Irina Palm เป็นหนังของประเทศ Luxembourg ว่าด้วยเรื่องของ Maggie คุณยายวัย 50 ที่กำลังเดือดร้อนเรื่องเงินเพื่อการรักษาหลานชายที่ไม่สบาย เธอพยายามไปกู้เงิน แต่ด้วยความที่เป็นคนแก่และไม่มีงานทำ ทำให้ไม่มีหลักประกันและถูกปฏิเสธเรื่องเงินกู้ เธอพยายามไปสมัครงาน แต่ด้วยความที่ไม่มีประสบการณ์การทำงาน (เนื่องจากเป็นแม่บ้านมาตลอดชีวิต) ทำให้ถูกปฏิเสธอีกเช่นกัน จนกระทั่งไปเจอเข้ากับป้ายรับสมัครแผ่นหนึ่งหน้าคลับระบำโป๊ ที่บอกว่า “ต้องการ Hostess” จะด้วยความที่เธอเข้าใจคำว่า Hostess คือแม่บ้านธรรมดาหรือเปล่าก็ไม่รู้ จึงตัดสินใจเข้าไปสมัคร และก็ได้รู้ว่า Hostess ที่คลับต้องการคือคนที่จะให้ “ความบันเทิงกับแขก” โดยใช้มือสำเร็จความใคร่ให้กับผู้ชายที่มาใช้บริการ

ตอนแรกคุณยายแกก็ปฏิเสธ แต่รายได้ที่เจ้าของคลับบอกไว้มันก็งามเหลือเกิน และเมื่อไปเยี่ยมหลานที่โรงพยาบาลอีกครั้งก็ทำให้ตัดสินใจได้ (ก็แค่งานใช้มือน่า…มันจะยากสักแค่ไหนเชียว…คุณยายคงคิดแบบนั้น) พอไปทำงานวันแรก ก็มีคนมาสอนงานให้ เป็นสาววัยกลางคนที่ทำงานแบบนี้มานานแล้ว ตอนที่เธอทำให้คุณยายดูตลกมาก เพราะหน้าตาเธอจะเฉยๆ เหมือนกำลังซักผ้าอยู่ แล้วคุณยายก็ได้ลองทำเป็นครั้งแรก ให้นึกถึงภาพคุณยายที่สุภาพเรียบร้อย เป็นแม่บ้านที่ดูอบอุ่นแล้วต้องมาทำอะไรที่ไม่ธรรมดาแบบนี้ มันดูประดักประเดิดมาก (ในหนังไม่ได้ถ่ายให้เห็นอวัยวะใดๆ ของผู้ชายนะคะ จะเห็นแค่รูที่ทำให้เราจินตนาการว่าจะมีคนสอดอวัยวะเข้ามา พอตอนทำ ก็จะมีวิธีการถ่ายแบบไม่ให้คนดูเห็น ซึ่งทำได้เนียนมาก)

ในที่สุดคุณยายก็ได้เงิน แต่ยังไม่มากพอที่จะเป็นค่าใช้จ่ายเพื่อรักษาหลานชาย เจ้าของคลับ (ซึ่งมีทีท่าจะปิ๊งคุณยาย) จึงเสนอให้ทำงานมากขึ้น ซึ่งแกก็โหมทำงานจนกระทั่งเกิดอาการปวดบริเวณข้อศอก เพราะต้องเกร็งมือ “ทำให้” ผู้ชายซ้ำๆ วันละหลายสิบคน จนวันหนึ่งแกเจ็บมากทนไม่ไหว หมอมาตรวจให้และบอกว่าเป็นโรค “Penis Elbow” (ตอนที่ได้ยินชื่อนี้คนขำกันทั้งโรง โดยเฉพาะผู้เขียน เนื่องด้วยคุ้นเคยกับคำว่า “Tennis Elbow” หรือโรค lateral epicondylitis มาก่อน โดยโรคนี้เกิดจากการฉีกขาดของจุดเกาะกล้ามเนื้อที่ใช้ในการกระดกข้อมือ ทำให้มีอาการปวดบริเวณด้านนอกของข้อศอก กดเจ็บ ส่วนใหญ่มักเกิดจากการเล่นกีฬาจริงๆ เช่น เทนนิส  และส่วนหนึ่งเกิดจากการทำงานที่เป็นลักษณะใช้งานซ้ำๆ หรือใช้งานหนักๆ (repetitive use หรือ over use) เช่น คนทำงานบ้าน ช่างไม้ เป็นต้น) ต้องบอกว่าหนังเรื่องนี้สามารถเป็นกรณีศึกษาของ “โรคจากการทำงาน” (occupational disease) ได้เลย

หลังจากมือขวาเดี้ยงไป คุณยายแกก็สามารถใช้มือซ้ายทำแทนไ้ด้โดยไม่เดือดร้อน จนหนุ่มๆ ติดกันงอมแงม มีคนมารอเข้าคิวห้องที่แกอยู่เยอะมาก และเป็นสาเหตุทำให้สาวคนที่เคยมาสอนแกตกงาน เนื่องจากไม่มีคนไปใช้บริการ ทั้งยังมีเจ้าของคลับอื่นรู้ข่าวความเก่งของแก ถึงกับจะมาซื้อตัวแกไปอยู่ด้วย เพียงแต่แกไม่ยอมไป เนื่องจากติดหนี้เจ้าของคลับเดิมเพราะขอเงินก้อนไปให้ลูกชายก่อน (อีกอย่างแกก็ดูมีใจกับเจ้าของคลับหน่อยๆ นะ…คือว่า หนังมันไม่มี subtitle ที่เป็นภาษาไทย และภาษาอังกฤษที่ใช้กันในเรื่องก็ฟังยากอยู่ เลยอาจได้ข้อความไม่ครบถ้วนเท่าไร…แต่อารมณ์และความเข้าใจนี่ได้เลย)

