Antares (2004)

Antares tells three stories of passion jealously, routine and violence. Love is the cause of, and driving force behind the character's emotional and physical experiences. This film also tells us what this fundamental energy of life brings about and how it leads to human action or suffering. And finally, what it is capable of triggering in the way of longing and destruction, tenderness, fear, loneliness and courage.

Alex and Nicole are divorced but Alex cannot let go of what has passed. Sonja is facing tough times because of her pregnancy and becoming wildly jealous of her husband Marco. While Eva, a loyal wife and mother, has her life turned upside-down by a fling with Tomasz. They all live in the same impersonal housing estate, emotionally messy individuals within a uniform concrete façade.

Antares features explicit sexual content and mature themes in its portrayal of these modern relationships. Product Description

A new reality

Great movie for voyeurs. I gave this movie four stars; for its originality, its amazing subtleness in story continuity, which at times gave you the feeling of watching a superposed image in a reality show and the unpretentious, yet very professional work of these talented group of actors. With directors such as: Michael Haneke, Ulrich Seidl and Gotz Spielman Austria is ceirtainly becoming a leader in avant garde cinema for the 21st century. May 16, 2008

austrian angst

Antares is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, but everyone in this film flames out into darkness. As I watched the lives of three dysfunctional couples deconstruct, my mind wandered to the wisdom of the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria: "Be kind to all, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." All three couples are trapped in the same drab high rise apartments that serve as metaphors for their interior landscapes. The bored nurse Eva has an affair with an out of town doctor, but despite their torrid love affair she does not even remember the man's last name; nor do we ever learn her husband's name. The young and needy checkout clerk Sonja fakes a pregnancy to persuade her cheating boyfriend Marco to marry her. He's an immigrant laborer from Yugoslavia, injecting not only class-consciousness but ethnicity and immigration into the film. Despite her efforts to free herself, domestic violence traps Nicole with the jealous and abusive Alex, the third couple. In twists of fate that are more bizarre than important to the plot, the lives of these six people crash and collide, but only as ships passing in the night. Austrian angst buries everyone. In German with English subtitles. January 29, 2007

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