Exotica

surprised to find i love it more than ever. the structure should be too calculated, the use of 'everybody knows' should be too cute, characters like the egg-smuggling pet shop owner are like something out of a goofy made-for-TV procedural... so why is it so good? partly because exactly the right amount of information is provided, but mostly it's that the pain is so palpable even the dances throb with it. the scene behind the club gets me by the intestines.

1994: the year of overlapping narrative structures. More than most films, Exotica does a great job of keeping you on your toes, slowly teasing out information that provides greater depth and contextualization to its characters and their histories. Everybody in this film is deeply empathetic, regardless of how broken. Despite their torments, the title isn't ironic; this movie is oozing atmosphere. I thought things wrapped up a bit neatly at the end, but damn if it wasn't a compelling ride.

I have to say, rarely does a song encapsulate a movie as well as Everybody Knows encapsulates Exotica.

Great atmosphere and seducement all along. And a catchy phrase: Nobody asked you if you wanted to be brought into this world. You just ended up getting here. So the question is, now that you are here, who is asking you to stay?

A strange, trippy art-house mood -type of movie with a story that doesn't really make a lot of sense at first, but comes together in bits and pieces. It has a haunting, ethereal feel to it throughout, a little bit unreal, a little bit cold, but always meaningful. Mia Kirshner is so great here, as is the rest of the cast, but she really does stand out here. I felt really bad for those bood animals in the petshop, though. Clean those fish tanks, man!

Atanamamış David Lynch, Varoluşçu Shyamalan. Atom Egoyan’ın setleri o kadar stilize, diyalogları o kadar ‘egzantrik’ ki gözlerinizi kapattığınızda yer yer kendinizi “the room” seyretmediğinize inandırmanız gerekiyor. Vasat dramaturji de cabası.

Slow, dark, hypnotic with great soundtrack. Composer: Mychael Danna See also Crash (1996) by David Cronenberg

Took a while to click, where all that kept me going was the excellent atmosphere. It reveals all these loose plot strings and characters with unknown motivations and trusts you'll give it a chance to reveal itself. Once everything starts coming together it's a sight to behold. There's an interesting contrast of detachment and warmth in the various character relationships that starts off as an undercurrent and eventually becomes the main thrust of the film which I thought was very well done.

A poetic tribute by atom egoyan to "everybody knows" by the great poet "leonard cohen". fascinating....

The narrative is complex, and slowly brings out a wonderfully nuanced familiarity with the characters. All the same, it doesn't convey a sense of great import, as if the potential to carry significant weight was actively suppressed. But what I really fell for is the beautifully realised atmosphere. It's like a world that was lost in the moment of it's creation. Both exotic and local, contemporary and mythic: the 'baby grand' might relate a plausible metaphor of the film itself.

I really like this stripclub, it's the only stripclub that i found appealing in all the hundreds of stripclubs i've seen in the movies (and the thousands that i've visited). The movie is mostly confusing and intentionally vague. Sometimes it starts to come together and almost gets good, but then hides back in its veil of mysteriousness so my attention dissappeared slowly like air from a flat tire

An intoxicating, atmospheric experience with what feels like a perfectly executed vision dealing with themes of loss and coping with extremely damaged, interesting characters all very well played. Oddly, both younger male supporting actors look like a young Robert De Niro. I'm not sure how I feel about the Rosetta's Stone ending. It might have been even better without that explanation, but it was set up earlier in the film and I can't complain much about it.

With an ethereal and almost Lynchian-type atmosphere, Egoyan's step into the erotic genre pays off if you are patient. The overlapping narratives payoff, for the most part, and serve to give a serious punch by the film's conclusion. The music and nightclub itself create a very engaging mood that really made this work for me.

Atmosphere and set design create an otherworldly experience that's filled with loose ends. The conclusion draws a bunch of them together, underlining the fact that these people are far more lost than they appear.

You can tell it’s fascinating, but I just didn’t like it by the end

Who the fuck strips to Leonard Cohen...?!?!?!

