REVIEW - PARADISE: HOPE

The world need not be so bleak a place, even for such a misanthrope as Ulrich Seidl. Paradise: Hope may not leave lasting feelings of hope in its wake, but it is a film immersed in hope. In an indirect way, it is concerned with a generation's hope for their children, and that dispatching them to an ineffectual diet camp might make the slightest difference to their character. More directly, it is concerned with a very specific hope of a teenage girl, and how, as she ruminates ever more and more, this hope can be as complex and elaborate and changeable as reality, a reality which will only brutally disappoint her. She's at an age where she is passing from childhood, a period of ease and nonchalance - children cope far better under supposed strain than adults - to adulthood, a period of permanence and responsibility. How she reacts to her situation, and what becomes of her hope, will be of utmost importance to her emotional development. For the first time in his career as a fictional filmmaker, Seidl allows us to observe his characters with empathy and respect foremost. These kids are only beginning to realise the apparent necessity of lying, and express themselves with an honesty that requires no deep interpretation. They are non-satirised, as they ought not to know better, and yet do know better than any of their adult acquaintances. Seidl seems to like them, and his camera no longer intrudes and lingers, but instead shares in their happiness, their frustration, their boredom. But he has poor hopes of his own for their future, regimented and constricted, following routines, obeying orders, being taught for the sake of conformity, rather than positive change. Paradise: Love was a film about a bizarre, shambolic, failed quest for love. Faith was about the lies that we tell ourselves, and the faith we think we possess. Finally, Hope approaches its subject with no such sarcasm. As ever, Seidl's mise-en-scene is just about of unparalleled quality. Every detail in every frame bears a purpose; there are no accidents in this film, and no mistakes. Joseph Lorenz' doctor figure is, in my own opinion, allotted too much screentime before Seidl begins to explain his behaviour, and so scenes from his perspective seem to lack intent.