Paradise tells three stories – about three women, three holidays and three loves. The first woman travels to Kenya as a sex tourist. Out of love of Jesus the second woman tries to bring Catholicism back to the Austrian people. And the third, youngest woman loses her innocence in a weight loss camp. —filminstitut.at
Ulrich Seidl was born in Vienna in 1952 and grew up in the town of Horn in Lower Austria. He studied journalism, art history and drama in Vienna, supporting himself with odd jobs, before entering the prestigious Vienna Film Academy at the age of 26. In 1980 he made his first documentary, Einsvierzig. Following the controversy surrounding his second film, Der Ball (1982) – a wickedly satirical portrait of the graduation ball in his home town – Seidl was asked to leave the Film Academy. In 1990 he returned to the scene with the feature-length documentary Good News. Within the decade Seidl was to make seven more documentaries for cinema and television, winning much acclaim and many prizes for his work.
Hundstage – Dog Days, his first fiction film, was released in 2001 and won several important awards, beginning with the grand jury prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2001. The same year also saw the release of Zur Lage / State of… read more
Annoyingly ridiculous at times, but with a crushing ending and lot to say! It's like Martin Parr photographs coming to life in an essay on loneliness, lost dignity and so much more... People talked a lot in Cannes about Amour being Haneke's most humane film, but actually it's valid for Seidl's latest as well. He just does it better.
Aqui, Seidl borra as linhas entre o falso e o verdadeiro para narrar seu tema predileto (a miséria sexual e emocional) com menos desprezo e misantropia do que o habitual, mesmo assim em imagens chocantes, em planos rigorosamente planejados, com apreço pelo desgosto e a tristeza, sem quaisquer modéstia hipócrita, confortável e compassiva. Filma o inferno com frieza insuportável e o chama de Paraíso. Pior: De "amor".
The 2012 Cannes Film Festival is underway and we’re compiling some of the highlights of the coverage.
The first part in a trilogy of films on “paradise” by Austrian director Ulrich Siedl. Love focuses on sex tourism in Kenya.