ในหนังมีหลายฉากที่ทำได้ตลกมากๆ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นตอนที่เจ้าของคลับแอบลองไปใช้บริการ “มือ” ของคุณยาย เพราะอยากรู้ว่าทำไมหนุ่มๆ ถึงติดใจกันนัก หรือตอนที่คุณยายแกทำงานไปนานๆ แล้วเริ่มปรับตัวได้ แกจึงเอาภาพมาแต่งห้องที่แกนั่งทำงาน เอาดอกไม้มาใส่แจกันวางไว้ เตรียมชุดผ้ากันเปื้อนมาเองจากบ้าน และอื่นๆ อีกมากมาย (หนังทำไ้ด้น่ารักมาก)

จริงๆ ในหนังคุณยายต้องเผชิญปัญหาหลายอย่างเหมือนกัน ไม่ว่าจะเป็นความไม่เข้าใจของลูกชาย เพื่อน และตัวเอง (คือต้องบอกว่าสิ่งที่คุณยายทำ มันเป็นเรื่องที่น่าละอายสำหรับทุกสังคม การจะเอาชนะความรู้สึกของตนเองเพื่อก้าวผ่านความน่าละอายนั้นก็เป็นสิ่งที่ต้องใช้พลังใจมหาศาล) แต่สุดท้าย เรื่องราวก็จบแบบ Happy Ending ค่ะ แม้จะไม่ Happy มากๆ เหมือนหนังรักทั่วไป แต่ผู้เขียนก็อดให้กำลังใจคุณยายไม่ได้ และเชื่อว่าชีวิตของคุณยายจะดีขึ้นเรื่อยๆ กับตอนจบแบบนี้ค่ะ

หนังเรื่องนี้จะฉายที่กรุงเทพในวันอังคารที่ 24 พ.ย. เวลา 22.00 น. และวันอาทิตย์ที่ 29 พ.ย. เวลา 19.40 น. ค่ะ ที่ Central World เหมือนเดิม อยากให้ลองไปชมกันค่ะ…

Manchmal ist das Leben einfach wunderbar. Ein entspannt-wohliges Wochenende mit Improtheater, Pub-Besuch und Filmen liegt hinter mir. Am Sonntag gab der Herbst sein bestes und leuchtete knallbunt. Herrlich.

Filmtechnisch sei übrigens Irina Palm empfohlen: Marianne Faithfull als Oma eines sterbenskranken Enkels, die wegen Geldnot in fortgeschrittenem Alter ins sex business einsteigt. Das ist viel würdevoller und anrührender als es sich anhört, also anschauen!

Bei James Bond hingegen bin ich eingeschlafen, was wohl gleichermaßen an Müdigkeit, fortgeschrittener Stunde und hüpfender DVD lag.

Überhaupt war der Besuch in der Videothek… nennt man das überhaupt noch so? Ist es jetzt eine DVD-thek? … Jedenfalls war der Besuch dort sehr inspirierend. Lange nichts mehr geliehen, jetzt gibt es da einige Perlen. Genau richtig für den Winter. Ich freu mich schon drauf.

This was a rather interesting movie. Very well made with a heartbreakingly beautiful plotline.

New University Newspaper: Pimpin’ Made Easy in ‘Palm’

Pimpin’ Made Easy in ‘Palm’
by Christina Nersesian
Volume 41, Issue 22 | Mar 31 2008

The rural areas of the greater United Kingdom never had secrets so dark. In director Sam Garbarski’s forthcoming film, “Irina Palm,” the small-time village folk have not only their families, bridge games and up-turned nosey smugness to worry about, but their secrets as well.

Maggie is a middle-aged woman whose family life is in the pit of despair as her only grandson suffers from an unexplained and unnamed illness. Bed-ridden, pale and sickly, her grandson’s only hope lies in new medical treatments a good 8,000 miles away in Australia. In a family already struggling for basics like bread, Maggie’s son and daughter-in-law scour banks and loan offices for money, to no avail.

In “Irina Palm,” we learn a hostess is not a delicious pastry nor is it a restaurant server. Desperate circumstances lead to desperate measures, and Maggie finds herself taking on the job of a euphemized hostess in the downtrodden muck of a sex club in London’s Soho. Men come in to dives for their five to six minutes in a glory hole and it turns out Maggie’s stage persona, Irina Palm, is the best in the business.

Having no skills but those which Mother Nature intended, Maggie throws herself into the world of making big bucks by feeding into one’s most basic and animalistic needs. In the process, she shows us what motherly love really is as she puts herself through hell for the payoff of what could possibly give her grandson a new lease at life.

English singer, songwriter, actress and modern wordsmith, Marianne Faithfull plays Maggie. Within a whirlwind of developing and kicking drug addictions, she’s bumped elbows with the likes of David Bowie and Roger Waters since the 1960s. “Irina Palm” shows how her presence still poignantly roams the media-frenzied world to this day.

Dual narrative counterpart Miki Manojlović plays the sex club owner with a heart of gold. Most popular as a Serbian actor, his filmography spans over three decades of filmmaking. His greasy hair and perpetually leather jacket make his character an appropriate juxtaposition to Maggie in Garbarski’s somewhat romantic tragicomedy.

