Seduction of the sirens
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Seduction of the sirens |
| Original title | Sirens |
| Country of production | Australia , UK |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1994 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Duigan |
| script | John Duigan |
| production |
Justin Ackerman , Hans Brockmann , Robert Jones , Sue Milliken |
| music | Rachel Portman |
| camera | Geoff Burton |
| cut | Humphrey Dixon |
| occupation | |
| |
Seduction of the Sirens (Original title: Sirens ) is a British - Australian comedy film directed by John Duigan from 1994. The main roles were played by Sam Neill , Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald .
action
The painter Norman Lindsay ( Sam Neil ) caused a scandal in Australia in 1930 with his painting “The Crucified Venus” : The picture to be exhibited shows a naked, crucified woman. The Anglican priest Anthony Campion ( Hugh Grant ), who has just arrived from the United Kingdom, is commissioned by the Bishop of Sidney to visit Lindsay and convince her to choose less offensive or blasphemous motives.
Together with his wife Estella ( Tara Fitzgerald ) Campion then travels to the artist's seat in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
There they meet Lindsay's wife Rose ( Pamela Rabe ), the two models Pru ( Kate Fischer ) and Sheela ( Elle Macpherson ) and the maid Giddy ( Portia de Rossi ), all of whom pose for Lindsay. The company is completed by Devlin ( Mark Gerber ), a semi-blind "casual worker" who also stands for Lindsay Modell.
At first, Anthony Campion and his wife are disturbed by the open conversations about human sexuality that the members of the bohemian group are having, and by the numerous moments in the studio as well as outside of the house when they encounter naked members of Lindsay's community. The conflict with their own attitudes is revealed when Anthony and Estella find the young women bathing naked in the pool and watching them with interest instead of turning aside in shame.
This motif is repeated again when Estella Campions wants to go swimming with the two models and the maid one morning, but only she and the maid wear bathing suits. In addition, it shakes their worldview that the unclothed models flirt free of shame with the quasi-blind Devlin, who has appeared at the scene in the meantime. Later on, Estella comes across a situation in which the two models are stroking the maid and joins them in the process. Priest Campion discovers the scene and observes it without intervening. In contrast to him, Estella - who knows intimacy and physical exertion in her marriage, but no passion - is increasingly influenced in her attitude to sexuality by the sensual environment and the artistic bohemian , which represent siren calls. So, with the moral support of the models, she begins to react to some of the impulses and, for example, visits the semi-blind Devlin at night, who brings her to orgasm - which, however, leads to feelings of remorse the next morning. However, she also reacts to the words of her husband, who had previously witnessed the sensual moment between the women as an observer, and experiences a moment of passion with him.
A little later, the finale of the film rings in: Anthony Campion discovers a group of naked women in a painting by Lindsay, in which his partner can also be seen, which causes great indignation. There is also talk of a lawsuit. Estella, on the other hand, only examines the work to see whether it has been hit well and with an affirmative statement takes the force out of her husband's indignation.
The following day, Anthony and Estella leave the painter's seat and his community and travel by train in a shared compartment. As an expression of her changed posture, Estella caresses her husband with her stocking-covered foot.
background
The images shown in the film come from the well-known Australian artist Norman Lindsay (1879–1969). The film was shot on Lindsay's actual country estate. The permissive lifestyle that actually prevailed there was also incorporated into the script.
symbolism
The film cannot simply be explained as a comedy. The conflict between church and sexuality is mirrored with irony. Hallucinations and dreams represent the pastor's wife's world of thought. The snake as a symbol of seduction is often shown without the protagonists noticing it. Fatal bites are only cited in newspaper reports.
Reviews
The Lexicon of International Films wrote that comedy is not free from clichés. In part, it appears "banal and overly constructed". Roger Ebert found in the Chicago Sun-Times that the plot was more of an observation of the change of the couple Campion. However, he praised the subtle direction.
In the New York Times , Janet Maslin stated that Sirens was best viewed as a " high-minded softcore daydream about the liberating sensuality of art" ( English " best watched as a soft-core, high-minded daydream about the liberating sensuality of art ") ) should be considered. Otherwise, the film often borders on stupidity and overstrains the symbolic meaning of snakes. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to enjoy the film.
For the Washington Post , Hal Hinson stated that “Seduction of the Sirens” was “not a terrible film” but “a peculiar, thoroughly desirable art-house hybrid”, a kind of “marriage between Masterpiece Theater ”, an anthology series on non-commercial TV -Sender chain PBS , and " Baywatch ".
Awards
The comedy was nominated for the 1994 Australian Film Institute Award in three categories. The nominees included Tara Fitzgerald and Rachel Portman.
Web links
- Sirens in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Sirens at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Janet Maslin: Review / Film; Naughtiness in Pooh Land. In: nytimes.com. March 4, 1994, Retrieved March 5, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Hal Hinson: 'Sirens' (R). In: washingtonpost.come. March 11, 1994, Retrieved March 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Seduction of the Sirens. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. Roger Ebert on rogerebert.suntimes.com