I loved the intro soundtrack as well as the other songs in the movie.At first I couldn't understand the story but I got drawn into to its mystery and atmosphere.It's a very personal movie.Even I can't empathize with the lead role's trauma, its one of the very few movies that attracted me with this narrative and cinematography.

The style and aesthetics are wonderful. The "Everybody Knows" dance scene is brilliant. The plot is compellingly mysterious to start but ends up kind of clumsy and maudlin.

Such a (somewhat) under appreciated film, I think a lot of people read the description or watch the trailer and think this is a movie like Striptease, which is nothing like this. This is a well made movie about people and life's struggles.

each stylish atmosphere is a caricature within which the strange characters gradually and perilously unfurl themselves to a redemption

Great atmospheric locations, but ties everything up a little too neatly in the end. Oh, and ballet is... different, in Canada.

Seen: 2.

Even though the potential of this movie is evident,it left me dissatisfied: the narrative is complex,but not complex enough to make me enthousiastic; the acting is good,but Koteas steamrolls over the whole thing with annoying self-importance,clouding all the actually good performances; the fragmented storytelling kept me interested,but it ends in mediocrity. Lastly, the eerily uncomfortable emptyness of the club and its performances almost made me turn off the movie,especially because of the DJ.

Nice atmosphere, like a nightly taxi ride mixed with an oriental score. The plot is secondary.

A hypnotic, perfectly pitched puzzle about identity, perception and the pasts that shape us. The film is driven by routine, and by expectation - images are coded one way, and then revealed to mean something else entirely. The film makes us complicit in our own deception, as much victims as we are perpetrators. "Everybody knows the fight was fixed," Leonard Cohen intones - maybe we do, but that doesn't stop us from going up against it. A haunting, beguiling and ultimately quite tragic film.

Well-made and atmospheric but devoid of a plot until the end (albiet a very good one). The disparate character build-up took too long for me.

I should have watched this all at once instead of over the course of three hectic days.

The film's low key, subdued mood is hypnotic. Watching it reminds me of being in that comfortable half-awake half-asleep state where everything is both real and dreamlike. Aside from the interesting atmosphere, I liked how the back stories of the characters fell into place very gradually - almost like slowly waking from a dream. Overall a unique, worthwhile experience.

* Casting, Acting : 7 * Script : 7 * Directing, Aura : 7 * Ease of Viewing : 6 * Naked Eye : 7

The main reason for me wanting to see this movie was the actress Mia Kirshner, whom I think is one of the sexiest women in the world. And I did definitely enjoy seeing her dance to Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows". However, she wasn't all this film had to offer. It was pretty good actually. It was a well-directed and well-told story. I liked how it dealt with several aspects of sexual desire and perversion. Recommended.

This is a well made dark drama. There are a lot of damaged characters in this film. If you are a Adam Egoyan fan you must check out this film.

Takes a while to really get going, but once the connections between the flawed but fascinating characters become clear it proves all that set-up was definitely worth it. Has a cool, brooding atmosphere and a pretty effective soundtrack. Bruce Greenwood really impressed me with his performance.

Fantastic mood piece. Convoluted and bizarre, but it is also really involving (and unsettling) in a strange way. The film is marvelously shot, with great set(s), a beautiful score and mostly good to great performances. One of the better films I've seen in a while.

Atom Egoyan being Atom Egoyan. The structure and some of the acting was pretty great.

An authentic Mexican soap opera. Something like a mix between Sex, Lies and Videotape and Closer. Pure shit.

Great. Characters are interesting and the film plays out really well - intense & involving. Somewhat depressive and unsettling but you won't regret watching it

Moody film with a spectacular soundtrack. Near the top of the "seemingly random group of people that are actually connected" genre.

A fantastic film with extremely complicated characters and an excellent screenplay. Mia Kirshner is amazing.

Score based on distant memory.

Another of Egoyan's unique little concoctions. I want to buy the soundtrack