Earning an award at the Berlin Film Festival and collecting nominations there and elsewhere at the European Film Awards and São Paulo International Film Festival, Garbarski’s “Irina Palm” was in the making for several years. Working through changing it from French to English, the final cut is a product of delicately labored filmmaking.

Camera movements are slow and thoughtful, following characters by way of close-ups and long shots that bounce along with their steps to reveal a camera aware of the stream of consciousness phenomenon. Each actor’s screen presence is a match to his/her character’s presence entirely. Faithfull is frumpy and unassuming while Manojlović is purposefully greasy and tricksy yet caring.

The film acts as an overall paraphrase for the length one woman would go for the sake of her loved ones. Maggie’s life does the proverbial 180-turn in “Irina Palm.” It’s a film where the choices one woman makes reveal more about the character of a mother and a woman than any film up to date. With Garbarski’s film, the audience will be treated to the true meaning of devotion and love through the travels of the one and only, “wanking widow.”

Sonntag, 25. Januar
IRINA PALM
(Tragikomödie LUX/GB/F/B/D ‘06)
23.30 – 1.10 Uhr, ARD 

„Hostess gesucht“, verkündet das Schild am Eingang einer Rotlicht-Bar in Soho. Die naive Maggie (Marianne Faithfull) hat keinen Schimmer, was sich hinter diesem Jobangebot verbirgt – aber sie braucht dringend Geld für die medizinische Behandlung ihres Enkels und so bewirbt sie sich kurz entschlossen bei dem verblüfften Besitzer des Etablissements (Miki Manojlovic). Überraschenderweise erweist sich ihre rechte Hand als höchst begabt: Schon bald genießt Maggie unter dem Künstlernamen „Irina Palm“ in einschlägigen Kreisen einen… [Q]

Giorni fa ero a cena con amici, e mentre si facevano considerazioni varie su donne-lavoro-bellezza-tv, ho detto che effettivamente prostituirsi poteva essere una buona idea, remunerativa, se non altro, e che ci avevo già pensato anche quando stavo con D. Però, un conto è dirlo, un conto è farlo. E infatti non l’ho mai fatto.
Ma, penso io, perché ci si deve scandalizzare: in mezzo alle gambe abbiamo un patrimonio, una cosa per cui gli uomini farebbero carte false, parliamoci chiaro, anche le studentesse si prostituiscono in cam per arrotondare le paghette. E allora, perché non dovrei pensare di farlo io che son pure una bella gnoccolina? Quando la tipa davanti a me ha sussultato con un moto di schifo e riprovazione (la più mignotta de tutte) e gli altri hanno preso ad ammutolirsi sembrando spaesati (tutti potenziali clienti) ho capito che certi discorsi non si devono fare così epliciti, e mentre finivo il compendio sulla prostituzione fai-da-te ho capito: voglio essere come Irina Palm!

“Hostess gesucht”, verkündet das Schild am Eingang einer Rotlicht-Bar in Soho. Die naive Maggie (Marianne Faithfull) hat keinen Schimmer, was sich hinter diesem Jobangebot verbirgt – aber sie braucht dringend Geld für die medizinische Behandlung ihres Enkels und so bewirbt sie sich kurz entschlossen bei dem verblüfften Besitzer des Etablissements. Überraschenderweise erweist sich ihre rechte Hand als höchst begabt: Schon bald genießt Maggie unter dem Künstlernamen “Irina Palm” in einschlägigen Kreisen einen legendären Ruf…

Anrührend, unterhaltsam, komisch, nachdenklich, ernst – all dies bietet dieser Film.

Jede Geste, jeder Blick sitzt! Dazu kommen gute Kamera & Regie (angeblich gab es auf der Berlinale 2007 nach der Premiere 20 Minuten (!) donnernden Applaus für die Darsteller und vor allem natürlich für Marianne Faithfull).

Und fertig ist ein grandioser Fernsehabend… Empfehlung!!

P.S. Gesehen natürlich auf Premiere!

Depois de interpretar a protagonista do filme Irina Palm, de Sam Garbaski, Marianne Faithfull resolveu voltar para a música, com o lançamento do álbum de covers Easy Come Easy Go. O álbum, que estará a venda a partir de 9 de dezembro, já pode ser baixado no iTunes pelos europeus, e também já caiu na rede para todo mundo que quiser ouvir. Quando ouvir o álbum atentamente darei minha opinião, mas me chamou a atenção (positivamente) não só o repertório escolhido por Marianne como as participações especiais do álbum. Não costumo gostar muito de discos que trazem mil convidados especiais, porque normalmente poucos têm alguma relevância nas músicas, servindo apenas como jogada de marketing para alavancar os lucros do CD. Mas, neste caso, os convidados são maravilhosos: Rufus Wainwright, Cat Power, Nick Cave, Antony Hegarty (que, aliás, esclipsou totalmente a cantora na faixa em que participou, Ooh baby, baby), Keith Richards e até Sean Lennon. Além disso, o repertório vai de Billie Holliday, Leonard Bernstein, Morrissey, Dolly Parton e Brian Eno. Let’s see. Dá para ouvir um aperitivo na página do myspace da cantora.

This was a WONDERFUL movie. A sleeper of the first rank. I picked it up several weeks ago from Reel Life Video and have been turning it over in my mind ever since.

Irina Palm is a Brecht drama for a new century.

