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Don't Look Down
Don't Look Down
Actors: Hugo Arana, Mónica Galán, Antonella Costa, Leandro Stivelman, Octavio Borro
Director: Eliseo Subiela
Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Horror
UR     2009     1hr 25min

Tantalizing and sexy, cult director Eliseo Subiela's latest film explores the tantric possibilities of sexual imaginations and awakenings. This thoughtful film delves into mysticism and spirituality. When 19-year-old Eloy ...  more »

     
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Movie Details

Actors: Hugo Arana, Mónica Galán, Antonella Costa, Leandro Stivelman, Octavio Borro
Director: Eliseo Subiela
Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Horror
Sub-Genres: Indie & Art House, Love & Romance, Horror
Studio: Strand Releasing
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen - Subtitled
DVD Release Date: 03/24/2009
Original Release Date: 01/01/2009
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/2009
Release Year: 2009
Run Time: 1hr 25min
Screens: Color,Widescreen
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 12
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Languages: Spanish
Subtitles: English

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Movie Reviews

Tender Love Story
Daniel G. Lebryk | 05/11/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a tender love story between a young 19 year old inexperienced boy Eloy and a wise 28 year old woman Elvira. Eloy's father has died and he begins sleepwalking. His brother sets traps for him so that he will wake up and stop sleepwalking. Instead Eloy walks the roofs off buildings and eventually falls into Elvira's bed through her open skylight. From there the whole sexual awakening and teaching happens. Eventually they fall deeply in love and the story ends happily ever after.

In a way, this sounds like a wonderful, sweet movie that most would enjoy. Sadly, it's pretty far from what happens in the film. The viewer is treated to some pretty awful film techniques, needless slow motion, bad editing, over use of tracking shots, and just plain poor story telling.

To read the marketing description a person would think this is a treatise on the Kama Sutra and Tantric. It is so not that at all. Yes there are very very intimate scenes, these two lovers are very handsome without their clothes on. But an exploration of these two techniques? What we are treated to is a count down by Elvira. How many times can Eloy thrust before his nirvana? We see this scene played over and over again with Eloy becoming obsessed with that count - he has to reach 81! The pay off is him being mentally transported to a new city whenever he's reached between 80 and 100. This is no joke, that's exactly what is said in the film.

The film is supposed to have some mystic level. Eloy communicates with his dead father. He rides his bike through a cemetary every day and the dead line up doing hand motions to him, which, well, vaguely resemble the motion of self pleasuring. The Grandmother is some mystic able to see auras arounnd people. And Eloy and Elvira seem to have some mystic ESP connection. Frankly, it kind of all boils down to a pretext to see these two lovely people in bed. Of which there is roughly 1/3 of the film at this state, beautifully photographed.

The film is all about expectations. It is very far from a study of the Kama Sutra or the art of Tantra. Nobody will learn anything from what is in this film (there are many more infintitely more educational films than this one). If the viewer expects some elementary exploration of mystic ideas, a semi-sweet coming of age / love story, and doesn't mind intimate movies then they may well love this film. It was a bit too sophomoric for me.

The film is not rated by the MPAA. It has an R rating in Canada. As noted, roughly 1/3 of the film is of two people naked, making love or talking about love making, with full frontal nudity. There are no views of penetration or a male losing his seed (to quote the film). There's no violence. The infrequent use of strong language, mostly related to sexual acts in context."
Erotic and Sexy
Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 03/02/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

""Don't Look Down"

Erotic and Sexy

Amos Lassen

Strand Releasing's "Don't Look Down" explores sexual awakenings and imaginations as well as mysticism and spirituality. Eloy is nineteen and one night while sleepwalking, he falls through the roof of a beautiful woman, Elvira. She is an expert on the Kama Sutra and she shares her knowledge with Eloy.

Eliseo Subiela, the Argentine director, brings us a film that is charged with eroticism. This is a magical coming-of-age film that looks at sexual knowledge and how it relates to the mysteries of life and how it balances the spirit. Elvira is sex personified but she is also a respected woman and she is the wise one sexually.

The movie is a compilation from the tantric tradition, the Kama Sutra which is a manual for different sexual positions. The word "tantra" is Sanskrit and it means to explore, to spread and to manifest. In other words sex is a combination of different energies--thoughts, actions and physical matter. In tantric sex, lovemaking is prolonged so that the sexual union is perfect and harmonious. The sexual act changes from an act of doing to an act of being and becomes a spiritual as well as a physical experience.

"Don't Look Down" is an attempt at translating tantric sex into terms that can be related by a movie. Eloy at 19 is something of a mystic as he feels the spirit of his recently dead father passing through him and also sees the dead residents at the cemetery near his home. He has a simple job--he walks the streets of Buenos Aires on stilts selling sandwiches. After his meeting with Elvira, he learns of her expertise of tantric sex and he begins to spend afternoons with her. He is made aware of the meeting of sexuality and mysticism and how to have sex without ejaculation. He discovers that he can travel out of his body and end up where he wants to.

We learn that Elvira is only visiting Buenos Aires and when she tells Eloy that she must leave to return to Barcelona, he finds it difficult to let her go. The two that have come together must now come apart but Eloy is the wiser.

I am not sure what constitutes eroticism as I found the movie to be very erotic and another reviewer said he found no eroticism and in fact he found the movie uninteresting. That is the beauty of good cinema--we are allowed to come to our own judgments.
"
Don't Look Down
Blair Jones | 03/02/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)

"I guess I'm just too old to enjoy this film. While it was beautifully photographed I kind of felt I wasted time watching it. I love foreign films but this one is mediocre. Its not because of the sex. Its because, (and I know I will get pelted for this but its my opinion) it really is just soft porn.

The storyline was weak and the mysticism was an excuse to show naked young people. I don't care if sex is in a movie as long as its relevant to the storyline and not overkill. Would the audience appreciate the "beautiful coming of age story" if the stars were lumpy and out of shape? (A young Jack Black...zoinks shiver me timbers!)

I'm sorry to disagree with everyone but I did give it a try. I started watching it wanting to like it. I wanted to identify with the character because as it was advertised I saw some parallels with my own life. (Lost my father not so long ago, met my second husband not long afterward in a way that could only be described as fateful) Yet in the end I felt let down. The attempt to be deep was lost.

The only time I experienced true depth was at the end when Eloy's father appeared to him and told him life is about saying goodbye but don't let that stop you from living. That to me was what the film was supposed to be about and yet it ventured off down the road of positions and thrusts.

In any case just my two cents worth, not trying to offend anyone."