ANTONIA (1995) *** Women treating men as sex objects! It's an outrage! Actually, so far as I can tell that has relatively little to do with it. This film wasn't at all like any of the reviews that I'd read, and it isn't much like this one's going to be. In fact it's almost a total waste of time trying to write a review about something so complex. Much has been made of the allegedly blatant feminism of Marleen Gorris' film, but to me it just looks like subtexts on the cruelty of man, the vulgarity of the herd, the danger of engaging in religion with strangers, and the reality that once you step outside of the accepted societal blueprint there's plenty of both freedom and terror. It's an ambitious film, offhand I can't think of a single taboo that isn't engaged, developed, and, ultimately, transcended by the mystery. At the same time there's a pervasive sense of Nederlander normality and common sense about it all. It sets out to engage as much of the universe as can be stuffed into a lifetime (as represented by two hours), so fair arguments can be made that the commentaries, while sharp, run unnecessarily shallow. I'm inclined to agree (with myself), but every mathematician knows that a bunch of shallow depths add up to a very deep one, and maybe that's part of what the mystery is or isn't all about. Quantity, quality, the inherent revolution of self-actualization, Harley Davidson, red wine, a broad-shouldered horse; it may not be entirely unlike what Allen Ginsberg would have come up with if he was a girl writing a film. If only they'd played "Birdland" at the end, with the flying saucers coming down.
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