes it impossible for us to tear our eyes away. This is a cautionary epic bristling with wicked humor and arresting intimacy. We get to know these women so well that our hearts ache for them even as we shake our heads in bewilderment.

Read Matt Fagerholm’s full review of the “Paradise” Trilogy in our reviews section.

Garnering the most attention (and screening slots in Chicago) is the trilogy’s first installment, “Paradise: Love,” starring Margarete Tiesel in what is truly one of the year’s most astonishingly fearless performances. She plays Teresa, a 50-year-old Austrian mother vacationing in Kenya who becomes seduced by the gorgeous local men selling their impeccably toned bodies for cash. In a series of hilariously frank conversations with her equally horny friends, Teresa exudes a deep-seated desire to be loved by a man who can see past her ample body fat and wrinkled skin. Though she resists the advances of aggressive would-be prostitutes, Teresa eventually caves in to Munga (Peter Kazunga), the one man with the patience to wait around for skittish clients. When he looks at her, Teresa feels as if he’s peering into her soul, but what he’s really looking for is her money. The game of mutual exploitation waged by this pair is morbidly fascinating to behold, as Teresa gradually allows herself to get lost in the dream before awakening to the ugly truth. Her patronizing objectification of locals is no less reprehensible than their calculated behavior designed to drain lonely schlubs of their dollars. There are no innocents in Seidl’s melancholic world, but there are no cardboard caricatures either, just misguided humans struggling to contrive joy in an effort to evade encroaching despair. Their chances of finding happiness are as good as that of a camper attempting to start a fire with rain-soaked logs.

‘Paradise: Love,’ ‘Paradise: Faith’ and ‘Paradise: Hope’ star Margarete Tiesel, Maria Hofstätter, Melanie Lenz, Peter Kazungu, Nabil Saleh and Joseph Lorenz. They were written and directed by Ulrich Seidl. ‘Paradise Now’ was released Friday, May 31st at the Gene Siskel Film Center. ‘Paradise: Faith’ and ‘Paradise: Hope’ will screen Saturday, June 1st. They are not rated.

Continue reading for Matt Fagerholm’s full “Paradise” Trilogy review.