I knew very little of the director before seeing this film as part of the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival in the Bay Area, California. I had seen the trailer for the film and was intrigued by what I saw, especially the idea that it was all done without any dialogue.
The Bra certainly contained some beautiful outdoor photography, along with the assorted quirky characters that I look for in films. The director was present at the showing of the film and we were looking forward to hearing him, asking questions, etc.
He also found a very interesting assortment of actresses from different countries to play key roles (from Spain, Romania, etc.) while the story was set in and around Baku, Azerbaijan. So, these were all major pluses the film had going for it. The premise was that a retiring train operator snags a bra that is drying in the sun - he then sets out on a very determined journey to find the owner, just as the prince set out to find the owner of the glass slipper in Cinderella. Some very hilarious moments, along with the obvious nudity to be expected when women give it a try with the bra.
Here is the spoiler - although the whole idea of finding the owner of the bra is pretty quirky and funny at first, it slides into some sadder moments and then downright creepy as the frustrations grow. The main character is an older man, some of the women seem to get younger, but the worst of it is that he actually climbs into a sleeping woman's bedroom to try to put a bra on her. What was the director thinking? This is a major assault of the worst kind. There was also a scene where he poisoned a doctor and nurse so he could fill in and take chest x-rays of women. As someone else pointed out in their review, some of these women were poor and putting their trust into the doctor to do the right thing, whereas the train operator exploits the whole idea in a horrible way. Since we knew the film was coming near the end, we sat it out to see the "happy" ending, but got up immediately before the credits rolled. Had no interest in debating the director on why he ruined an otherwise creative and interesting film.
I think some of the overly positive rating are are too high since there is no mention of these two major downfalls in the film.I gave it a six star rating because of the positives, but can't go any higher because of these two glaring plots in the story. So I say, viewer be prepared if you choose to see this.
I think some of the overly positive rating are are too high since there is no mention of these two major downfalls in the film.I gave it a six star rating because of the positives, but can't go any higher because of these two glaring plots in the story. So I say, viewer be prepared if you choose to see this.