Anthology Film Archives

ULRICH SEIDL’S ‘PARADISE TRILOGY’

December 16 – December 22

The latest work by Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl, one of the most uncompromising and provocative of all contemporary filmmakers, was originally conceived of as a single film portraying three different (but related) women through the lens of the vacations they choose to take during their holidays: one journeys to Kenya where she takes part in the sex tourism industry, another does missionary work within Vienna, and the third does time at a diet camp for teenagers. Finding himself generating far more material on each character than intended, Seidl expanded the film into a trilogy, devoting a full feature to each woman. In its completed form (comprising PARADISE: LOVE, PARADISE: FAITH, and PARADISE: HOPE) it’s a typically no-holds-barred achievement that, while not for the faint-of-heart, adds up to a razor-sharp and unsentimental but not uncompassionate depiction of the search for happiness in contemporary Western society. We will be presenting the New York Theatrical Premiere Run of PARADISE: HOPE, supplemented by special screenings of the first two films in the trilogy, allowing them to be seen together as intended!

Distributed by Strand Releasing; special thanks to Mike Williams.

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