Paradise: Hope/Paradies: Hoffnung (2013) - A chubby teen camp meets the Seidl eye

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Three large young women sit awkwardly on a gym bench on this poster for Ulrich Seidl's Paradise: Hope

Melanie is an overweight teenage girl who is sent away to a camp for girls like herself for a time to alter her lifestyle.

Paradise: Hope is written by Veronika Franz (Kern (2012, documentary)) and great Austrian filmmaker, co-writer/director Ulrich Seidl (Models (1999)). It is the 3rd film in the pair's Paradise trilogy, also consisting of Paradise: Love (2012) and Paradise: Faith (2012). The title is a literal translation of the original German title.

We follow Melanie's camp stay, which Seidl investigates without much of a direction with the added label 'Hope', which also doesn't seem to say much about the characters here. They are young; yes, hopeful; perhaps. - But we never learn where they end up. There are still fine and unusual scenes in Paradise: Hope, but it is the weakest in the trilogy and fundamentally it is missing something.

 

Related post:

 

Ulrich Seidl: Paradise: Faith/Paradies: Glaube (2012) - Strong Catholic faith through Seidl's lens 

Paradise: Love/Paradies: Liebe (2012) - Woman's love safari fertile ground for Seidl drama

 

 

Watch a teaser for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 457k $

= Uncertain but likely a mega-flop (projected return of 0.25 times its cost)

[Paradise: Hope premiered 8 February (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 100 minutes. Shooting took place in Austria. The film opened #75 to a 2k $ first weekend in 1 theater in North America, spreading to 3 theaters but unable to gain a higher rank, grossing 6k $ (1.3 % of the total gross). The film's 3 biggest markets were Germany with 189k $ (41.4 %), Austria with 168k $ (36.8 %) and Spain with 44k $ (9.6 %). If made on a realistic 1.8 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a mega-flop. Seidl returned with In the Basement/Im Keller (2014, documentary). Melanie Lenz (Paradise: Love (2012)), who plays Melanie, did not return to the screen after the film. Paradise: Hope is fresh at 88 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Paradise: Hope?

Precious (2009) - Overcoming adversity showcased in gripping drama

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+ Best Adaptation of the Year + Best Independent Movie of the Year + Most Deserved Hit of the Year

 

New-comer Gabourey Sidibe in the title role wears a crown and butterfly wings on this poster for Lee Daniels' Precious

Precious doesn't have an enviable life: She's 16 years old; her weight is that of a small elephant; she's pregnant for the second time in her life; and the child is her own father's.

 

Precious is written by Geoffrey Fletcher (Violet & Daisy (2011)), based on the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire (The Kid (2011)), and co-produced and directed by great Pennsylvanian filmmaker Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer (2005)).

The girl's mother is one of the meanest, ugliest characters to go down in cinema history, played eminently by Mo'Nique (Blackbird (2014)). Gabourey Sidibe (Antebellum (2020)) is terrific too, as are other female actors in Precious: Paula Patton (Warcraft (2016)) is beautiful and excellent. The dream sequences make us 100 % aligned with the trialed teenager and her dreams of escape. Despite the grim realities, this is also a film with hope, even though I could have wished for that extra little oomph in the ending.

Precious is hard to forget. It puts things in perspective. It is a beautiful and fantastic film. 

 

Related posts:

Lee Daniels: 2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V] 

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV] 

The Butler/Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) - Whitaker and Winfrey shine in Dainels' cathartic, insightful historic drama 
The Paperboy (2012) - Daniels' off-putting and interesting Florida-yarn huffs and puffs

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 10 mil.  $

Box office: 63.6 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 6.36 times its cost)

[Precious premiered 16 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 110 minutes. Shooting took place from October 2007 - January 2008 in New York. The film opened #12 to a 1.8 mil. $ first weekend in 18 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #3 and in 1,003 theaters (different weeks), grossing 47.5 mil. $ (74.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 2.7 mil. $ (4.2 %) and the UK with 1.9 mil. $ (3 %). The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning for Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique) and Adapted Screenplay. It lost Best Picture to The Hurt Locker, Actress to Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side, Director to Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker and Editing also to The Hurt Locker. It also won 1/4 BAFTA nominations, 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, 5 Independent Spirit awards, an AFI award and a National Board of Review award, among countless other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. The film sold more than 1.5 mil. DVD's in its first week of release in North America. Daniels returned with The Paperboy (2012). Sidibe returned in Yelling to the Sky (2011); Mo'Nique in Steppin: The Movie (2009). Precious is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Precious?

All or Nothing (2002) - Leigh wrangles more working class destinies with great performances

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+ Best Drama of the Year + Best English Movie of the Year + Most Under-appreciated Movie of the Year 

Star Lesley Manville shows affection on this simple poster for Mike Leigh's All or Nothing

The Bassetts are a working class family in one of London's unenviable housing complexes. Their money are small, and their son is eating himself into an early grave in the small flat.

All or Nothing is written and directed by English master filmmaker Mike Leigh (Bleak Moments (1971)), whose 8th feature it is.
The film follows the discouraging but very human characters in the family: Lesley Manville (Dual Balls (1997, short)) is painfully good as the cashier mother, SPOILER who in the end has to face the fact that she is growing cold towards her husband. A young James Corden (The Three Musketeers (2011)) is astonishingly fat and wholly credible as the tragically alienated son.
Leigh is on home turf with the hard-drinking underclass characters, and again he spins gold out of their miseries: Timothy Spall (Wasteland (2012)) has the film's arguably hardest role as a cab driver, who comes up with unmotivated contemplations and unrealistic solutions to them. Decisive for the film's success, it is not without humor: We are given a good time here, while we instinctually get engaged in the sad, simple fates of the Bassetts. All or Nothing is a beautiful film.

Related post:

Mike Leigh: Another Year (2010) or, Life in England

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here

Cost: 9 mil. $
Box office: 2.8 mil. $
= Mega-flop (returned 0.31 times its cost)
[All or Nothing premiered 17 May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 128 minutes. Shooting took place in England, including London. The film opened #67 to a 25k $ first weekend in 7 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #38 and in 16 theaters (different weeks), grossing 201k $ (7.2 % of the total gross). The film's biggest 3 markets were production country the UK with 938k $ (33.5 %), Argentina with 925k $ (33 %) and Spain with 346k $ (12.4 %). The film lost the Palme d'Or to The Pianist; it was nominated for a British Independent Spirit award, 3 European Film awards and some other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. Leigh returned with Vera Drake (2004). Manville returned in 4 TV credits prior to Vera Drake; Spall in 3 video, TV and short credits prior to his theatrical return in Nicholas Nickleby (2002). All or Nothing is certified fresh at 82 % with a 7.05/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of All or Nothing?