TIFF 2012: ‘Paradise: Love’ spirals through self-image; cultural hierarchy
Paradise: LoveWritten by Ulrich Seidl & Veronika Franz
Directed by Ulrich Seidl
Austria/Germany/France, 2012The commencement of an apparent trilogy following women in search of varying forms of satisfaction they are unable to achieve within the confines of day-to-day life, Paradise: Loveskirts us off to a Kenyan resort with ready promises of lavish luxury and rare, exotic sex. What is found despite desperate persistence, however, is a series of mounting disappointments only reinforcing the personal issues at our protagonist’s core.Though several shots throughout seem meticulously arranged – and all the more classically lovely for it – co-writer/director Ulrich Seidl’s often widely composed exhibition of his central tourist allows her longing for attention and more quietly developed hang-ups with body image to command the piece amongst complimentarily competing themes of objectification, cultural hierarchy and mutual exploitation. The carefully set-back camera watches mature lead actress Margarete Tiesel’s sexuality naturally blossom as her character allows the illusion of acceptance to lead her down a repetitious yet progressively dark path. Tiesel is supported by a superb ensemble of suitors and gal-pals who, to their great credit, generate a highly authentic aura about the contrarily fictional material.
To be sure, few are likely to label Paradise: Love as thematically simplistic. Audience sympathies may sway depending on fluxes in immediate significance of the shared foci as the picture progresses, yet each ever-present aspect becomes ambiguously rounded through dynamic shifts in repeated scenarios. One may be the privileged vacationer on a lonely quest for what may be considered “love” while the other exists in a perpetually and thoroughly demeaned lifestyle dictated by poverty and local tourism, but each side is simultaneously victim and culprit of dehumanizing solicitation and advantage-taking.
This visually assured and generally excellent first installment in Seidl’s proposed trilogy sets its stage with patient intricacy while slowly, unforgivingly illustrating a tale that threatens to linger long with those open to its numerous facets. The indelible mark has been made; now comes the wait for Paradise: Faith.
- Tom Stoup
Learn more about Paradise: Love at TIFF 2012 here and the Toronto International Film Festival here.
Aspiring filmmaker Tom Stoup has been regularly featured as an editor, interviewer and contributing writer in Icon Magazine, Behold Florida and ReelTimePodcast.org. He has earned a degree in the science of film, currently co-hosts "Almost Arthouse" with Ty Landis and blogs at WeToldYouWhattoDream.blogspot.com. 
