Tag Archives: Carla Juri

Domestic Bliss

Amulet

by Hope Madden

It’s a comforting notion, the idea that we each need to forgive ourselves for the wrongs we’ve done in order to heal and move forward. Everyone deserves to be happy, right?

But is that forgiveness ever really ours to give? Tomaz (a remarkable Alec Secareanu) doesn’t think so.

Making her feature debut as writer/director, Romola Garai delivers an entrancing horror show concerned with sexual politics, cowardice and proper punishment.

Tomaz is living a destitute existence as a day laborer in London, picking up gigs as he can and sheltering at night with others like him—mainly refugees wordlessly sharing space in an abandoned building. He used to live in an unnamed but war torn European nation, and his dreams are still haunted by the experience.

A chance encounter puts Tomaz in the path of Sister Claire (Imelda Staunton, relishing her small role). She introduces Tomaz to Magda (Carla Juri, Wetlands), who needs help with the house that’s falling down around her and her ailing, bedridden mother.

From there, Garai toys with familiar horror elements—the decrepit building as metaphor, the horrifying relative hidden away—but you can never predict Amulet’s secrets.

Juri is hypnotic as the reluctant, wearied, lonesome Magda and her slow growing chemistry with Tomaz creates a quietly seductive force for the film. Clearly Tomaz should leave, there is something powerfully unhealthy happening in this house. But maybe this is his path to happiness? Maybe he can help?

That’s how the film traps you, because Secareanu is terribly empathetic and because it is his point of view we share. His performance is full of understated power and, paired with Juri’s resigned sensuality, it holds your interest.

Garai braids two mysteries together, the one Tomaz is living and the one he’s keeping from us. That second secret haunts his dreams and, little by little, he convinces himself that unraveling the mystery in this house might free him from his past.

The delivery is measured and creepy, and though the final act feels simultaneously tidy and nonsensical, the mysteries themselves—not to mention a trio of excellent performances—more than satisfy.

Shock and Awwww

 

Wetlands (Feuchtgebiete)

by George Wolf

 

Every once in awhile, a movie comes along about a young girl with anal fissures and a fascination with bodily fluids.

Not familiar with that genre? Get to know Wetlands.

Based on the “scandalous” semi-autobiographical novel by Charlotte Roche, it’s an often shocking, uncomfortable film, sporting a remarkable lead performance and a tender, funny soul aching to be discovered, even as it’s daring you to keep watching.

That soul is personified by 18 year-old Helen (Carla Juri), an eccentric German girl with eyebrow-raising attitudes about sex and hygiene, which she’s only too happy to share. During a hospital stay to treat her fissure, Helen narrates flashbacks in her life story, and we learn about her unusual philosophies, including the reason she wants her estranged parents to reunite.

Juri’s performance is an absolute marvel. Beyond the fearlessness, Juri finds amazing depth, never letting us forget that Helen is more than a simple wild child. She is pushing limits on all fronts, testing the validity of social taboos passed down by her mother, and finding comfort in the age-old teenage goal of surviving your parents. Remarkably assured for her years, Juri paints Helen as a completely authentic mix of rebellion, perversion and hurt.

Director David Wnendt gives the film a wonderful punk-rock vibe throughout, and keeps it grounded in coming of age honesty while also showing gross-out comedies how to be grosser. Despite one or two moments that feel a bit obvious, Wnendt’s vision for bringing the book to life is clear and true.

Anyone who’s seen Lars von Trier’s recent Nymphomanaic films will appreciate Wetlands even more. While LvT hijacked a woman’s extremely blunt sexuality for a narcissistic personal statement, Wnendt knows better than to stray from the path of Helen’s extremely personal journey.

If you haven’t guessed, Wetlands is definitely not a movie for everybody.

But, you know what? With this much humanity, hilarity and all-out balls, maybe it should be.

 

Verdict-4-0-Stars