Montenegro (1981)

To say this movie is weird, is an understatement. But that's what makes this great character study of a film, intriguing, with just the right amount of sex and nudity, complimented by an intriguing weirdness and stylishness. You gotta give it that. Though it's that early pier scene, that stays in my mind, the great Anspach who just commands the screen, with each scene she's in, plays an insanely bored rich little wife, who husband's neglect has worsened to the point of making her completely tipped over. Her frustration is something we really sympathize, if painfully witness, where she goes to some scary lengths, two illustrate her upset. Getting in a bit of strife at the airport, where she's separated from hubby, and ending up with some "not your typical but exciting immigrants", she happily embarks on a rejuvenating adventure with some pretty saucy scenes, some you can well tell, have been toned down. The bizarre yet tragic ending based on fact, is the high point of this whole film, which if far from perfect, but one movie experience, you must indulge once, if even just for the great Anspach. Indulge

This film has it all. Great acting.Great script.The story is quirky and pulls you in.The mixture of "conventional Sweden", the ex-patriot wife, and the Balkan immigrant community creates a powerful tension.Wonderful photography/editing,And charming theme song, thanks to Shel Silverstein. Susan Anspach is a knockout in portraying the dislocated housewife amidst the bizarre immigrants of the Zanzibar.It is an example of why small, independent films rule over the excesses of Hollywood garbage.

Were it not for the wooden dialogs this could have been a better movie. It is a little hard for the characters to come off as authentic when they sound as if they give dictation. The humor was not bad, especially in scenes such as the group-photographs with the man with the knife sticking out of his forehead, but such scenes are few and far between in this movie. The ending (no spoilers here) is too abrupt, as if the director wanted to end the film in the quickest way possible. I could not identify with, or bring myself to like any of the characters, and that alone makes this a bad movie. The one thing I would say for this endeavor is that the sex scenes are refreshingly original.

This is a nihilist black comedy about the emptiness of success and riches.Susan Anspach is an American housewife, 40ish, married to a rich Swede, and living in a palatial Stockholm seaside residence. She's bored and frustrated. Her father-in-law is 80ish and auditioning wives. Her children are helping their grandfather with the auditions. Her husband is always out of town, and when he's in town he won't sleep with her. Gradually, her behavior is becoming more and more erratic.When she is denied permission to board a plane to Brazil (because she tried to carry oversized gardening shears on board), she falls in with some struggling Yugoslavian immigrants, and is attracted by their zestful, lusty craziness.This movie is completely nihilistic. All of the characters are painted in very broad comic brushstrokes, ala Dr. Strangelove, and the sets and situations border on the surrealistic. (There's even a dysfunctional clock homage to Dali's "Persistence of Memory")This is one odd movie, but I liked it a lot. One cannot expect the characters to behave as people really would, but the movie is energetic and hilarious in sections, erotic in other sections, and the production values are impressive.This was made in 1981. The director never really made a brilliant movie, but he should have. There is so much talent in evidence here.