Sue - A woman in New York
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Sue - A woman in New York |
| Original title | Sue |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1997 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Amos Kollek |
| script | Amos Kollek |
| production | Amos Kollek, Zack Habakuk , Osnat Shalev |
| music | Chico Freeman |
| camera | Ed Talavera |
| cut | Elizabeth Gazzara |
| occupation | |
| |
Sue - A woman in New York ( Sue ) is an American film drama by Amos Kollek from the year 1997 . It opened a series of films by the director and lead actress about the life of outsiders in New York, including Sue and Fiona (1998), Fast Food, Fast Women (2000) and Bridget (2002).
action
Sue, a good-looking, intelligent woman in her late 30s or early 40s, moved from a provincial town to New York City , where she lives alone in a Manhattan apartment . She suffers from her loneliness, often cries, talks to herself, gets drunk. Outside of her apartment, however, she doesn’t show anything, sometimes even looks amused. Sue has been unemployed for a long time and has not been able to pay the rent for months, so her landlord threatens to give her notice.
When she doesn't (almost always in vain) look for a job, she makes aimless excursions within the city and speaks to other people, mostly men. Some people react extremely negatively to her, while others like her with her nice manner. She suffers from loneliness, but also describes herself as "addicted" to the city. Out of desperation, she even tries to involve a woman from the operator in a personal conversation on the phone, which she only partially succeeds in doing. There are fleeting sexual encounters in a wide variety of situations, for example in a movie theater with the man in the seat next to her, or when someone more or less accidentally rings her doorbell.
Sue met an attractive young man in a pub and gave him her phone number. A little later they happen to meet again in the subway and finally sleep together. Ben is a travel writer and has a lot to do. Still, she spends a good time with him and is really happy for a while. Sue also quickly becomes friends with a waitress after she accidentally met her outside the bar in a laundromat. The waitress also offers her money to pay the rent, but she can't really bring herself to accept this help.
Meanwhile, Ben shows that he is seriously interested in Sue and she obviously likes him too, but is afraid of being hurt by him. After a few weeks of acquaintance, he calls her from the airport and tells her that he has to go to India immediately. Sue feels confirmed in her fears. It is only with difficulty that Ben can make it clear to her that he will come back to her soon.
She finally got a job as a secretary in a law firm, but was fired again after a short time. Sue begins her aimless excursions again and embarks on sexual adventures again. For example, she thinks a man is a prostitute. She gets involved with him more for fun and later foregoes the money, even though she could actually use every penny. And she even exchanges tenderness with a homeless man.
She finds a new job as a waitress, but earns too little to keep her apartment longer. When she comes home from one of her trips, she finds her furniture in the hallway and the notice on the outside of the apartment door. She moves into a cheap hotel where prostitutes do their jobs and can pay them on a daily basis, but with prices of 50 dollars a night it is foreseeable that she will not be able to hold this place for long.
Now she decides to accept the offer of help from the waitress, with whom she had become friends but who has since left the city for Los Angeles. Sue calls the woman, who is still willing to provide financial help, but is not even able to give the woman the bank details for a transfer.
Then Ben comes back from his trip and meets Sue on the street in front of her former apartment, which she had gone to to get his postcards from the mailbox (although she no longer lives there). Ben is genuinely happy to see you again and invites you to dinner for the evening. He even gives Sue money at her request and without thinking twice. Obviously he is the person who could save Sue from her plight financially as well as emotionally, as he is still very interested in her and at the same time apparently has his own life under control. But she is completely unable to accept his help.
On a bench on which she had previously spoken to the homeless man and exchanged tenderness, she is now sitting alone, in a shabby state and very weak. She speaks briefly to a boy, then lies down on the bench to sleep. The film ends relatively abruptly and with an open ending.
Reviews
Maria Garcia wrote in the film Journal International that watching means 90 " tiring " minutes. The director's “ disinterested ” point of view would shape the film, the characters' motivation is not visible. The film is technically well made and doesn't look like a cheap independent film.
Cinema magazine wrote that the film was a " haunting portrait of a young unemployed New Yorker on her way into social isolation " and at the same time " the radical alternative to all the cheerful big city comedies of recent years ". The main actress plays her role with a “ relentless openness ” that is “ unbearable ”.
Film-dienst 18/1997 wrote that the film was a “ deeply disturbing urban tragedy ” that the “ extraordinary leading actress ” would carry.
Critic.de said that as a female portrait, the film was “ one of the most ruthless of the last ten years ” and was staged “ with a rough realism that appears both documentary and fictional ”.
Awards
In 1998 Amos Kollek won two prizes at the Berlin International Film Festival , including the FIPRESCI Prize . He was nominated for a 1998 Deauville Film Festival award.
background
The film was shot in New York City . It had its world premiere on September 12, 1997 at the Toronto International Film Festival .
Individual evidence
- ^ Critique by Maria Garcia, accessed on July 19, 2007
- ↑ www.cinema.de, accessed on July 19, 2007
- ↑ Quotation from www.djfl.de, accessed on July 19, 2007 ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Short review on Critic.de
- ^ Filming locations for Sue, accessed July 19, 2007
- ↑ Sue's premiere dates, accessed July 19, 2007