Very disappointing...

That was an excellent one.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Mentally scarred as a child, a young woman grows up paranoid about her sexuality in this anti-narrative movie set during three phases in her life. The first section is the best, with Cassandra Forêt perfectly cast as the wide-eyed heroine as a child. The low-lit, old fashioned house in which she resides is very creepy and there is a real sense of paranoia in the air as her parents constantly argue bicker behind her back, call her a witch and accuse her of filthy things which remain unspecified (though bed wetting is implied). There is also a strange hooded figure that wanders between rooms and an elderly relative who is either a deep sleeper or dead. The sharp sound recording, unusual camera angles, intense colour filters and rapid editing all combines to make this segment enthralling even when what it all adds up to is unclear. The second and third chapters are unfortunately less mysterious, but there is still plenty to like in how well distributed close-ups and reaction shot edits reveal the extent to which she, now a teenager in the second chapter, believes that every man she comes across is interested in her body. The third chapter has her return home as an adult with some horror-like plot developments that are best left undisclosed. 'Amer' might not be the easiest film to warm too with so much left unclear and unresolved, but is an audiovisual experience like few other movies out there.

Saw this movie at Frightfest Glasgow.And let me just start by saying oh my good god and holy ghost and mother mary, this is so fantastically boring.Yeah, yeah, before you get your sweats in a wrinkle, I get that it is supposed to be "art", and blah-blah. But that doesn't mean it has to be boring.There is close to no horror here, it is absolutely not a horror movie. There is one scene that is actually pretty creepy, but that's it.No more. No more horror for you! Get out!Really. It is a lot of, uhm, silence, and, I don't even know what to call it. Just, super mellow. People looking through key-holes(?), scarfs blowing in the wind. I don't know. I feel a little douchy, because I'm sure the people who made this are nice hardworking people and I doubt they would call this horror. It should definitely not be shown at a horror movie festival. No, no, no.It should be shown at a can-you-stay-awake-though-this-festival.During the whole movie I hoped for the horror to start. In every scene (feels like about 14 hours long) you wait for something to happen, then no. Just a new scene with nothing cool. I was so happy when this movie was over. That's not what you want from a movie!

once in a while come a film, that is extraordinary. Beyond all you've seen before. "Amer" is such a film. First of all: This is no "horror" film at all. It is something beyond any known genre. A masterpiece, that will make no sense at all, if you expect a storyline or explanations. If you want to see it like that, you may be disappointed. But if you are able to watch it like a dream, a recording of the dream state of an unknown woman, you will experience an amazing trip. To me this film is as close to a dream as a film can come. The visual ideas and the camera-work is simply awesome. A proof that you don't have to spend big budgets to make a great movie. The missing of a concrete storyline gives a lot of space for own ideas. To me something I love. I am bored of all the cleverness in modern films and stories. "Amer" gives room for fantasy and imaginations. One of the bravest films I've seen for years. Thubs up. Hope to see more from those directors.

"Amer" has three parts, sections, chapters, whatever you want to call them following three specific periods in the life of Ana, her as a child, virginal teenager, and a young woman experiencing an unusual sexual awakening. Even in the second chapter, you feel something sinister could happen to Ana as she seems to purposely drift towards danger (in the second part's case a group of bikers). The first chapter has young Ana interested in a timepiece clutched in the hands of her grandfather (who may or may not be deceased), experiencing her first sight of sex catching her parents in the throes of ecstasy while attempting to avoid her creepy grandmother (I call her the "lady in black" as she wears a black dress and shawl, her face almost always hidden). The second chapter has a teenage Ana, walking with her mother to a store for groceries (her mother also is there to get her hair colored and dried), chasing after a soccer ball she kicked away from a boy interested in her, finding herself in the company of a rugged motorcycle gang. The third chapter has Ana returning to her childhood palatial home, now in ruin and decay, possibly in jeopardy of becoming the victim of a psychopath in black leather gloves, carrying on his (or her) person a straight razor. In the third chapter is a taxi driver who drove Ana to her home after she got off the train. The direction by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani never allows the film to remain grounded in reality, but instead they opt to pursue the desires and fantasies of the protagonist who seems to have kept her inner yearnings and sexual passions held imprisoned within. But, even more interesting, is how the sexual evolves into a weird psycho-sexual, with Ana's fantasies growing more violent until a victim finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. The camera work is up, close, and personal, and if you are not a fan of extreme close-ups of the flesh, of the eyes, of the mouth, then this film will certainly annoy you. There is also a heavy emphasis on sound, whether it be leather rubbing skin or the metal of a straight razor tapping teeth, cloth of a dress beating away thanks to the wind (in the second chapter, we see how the wind flaps open Ana's dress repeatedly, her panties present in quick bursts), the use of comb teeth to pleasure the flesh, or this ominous sound of heavy breath, the directors want us to always be aware of the characters and surroundings revolving around Ana during each chapter of her life. I firmly believe what we witness as a child can have a great impact on our lives as teenagers and adults, with Ana experiencing terror and sex first hand at such an early age, shaping the woman she would become. The use of color is pure Bava and the POV is all Argento, while the more giallo elements feature prominently in the final act, when there's a nice bit of savagery that punctuates Ana's journey into the abyss. Tantalizing shots of hands caressing skin (particularly at the end, with erected nipples further conveying the erotic charge such caress brings), little knowing smirks that signify Ana knows men are watching her closely, and a dress ripping apart at the sewn seams as Ana is caught up in the wind while having her head out the window during the taxi drive to home, all add a sensual quality that is present throughout the movie—this is the ultimate sexual awakening movie that turns dark and deadly. Eye popping cinematography from Manuel Dacosse and impressive editing from Bernard Beets ensure that the film carries a mood and aura so surreal and off-the-wall, we experience all the sights and sounds that are present near and around Ana (even an ant or spider pose a threat to Ana, crawling up her leg or into her hair). A bearded face, an eye through a key hole, aged fingers creeping towards her: all seem to offer the possibility of evil or harm to Ana. "Amer" will be certain to frustrate some viewers while others may find it a tough slog, but I think those interested in something a bit different and unusual might like it.