Flerte

One short film script repeated three times in three different cities in the United States, Europe and Japan. The dialogue is identical in each; the plot plays out the violent and alienating repercussions of chronic flirtation and self-destructive covetousness. The subtle differences in each scenario are due (theoretically) to the changes in setting, sexual orientation and cultural backdrop.

If you're a Hal Hartley fan you'll probably enjoy this film to some extent; if you're not then you may be easily put off by the repetition of what could be seen as stiff artsy banter. The dialogue is clever, sharp, witty - characteristically quirky Hal Hartley writing. But the first scenario, set in New York and involving Martin Donovan, Parker Posey and that other favorite Hal Hartley actor from Simple Men (Bill something), is easily the best of the three and the high point of the film.

There's some really nice editing in this film, for those who have an interest in technical considerations.

The idea of transporting a story and telling it in three continents is an intriguing one. What we have in Flirt is a weak New York story which verges on the ridiculous when transported to Berlin and Tokyo, particularly when it comes to handgun ownership.

The similarities are unsubtle and contrived, and you feel the actors, who do well in this, are fighting a very stilted script.

Maybe if Hal Hartley had spent more time exploring the differences in how the story would play in different cultures and less time making ‘high quality titillation' (his own description) then it might have made it a better viewing experience.

I'm a big fan of Hartley, and I went into this film with no idea of what it was about. I felt disappointed pretty quickly. The trademark Harley weirdness felt forced, but more importantly the dialog was less interesting, so that it all felt very static. There were a few interesting moments sprinkled in here and there, but I only kept watching because I hoped that at some point it would all come together and click into gear.

And then, 20 minutes or so in, the story ends, we're in a different country and the same exact story with the same dialog that wasn't interesting the first time is done a second time. And then, when that plays out, a third time.

Why? I have no idea. What is this meant to show us? That people all over the world have boring little stories to tell? It doesn't really matter what Hartley's intent was, the final product is pure tedium, with just a little purely gratuitous nudity thrown in to spice things up.

I really liked this movie, and I enjoy it more and more each time I see it (and it says something that I went out and bought it after one viewing, just so I could watch it again and again). On one level, it's just a lot of fun, very insightful, wittily written and playfully acted by a great cast. On another level, it's also quite poetic, obviously made with a lot of love, and structurally speaking, an incredibly well-executed work of art- perhaps too artsy for some people. I would have to say that Hal Hartley is my favourite film maker, indie or not, and of his movies, this is probably one of the best and most accessible. He'll probably never be mainstream, but that's not a bad thing- it's partially the individuality of his work that makes it so unique, so honest, and so damn good. FLIRT is a fine, fine example.

This is a film about the human behaviour, more or less. Like Jim Jarmousch did on "A Night On Earth", Hal Hartley attempts to reach the depths of a human soul, in a cosmically way, I think. We are more or less the same even if we don't admit it. A specific action can bring equal reaction from almost all of us. That is the point of the film. FLIRT focuses as the title says in flirting. This doesn't necessarily mean that it couldn't be otherwise, on the contrary. Hartley has his own way of processing images (and what a way!). After all he was a cinematographer, he should know. Poetic close-ups, characters more lovable not for what they say or do but for what they might say or do. This particular film studies the same situation in three different corners of the world. The places are not important. This could have happened anywhere and it did. Especially in the last place "Tokyo" the sequences are absolutely marvellous. I will not try to criticize the script as a script. There are people who get paid to do that sort of things. This is not a film to be seen by people with "conventional" eyes. This is not a conventional film. Far from it. Anyone who knows of Hal Hartley's work knows exactly what I mean. A 10 out of 10 for this brilliant film by Hartley, and remember best things in life are the ones we can't quite explain them.