Eden A L'Ouest

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I'm writing this review in English instead of French. Mostly because my Greek is a bit rusty.

So... this film is about how fucked up people are. It's about how Europe is a police state. It's about poor people being nice and rich people being evil. But there are some good rich people and some bad poor people. So, in the end: everyone's fucked up (yes, I am a glass-is-half-empty kinda guy).

Rich people like to hang out naked, they treat employees like shit and they're all obsessed with sex. They waste food. And death is fun for them. They got the memory of a fucking fly (to quote Mamet) and they're blah-as-fuck.

All righty then.

Don't get me wrong, I actually liked the film, but like many Costa-Gavras films, the acting is a bit off (except for the woman playing Sophia. With one look you see how much she misses her husband and all the longing and sadness that's in her), but the story is good, as always with Costa-Gavras, so it doesn't matter.
This is a comment on society, on humans. On the haves and have-nots.

In this Eden, most if not all of the deadly sins are represented, and most of the 10 commandments are broken. Lust, greed, coveting thy neighbor's spouse, gluttony, etc... When I say Eden, I mean the high-class resort at the beginning of the film, not Paris. Nobody would mistake Paris for Eden. Except illegal immigrants running from their own countries.

So, the essence of the film is: people are evil. They take advantage of the weak and the gullible. This film should have been called 'Fuck them all!'

Although it is sometimes a bit simplistic in its views of poor vs rich (poor people are good and kind, rich ones are corrupt and evil), I have to say that, well: shit, isn't that the case nowadays? And anyway, even the not so-rich want to fuck the protagonist (literally, yes. But also figuratively). After a while, everybody looks perverted, everybody looks suspicious. And every country's got its own booze.
Boozing and fucking. That's what unites people.

And that's cool.

There is some hope, though. Michel Robin is a kind dude, Duperey is kinda nice (though you wonder why she only gives a jacket), the homeless guys are cool. Even the gypsies are cool. The ones who are definitely not cool are the cops. They're ubiquitous and full of malice. But of course, it's only a film. Of course. Because cops are actually cool. Isn't that right Mr Hortefeux? (Kärcher forever!)

So, as I mentioned above: Europe is one big fucked-up police state, where if you're not exploited, you're fucked. Again: Literally and metaphorically.
Life is good. Come to Europe, land of plenty.

But my question is: if the dude looked like Mason Verger instead of Vincent Chase's twin brother, would the women have been as helpful as they were? Me thinks that's doubtful, yes? On the plus side, people wouldn't have wanted to fuck him. Or with him, for that matter.

So, it's a pretty good film, because it's a Costa-Gavras film, which means it's got heart. A shit load of it. The ending is open-ended. Sad or happy, that's for you to judge. I see it as pretty fucking bleak. But that's me. Then again, Costa-Gavras is known for his super-happy endings, isn't he?
 
PS: It feels a lot like a Wenders film. There's the road movie, the languages. And, well, that's it. But remember when Wim was making good films?