Marianne Faithfull plays Maggie, a frumpy widow who lives in a village in the exurbs of London. Her grandson Olly is dying of a rare disease for which he can only receive treatment in Melbourne, Australia. Yet Olly’s parents are working class and cannot afford the cost of travel and other expenses. Maggie takes it upon herself as grandmother to raise the money even though she has no work history and almost no collateral by which to secure a loan. She goes to bank after bank and placement agency after placement agency in London, but nobody will give her a job or a loan.

That is, until she wanders into Sexy World, a sex club in the Soho District that is advertising for a “hostess.” Maggie meets Miki (actor, Miki Manojlovic), the club-owner who explains that, at Sexy World, “hostess” is a euphemism for “whore.” He asks Maggie if he can see her hands. Reluctantly, she complies and Miki finds himself favorably impressed by their texture before Maggie pulls her hands away. She walks out of the interview mortified but, recognizing the gravity of her grandson’s condition, returns the next day.

With evident misgivings, Miki offers her the job and takes her into the room where she will be working. It will be Maggie’s job to give handjobs to paying customers from the other side of a glory hole. With some training, Maggie finds that she is a natural at her new line of work and, by her second week on the job, men queue up all the way down the hall for her favors. They don’t see Maggie and thus do not realize that they’re getting their rocks off in a matronly grandmother’s hand. (The film does not show any penises and, as far as I can tell, the handjobs were simulated.) Within a short time, johns of all stripes agree that the faceless woman behind the wall has “the best hand in London.” Miki cashes in on Maggie’s fame by setting up a flashing marquee featuring Maggie’s newly assigned stage-name, “Irina Palm.” Upon inheriting this sobriquet, the hitherto unemployable widow finds herself pulling down 600 to 800 pounds a week.

At first, Maggie keeps her sex-worker status a secret from family and friends. Actually, it would be a stretch to call the women in Maggie’s social circle friends. They’re little more than a band of gossipy, bourgeois village housewives with whom she plays bridge once a week. They freeze Maggie out of their small talk, show little concern for updates on her grandson’s failing health and make it clear that, as a widow with dwindling resources, she is no longer of their station. Still, having no other friends, Maggie has somberly endured their company throughout the years. Now that she harbors a secret life as Irina Palm, however, she is too discomfited to return any of her frivolous friends’ phone calls or even speak to them on the street.

Her grandson’s health soon takes a turn for the worse and the family can no longer postpone his surgery. Maggie goes to Miki and divulges the crisis at hand. He informs her that, unbeknownst to her, he has “tried her out” and knows her talents. Naturally, this news dismays Maggie but she puts her mounting chagrin aside to press Miki for a 6000 pound loan for 10 more weeks of work. After much prodding, he agrees to her terms. Maggie gives the money to her son Tom (Kevin Bishop, L’Auberge Espagnole) and his wife in a lump sum, all the while refusing to reveal where and how she got the money.

After performing many unsuccessful interrogations, Tom resorts to tailing his mother on the commuter train to London and the Tube to Oxford Circus, only to find her walking into her job at Sexy World.

I won’t reveal what erupts as a result of this climax in Irina Palm (!). I will, however, disclose that ironically, as a result of her smutty practices, Maggie steps into her power and discovers that she contains the strength, valor and love to defy society in order to save her grandson’s life.

In two particular scenes toward the end, Maggie’s newfound strength emboldens her to renounce her outworn associations with the village women more powerfully than Hester Pryne and Proust’s Odette de Crecy, combined. If I ever manage to tell someone off like that, I don’t know how I’d keep the buttons on my shirt.

Irina Palm is a true, if unlikely, triumph of the human spirit.

And who better to play Maggie than Marianne Faithfull? After Mick Jagger made a mockery of their love in the late Sixties and The Rolling Stones cheated her out of royalties as co-writer of “As Tears Go By” and “Sister Morphine,” she grappled with the travails of addiction, depression and even homelessness. Faithfull is an artist who plummeted to and pulled herself out of the depths more impressively than any other major voice in music. She is a chanteuse sans pareil who sings from a soul marked by abysmal defeat and soaring redemption. What she’s lost in beauty since the days when London was her kingdom and Mick her king, she has recouped a thousandfold in soul and substance. Marianne Faithfull is a Brechtian goddess and she delivers a devastating performance as Maggie.

Even her speaking voice is exquisite, a rare trait among singers these days. If I could swing it, I’d walk around speaking in her smoky, raspy trill all day long. In fact, I tried a few weeks ago but Julius threatened to have me committed to Bellevue. Alas, that ended that phase.

But not even Julius could deny the greatness of Sam Garbarski’s Irina Palm. We both heartily recommend adding it to your next round of rentals.

El Ciclo Sex.Cine del Ateneo de La Laguna proyecta hoy Irina Palm de Sam Garbarski.

Dirección: Sam Garbarski
Países: Bélgica, Alemania, Luxemburgo, Reino Unido y Francia
Año: 2007
Duración: 103 min
Género: Drama
Interpretación: Marianne Faithfull (Maggie), Miki Manojlovic (Miki), Kevin Bishop (Tom), Siobhán Hewlett (Sarah), Dorka Gryllus (Luisa), Jenny Agutter (Jane), Corey Burke (Olly), Meg Wynn-Owen (Julia), Susan Hitch (Beth) y Flip Webster (Edith)
Guión: Martin Herron y Philippe Blasband; basado en un argumento de Philippe Blasband
Producción: Sébastien Delloye y Diana Elbaum
Música: Ghinzu
Fotografía: Christophe Beaucarne
Montaje: Ludo Troch
Diseño de producción: Véronique Sacrez
Vestuario: Anushia Nieradzik
Estreno en Bélgica: 18 Abril 2007
Estreno en España: 14 Diciembre 2007

Sinopsis

Maggie, viuda de 50 años, necesita desesperadamente dinero para pagar el tratamiento médico que necesita su nieto. Después de varios fracasos en su búsqueda de un empleo, Maggie encuentra su oportunidad en un sex shop trabajando bajo el seudónimo de Irina Palm.

