Three half-hour films about erotic love from three internationally fêted directors might seem alluring, but this trilogy veers from the sublime to the ridiculous. Wong Kar Wai, in fetishistic In The Mood For Love vein, is responsible for the most satisfying segment. Set in nocturnal ’60s Hong Kong, it’s a gorgeously shot study of the unconsummated relationship between a courtesan (Gong Li) and her tailor (Chang Chen). Steven Soderbergh’s contribution concerns a stressed ’50s New York advertising executive (Robert Downey Jnr), who’s relating a recurring dream to his distracted analyst (Alan Arkin); it boasts sharp performances, some striking cinematography and a playful capacity to shift between reality and fantasy. But Michelangelo Antonioni’s tale of a couple’s break-up resembles self-parody, with its pretentious and badly dubbed dialogue, contrived story, and soft-core focus on nubile female flesh.
Verdict:
NOVERDICT
