Four fragile young people flee London to start an unconventional utopia, creating a world of fantasy that overwhelms them.
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Really Surprised!
Powerful
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
a foursome in some beautiful remote countryside place?haven't i seen this before?well, browsed through all the 10 reviews so far, hoping someone has mentioned what i'm going to say but didn't find it ... except for one making a hint to The Dreamers by Bertolucci ... which is not exactly this really as there are only three people in that, two of whom a brother and a sister ... and like most Bertolucci movies, it's strongly politically inclined ... so, that's not one of the two movies with a similar theme i had in mind ...Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) is one of them though, which has a four-stars cast, all beautiful and handsome and super famous ... and the other's a movie i really wish to watch again but haven't been able to find because i don't remember its name, nor that of any of its actors (and it was either a late 1960s or early 1970s movie btw ...) i do remember that unlike this one that's rather an artsy movie, it was more a commercial product (with a strong moralistic message in the end) although still good and worth seeing ... and if i recall it right, it had a four-stars cast too ...anyhoot, why did i get into all the detail about the other two similar movies here? simply because i wanted to point out that from the VP of story, Amorous (Hide and Seek) is not a 'new' movie really ... but the way it is made (trying to be "artsy" as some have put it already, while also being low cost and indie) then this work is certainly very much different from the other two 'big production' cases just mentioned above ...and i have to say i did like this work but i do also find it a little lacking in some ways ... as well as a little confused ... for example, this could well be a nice little soft porn movie, but it's not ... or it could delve more into the innards of the characters, but it doesn't quite do that either ... so, it's kind of lost between the two worlds maybe ... and maybe that's what the director had in mind too? maybe ... maybe there's also a soft porn cut of this work in the director's personal archives just as well, you know, with its sex scenes in full ... maybe ...
Let's take a look at the positive. This is or could be perceived as a master class in acting. The movie itself seems to be free of restrictions (and clothes for that matter) and you should be aware of the nudity. There is no visible penetration by the way, but you do have male self pleasuring (explicit and vivid).Having stated that (in Germany the movie still got the 16+ rating), that should not play a role for or against the movie. The characters have issues which become even more apparent during a visit from the "outside". Their circle is clear and somewhat stagnant, this outside influence kind of gives the movie a bit of a new edge, but nothing that is sustained. We get back to the old "craziness". Which may be the point of the movie, but does not make it more attractive or viewers more excited to watch it (if you'll excuse the pun)
"Hide and Seek" is a tale of 4 young adults, who chose to move to the countryside, live in nature, share everything, be perfectly equal and free.The two boys and two girls find innocent ways of entertaining each other and making the weeks pass, as if they want to reduce life to an infinite melancholic childhood experience. This concept of pure escapism also involves the protagonists loving each other equally. The movie does not hold back on displaying sex and sexuality and it requires an open mind to appreciate it."Hide and Seek" is certainly no commercial entertainment and the narrative as it is makes it feel more like an art project than a fictional movie, but for a first-length feature the director show her talent and the brave performances of the cast are impressive.
Seen at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2014. 'Hide and Seek' has a simple story: Leah, a young woman unsure of what she wants from life, inherits an isolated cottage in the country. She invites three other youngsters - a woman and two men - to move in with her on the understanding a different combination - female/male, female/female and male/male - will share what they call the 'marital bed' each night. In between bouts in the bed they while away the hours lazing in the garden or staging evening 'entertainments' (art class, a pretend camping trip, mock funeral etc).And that's it, really; there's not much sign of a conventional storyline here, although the film does have a beginning, middle and end. Director Joanna Coates keeps the pace constant, if slow; and pulls off the difficult trick of making the sex scenes reasonably explicit but also rather discrete (a vigorous five-finger shuffle aside). (Incidentally, don't get the wrong idea - there aren't so many sex scenes, and they're all pretty brief - this isn't soft porn.) The four young leads - none of whom are drop-dead gorgeous, which adds to the realism of the piece, although none of them looks bad naked - cope well enough with their roles, although for me acting honours go to Hannah Arterton as the girl who breaks a romance of five years to join the group; she utilises a range of facial ticks which on another actor might have seemed too much like Acting - Arterton, however, makes them quite natural.