Fuente www.labutaca.net

Irina Palm de Sam Garbarski Lunes 13 de octubre 19:30 h. Ateneo de La Laguna

Tenerife

År: 2007
Genre: Drama
Skådisar: Marianne Faithfull, Miki Manojlovic, Kevin Bishop

Handling: För att rädda sitt dödsjuka barnbarn tar änkan Maggie desperat, jobb på en sexklubb i London. Under namn och identitet som Irina Palm tillfredsställer hon män genom ett hål i väggen för att få pengar till barnbarnets behandling.

Kommentar: Starkt drama om en människa som tvingas in i ett öde hon aldrig kunnat tänka sig. Om att anpassa sig och göra allt för att rädda sitt döende barnbarn.

Betyg:

Dir: Sam Garbarski, 2007

Maggie (Marianne Faithfull) has “the best right hand in London”.Which is a tad disturbing, considering she is a kindly, middle-class grandmother. But it’s OK, because she’s only pleasuring men in Soho so that she can pay for her dying grandson’s medical treatment. Which is a shame, because Corey Burke, the young actor playing the grandson, is quite irritatingly bad, and the money would be better spent on acting lessons than life-saving procedures.

Thankfully, Kevin Bishop and Siobhan Hewlett inject some authenticity into the proceedings as Tom and Sarah, the devoted parents. Sarah is quietly optimistic, trying not to let the strain affect her son or her marriage. And Tom is quietly despairing, almost accepting his son’s fate. Until, that is, his mother hands him a huge wad of cash and refuses to tell him where it came from.

Of course, none of this really matters. Nobody will walk into the cinema wanting to see a family come apart at the seams dealing with the possibility of their son’s death. No, the punter’s will buy their tickets for Irina Palm to see how a grandmother deals with giving the best hand jobs in Soho.

It’s all done very quaintly. Maggie winces her way through her first few clients, before getting to grips (pun intended) with her new profession. And all the while her relationship with her stuck-up friends at home deteriorates, while her friendship with Miki, the club owner, blossoms.

It’s all very predictable, really.

The script seems a bit forced at times, as do the performances, and the occasional attempts at some kind of social commentary aren’t as successful as they could have been. And the soundtrack is oddly bleak, given the film’s comedic bent. In fact, there’s quite a list of faults. But somehow, Irina Palm manages to entertain, and there’s not a lot more you could ask for.

Regia: Sam Garbarski

Interpreti: Marianne Faithfull, Miki Manojlovic, Kevin Bishop

Produzione: Belgio, Francia, Germania, Gran Bretagna, Lussemburgo, 2007

La prima scena del film coglie dall’alto un perfetto agglomerato urbano della provincia inglese. Il tono della musica di fondo, metallico, malinconico, fa da controcanto a questa immagine armonica. Una splendida Marianne Faithfull appare quasi nascosta da un leone di peluche, comprato per il nipote in fin di vita e che solo una clinica australiana potrà curare. Il contrasto tra finta armonia sociale e dramma diffuso della povertà occupa la parte iniziale del film. Costante come la musica di fondo, l’ingenuità anziana del viso della Faithfull è la traccia che ne attraversa i vari “capitoli”. Finta armonia sociale, quella delle banche e dei centri per l’impiego i cui dipendenti, calzando un berretto natalizio in testa o dei perfetti gessati, tagliano ogni speranza di un prestito o di un lavoro per garantire le cure al nipote. Ogni finta armonia si basa su un’espulsione, la Faithfull viene espulsa dal piano rialzato della metropoli londinese. Le porte per lei si aprono solo in una presunta discesa agli “inferi”: in un eros bar, cui si accede tramite un sottoscala, trova la sua opportunità. Qui l’attende Miklos, un impresario del sesso interpretato da Miki Manojlovic. Sembra l’esatto contrario della Faithfull, tanto lei sembra pulita, tanto lui appare sporco, tanto lui è disinibito, tanto lei è bloccata dentro quel nuovo mondo che non conosce. L’incontro con Miklos segna il secondo passaggio del film: centrale in questo caso il rapporto tra etica e lavoro.

Il perbenismo etico viene scardinato fin dal principio: se nessuno ti aiuta a curare un bambino che muore allora su che basi può giudicarti se rispondi a quella mancanza masturbando sconosciuti? Tuttavia questa domanda retorica non diventa giustificazione per il proprio lavoro, esso viene compiuto per un fine, solo verso quel fine i mezzi divengono nobilitati. La protagonista del film mantiene il suo carattere anche in questo secondo passaggio. Il lavoro genera appartenenza a un nuovo mondo, che irrimediabilmente l’allontana dal primo. Il terzo piano è quello della distanza.

La distanza non è immedesimazione coatta, non implica un’alienazione della propria individualità. Anzi semmai una appropriazione doppia. La prima, più evidente, è quella di un nome: Irina Palm, la “regina delle seghe”. La seconda è quella della propria libertà. Per questo il carattere ingenuo, altero di Irina-Faithfull resta intatto. La sua forma di emancipazione passa attraverso il lavoro ma è determinata dal fine che si pone, curare il nipote. Irina Palm agisce dentro la costellazione del dono, dell’amore disinteressato, ciò che viene espulso da questo mondo è la capacità accumulatrice della prestazione lavorativa. Non le interessano i soldi e quando, in virtù della sua professionalità, contratta un prezzo più alto per le sue prestazioni, ciò avviene esclusivamente per raggiungere più in fretta il proprio fine. Irina si muove tra due mondi: da una parte la malizia interessata dei salotti della provincia inglese, dall’altra la mercificazione dei corpi su cui si basa l’economia metropolitana. Li attraversa rimanendo sé stessa, rivendica il suo valore non monetario. Il suo stesso passo lento, l’ironia delle sue battute si oppone alla frenesia volgare e all’invadenza degli altri due mondi.

Il quarto piano è quello della contaminazione definitiva, della presa di coscienza.

Irina mantiene i patti con Miklos, rifiuta un contratto migliore. Umanizza l’impresario cinico e lo porta dentro la sua costellazione, che brilla nel sottosuolo. L’amore che ne nasce è timido, lento come lenti sono i loro corpi vecchi. Un amore intenso e certo non barocco. Lo stile di questo film non indulge a pietismi o esagerazioni melodrammatiche. E’ un film crudo, eppure profondamente poetico. Riflette su una realtà largamente diffusa del nostro sistema economico quale la riduzione a merce del corpo e lo fa comprendendo le ragioni della scelta e condannando una doppia ipocrisia: quella sociale della provincia bigotta e quella economica della coazione produttiva. La linea di fuga da queste catene è nell’amore. Nell’unica forma d’amore possibile, quello disinteressato. La scena del bacio tra Irina e Miklos è rapidissima, il film termina subito dopo. La linea di fuga porta altrove i due amanti, sebbene ai lati le spogliarelliste continuino a ballare, loro sono già su un altro piano. Ed è un piano rivoluzionario.

Gregorio Sorgonà “Paul Sweezy”

Nos cinemas da Cidade do México, estão em cartaz dois filmes que tratam da sexualidade feminina. Um deles é Sex and City, versão para a tela grande do badalado seriado de TV. O outro é Irina Palm, produção inglesa dirigida pelo diretor Sam Garbarski. Em apenas um deles o espectador encontrará um retrato inteligente e atual da realidade da mulher nesses primeiros anos loucos do século XXI.

Em Sex and City, o filme, as quatro inseparáveis amigas novaiorquinas estão de volta com suas intermináveis discussões sobre sexo regadas a Cosmopolitan. Desta vez, toda a produção de estrogênios está dedicada ao casamento da colunista Carrie Bradshaw, personagem principal da série interpretada por Sarah Jessica Parker.

Em Irina Palm, Marianne Faithfull é Maggie, uma viúva de 50 anos que mora na periferia de Londres. Mergulhada em dívidas e recusada por empregadores em razão da idade avançada, Maggie decide trabalhar em um bordel para pagar a cirurgia do neto de 7 anos.

Em Sex and City, o filme, todos os resquícios de irreverência inteligente que ainda existiam no seriado da HBO foram esterilizados. São as mesmas personagens, nas mesmas situações, calçando os mesmos Manolo Blahnik. Só que, desta vez, a trama parece ter sido transportada para a Ohio de 1950. O sexo deu lugar ao desejo ardente de ter … uma família! Carrie, a colunista linda e liberada, vive para seu casamento com Mr. Big. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) deixou o emprego e a vida de devoradora de homens para se dedicar única e exclusivamente a um garotão milionário, que banca todos seus caprichos (incluindo um anel de US$ 50 mil). Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), a advogada, aparece apenas quando reclama de uma derrapada sexual do marido. Charlotte (Kristin Davis)…bem, ela continua se dedicando, de forma admirável, a manter no lugar a sua cabeça-de-vento. É bem verdade que ela o único personagem que manteve a coerência com a série. Seu único interesse foi sempre ter lá seu kit marido-filhinha-cachorrinho.

Nada contra a opção das moças. Mas, durante todo o filme, só pensava em uma coisa: correr atrás de marido e desafogar as tristezas em uma loja de sapatos é o que nos resta?

Em Irina Palm, Maggie é uma inglesa sem os encantos, sapatos ou qualificações acadêmicas das trintonas de Nova Iorque. Também tem três amigas – algumas ultrapassando a casa dos 50 – mas nenhuma veste Padra. Em lugar de freqüentar os bares da moda do Soho, elas queimam o tempo livre jogando cartas e tomando Earl Grey com leite.

Mas, surprise! Maggie é mais audaciosa, libertária e liberada que Carrie e suas amigas. Para evitar a morte do neto, enfrenta as barreiras internas – sempre as piores – e as sociais e topa trabalhar em bordel em Londres. O roteiro poderia cair no cliché e vitimizar a velhinha inglesa que masturba homens. Não é o que acontece.

O filme não tem pena do espectador. Ao oferecer a realidade tal como ela é, a trama consegue expor, de forma sutil e até bela, o processo de re-conhecimento da mulher de 50 anos em relação à própria sexualidade. No caso de Maggie, esse despertar acontece na maneira mais terrível e amarga – contra o seu desejo, por necessidade, sem amor. Mas o bordel é apenas o pano de fundo de uma história de conseqüencias mais complexas. Maggie rompe falsos moralismos, descobre seu próprio potencial como mulher e, pela primeira vez na vida, faz suas próprias opções.

Irina Palm consegue prender a atenção do telespectador com temas e personagens poucos atrativos em uma sociedade cada vez mais ávida por consumo. Maggie, a dama inglesa, talvez nunca receberá como declaração de amor um gigantesco closet para sapatos (um dos momentos mais “românticos”de Sex and City). Mas ela ganhou, definitivamente, algo melhor: cérebro!

¿Qué puede hacer una mujer sexagenaria cuando su nieto Ollie necesita urgentemente un tratamiento médico que sólo se lleva a cabo en Melbourne? Sí, ¿qué puede hacer cuando tanto ella como los padres de la criatura tienen ya más deudas que lágrimas y no disponen de los medios necesarios para un viaje tan costoso?

Maggie lo tiene claro: sea como sea debe conseguir el dinero que le proporcionará a su nieto un atisbo de esperanza. Intenta pedir un crédito que le es denegado, acude a una oficina de empleo en la que (evidentemente) nadie va a contrararla dada su edad, así que esta abuela coraje deambula por las bulliciosas calles de Londres sin rumbo fijo hasta que se encuentra con el “Sexy World”, un club de alterne que luce un cartel en el que se solicitan (eufemísticamente) “acompañantes”. El trabajo consiste en masturbar a los clientes utilizando un curioso invento japonés. Maggie sale del lugar algo horrorizada, sin embargo el sueldo es de lo más suculento y lo más importante: puede ganar mucho dinero en poco tiempo. Ni corta ni perezosa, deja atrás el apacible lugar donde vive, sus tés, su solitaria viudedad y a las (repelentes) amigas con las que comparte alguna que otra tarde y acepta el trabajo con la idea de que nunca nadie sepa qué está haciendo para salvar a su nieto. Lo que esta mujer no imaginaba es que va a convertirse en toda una celebridad “masturbatoria” a la que se conocerá con el sobrenombre de Irina Palm.

Este es el sorprendente arranque de “Irina Palm” (2007), una película dirigida por Sam Garbarski y que tiene como protagonista principal (nada más y nada menos) que a la cantante y actriz británica Marianne Faithfull. Conocida por ser la responsable de algunos hits de los años 60, por su noviazgo con Mick Jagger, por su coqueteo con las drogas y por haber sido la primera persona que utilizó la palabra fuck en una película.

Resulta, cuanto menos, interesante verla desenvolverse en la piel de la tierna Maggie y superar con nota el desafío. Su personaje lucha (sin desfallecer) contra cualquier contratiempo y así, por ejemplo, la observaremos defenderse de la hipocresía, los recelos y la incompresión que sufrirá cuando su secreto sale a la luz.

Junto a la Faithfull, aparece el actor yugoslavo Miki Manojlovic (al que pudimos ver en “Underground” de Emir Kusturika, 1995) que encarna a Miki, el gerente del local en el que la protagonista encuentra una manera de salvar a su nieto. El frío Miki que recibe por primera vez a la asustada Maggie, irá derritiendo acabará sucumbiendo ante la ternura que despliega esa entrañable mujer de más de 60 años.

Si algo debo reprocharle a esta producción es una BSO que en algunos momentos me resultó pesada, no por mala sino por repetitiva y un final que no me acaba de cuadrar del todo. Estos dos últimos aspectos quedan soslayados por los estupendos 100 minutos anteriores.

La tragedia que supone la enfermedad de Ollie podría haber convertido a “Irina Palm” en un película empalagosa y de lágrima fácil, pero el finísimo humor que salpica algunas escenas y la tremenda tenacidad que despliega el personaje de Maggie la transforman en una cinta que evita los excesos de cualquier tipo y nos hace partícipes de la idea de que “lo último que se pierde es la esperanza”.

Para ver la ficha de la película, pinchad aquí

Briony   

Maggie, a fifty-year-old widow, gets caught up in the sex trade. Her grandson is very ill and the family has no money for his treatment. She finds herself wandering the streets of London (after several attempts of getting a job) and randomly walks into a club called “Sexy World” with a sign “Hostess wanted”…

The film is a lot more subtle then what its synopsis suggests. It is actually surprisingly witty and charming. Marianne Faithful’s performance is astounding. The horror in her face when she goes to work as Irina Palm is wonderfully touching and comical. This is an immensely moving and absolutely enjoyable British comedy.

(Photo: hjw223/flickr)

Alcune settimane fa ho avuto modo di vedere un film davvero particolare, un film che racconta la storia – ambientata in un paesino dell’Inghilterra – di una donna di nome Maggie che da tutti viene chiamata Irina Palm. Ha una dote molto particolare…

Il film è del regista: Sam Garbarski e per chi volesse saperne di più, segnalo un link dove è raccontata la storia: recensione di Irina Palm

Há poucos dias assisti, na companhia de Marcela Isis, o filme ‘Irina Palm’, de Sam Garbarski (2006, Bélgica / Luxemburgo / Inglaterra / Alemanha / França).

Trata-se de um drama, embora com momentos divertidos, sobre o sacrifício de uma senhora cinquentona, a Maggie (Marianne Faithfull), que, para ajudar o neto que necessita de tratamento médico especial, acaba aceitando o trabalho numa casa de prazeres onde suas mãos macias fizeram fama. Ela não se expunha – atuava numa cabine que fora por ela decorada, para susto do dono da casa, como a saleta de estar de um lar tipicamente britânico. Entrava, preparava as mãos, e olhava o ameaçador buraquinho onde apareciam os ávidos objetos de seus toques e movimentos continuados esplendidamente aplicados, a julgar pelo sucesso de Irina Palm na boca pequena dos desocupados da noite londrina.

É óbvio que era um trabalho secreto – ela o fazia por baixo do pano. Seu filho jamais aceitaria tal coisa. E como se fazia necessária uma grana boa e urgente – e a família já havia esgotado todas as possibilidades de levantar fundos – Maggie encarnava a Irina Palm com gana e afinco, a ponto de desenvolver uma lesão no cotovelo muito comum em tenistas, conhecida como ‘cotovelo de tenista’, prontamente adaptada por ela como ‘cotovelo de penista’ – e passou o serviço para o outro braço…

Maggie, cinquentona, tinha amigas também cinquentonas que se reuniam frequentemente para tomar o chá das cinco e conversar fiado apenas sobre o que se permitiam, e não era muito. Desconfiadas das diárias saídas noturnas de Maggie, passam a pressioná-la e olhá-la de lado, curiosas. E o filme segue, como uma boa música, que de repente chuta forte a bunda da hipocrisia cotidiana de muita gente que assiste a vida passar como idiotas babões que vivem trocando entre si os argueiros dos olhos e o medo das chibatas e dedos em riste dos padres, dos vizinhos, de Deus, de si mesmos e do diabo a quatro…

A grandiosa Maggie, se bem me lembro, termina o filme sorrindo…

Confira o trailer no youtube.

Este é o texto de número 100 do Blog. Fiquei pensando em qual filme trazer. Até porque pretendo nesse mês de maio trazer filmes que mostram um universo feminino. Numa homenagem a nós Mulheres. Mesmo àquelas que não geraram filhos, carregam em si também um amor maternal. Entre alguns, escolhi esse: Irina Palm. Também pela Data de hoje: Dia do Trabalho. E Grata a Todos que por aqui passam!

Entrando no filme… Maggie (Marianne Faithfull) para conseguir dinheiro para um tratamento novo que é a última chance de salvar seu netinho, resolve procurar um trabalho. Mas para alguém sem qualificação profissional, nem experiência fora o de dona de casa, as portas se fecham. Acontece que ela não desiste.

Nessa busca eis que surge um… A princípio fica espantada, até porque era algo que nem em sonhos conhecia. Mas o amor pelo netinho, a fez voltar atrás e aceitar. O salário, as comissões eram altas. E o tratamento médico era caro. Além das posses dela e do filho.

O filme também aborda o preconceito a certos tipos de trabalho. Claro que ele não está ditando regras. Mas um pouco de consideração, até para saber o porque de algumas pessoas estarem nessa. Como a colega de trabalho diz, é preciso separar as duas pessoas. Ter consciência de que Maggie e Irina Palm eram duas pessoas diferentes. Será? Pois se a Maggie ficou até mais radiante com a chegada da Irina Palm em sua vidinha. Trouxe-lhe sangue novo correndo em suas veias. De uma coisa Maggie sabia, de que sua família e suas amigas não iriam entender, dai fez segredo. Mas de onde menos se espera, surge um abraço carinhoso.

Falar mais do filme é estragar a surpresa de vocês. O prazer em acompanhar essa Guerreira! Eu fiquei fã da Maggie! Que em vez de ficar rezando por um milagre, ela foi à luta. Arregaçou as mangas e colocou a mão na massa… E que tapa de luva que ela deu na companheira de baralho, que quis posar de dona da moral.

Só tenho uma queixa que censura besta em não mostrar o talento da Irina Palm. No mais, o filme é ótimo! De ver e rever. Nota 10! Amei o filme!

Por: Valéria Miguez.

Irina Palm. 2007. Bélgica. Direção e Roteiro: Sam Garbarski. Elenco: Marianne Faithfull, Miki Manojovic, Kevin Bishop, Siobhan Hewlett, Dorka Grylus. Gênero: Comédia, Drama. Duração: 103 minutos.

Atenção, este blog foi migrado para: http://brunopereira.org

Às vezes vamos no cinema já sabendo bastante sobre um filme. Nessas vezes, provavelmente já nutrimos uma certa expectativa sobre o conteúdo do mesmo, e já temos uma idéia do que esperar.

Outras vezes vamos ver filmes sem muito compromisso. Ontem (sábado) fui ver um filme romeno, chamado “Irina Palm“, que até foi legal. Mas o melhor foi ter visto o cartaz de “Apenas uma vez” (“Once“, no título original), que fui ver hoje. Eu tinha visto apenas o cartaz, mas ele me despertou a curiosidade e então fui vê-lo hoje. Sem nenhuma expectativa prévia, e sem ter muita idéia do que iria ver.

Bom, o filme é excepcional. Excepcional e diferente. Altamente musical e cativante. Cativante de tal forma que eu já estou viciado nas músicas e não tiro o filme da cabeça. Além da satisfação pelo filme, agora tenho várias novas músicas legais pra escutar.

O filme é irlandês e nele um músico irlandês (Glen Hansard) conhece uma jovem tcheca (Marketa Irglova) e então eles começam a se conhecer e tocar música juntos. Não vou falar mais do que isso para não estragar a supresa de quem quiser assistir ao filme.

O tal músico é extremamente talentoso, e as músicas são muito legais. Depois de chegar em casa eu fui pesquisar sobre o filme e descobri que o músico e a jovem tcheca são músicos na vida real, e tocam juntos em turnê e tudo. Eles na verdade não são atores, são músicos mesmo. Todas as músicas do filme são compostas pelo Glen Hansard, e a interpretação delas no filme contagia bastante.

Eles ganharam o Oscar de Melhor Canção original este ano, e devo dizer que fiquei satisfeito em saber, pois foi muito merecido. Para quem quiser dar uma olhada, estou colocando abaixo um vídeo do filme. Altamente recomendado!!

E esta música abaixo é muito legal também