Liebestraum (1991) by Mike Figgis is long on style and atmosphere, and short on content. Nick Kaminsky (played by Kevin Anderson), teacher and writer on architecture, comes to Elderstown to see his dying mother in the hospital. He runs into old school chum Paul Kessler (Bill Pullman) who is tearing down the most interesting building in town, an old department store using cast iron construction. Anderson saves Pullman's life when a sign falls from the rooftop. A grateful Pullman invites him to his wife Jane's (Pamela Gidley) birthday party that night, and it is obvious immediately that Gidley and Anderson are attracted to each other.

The department store was closed after a multiple homicide. Both Gidley (who is a photographer) and Anderson are interested in the building. Working together, they draw ever closer to an affair, which parallels the affair a generation ago that resulted in the multiple murders. The film looks great, with interesting lighting and camera angles, but there is just not enough story, or enough surprises to make a suspense film. In an attempt to create the suspense, Figgis tried to obscure the story line as much as possible. Still, the audience figures it out long before the characters. Figgis also committed a major Tuna no-no by having everyone have sex with their clothes on. This is especially irritating in a film that is supposed to be sexy, and revolves around two acts of illicit sex.

Gidley does show her butt in close-up in the shower, and most of a nipple using the classic falling tits (arms crossed under the breasts) pose to prevent better exposure. I have never actually observed a woman's breasts fall off, but it must happen, as I often see them carefully holding them up this way. While her face is not in frame with either shot, it is her. With the butt shot, it is a slow pan from shoulders to mid-thigh, and the intricate freckles on her back agree completely with other shots of her back in the film. In the breast shot, it is a slow pan up that ends showing her face.

Maltin saw the same flaws I did, and awarded 2 1/2. Ebert was even less impressed at 2 stars. IMDB readers say 6.0/10. C-.

Most of the material had been sitting on my hard drive since my period of inactivity, so I thought it was high time to put them in some collages and on the Fun House. It's an all European contribution which looks all right to me since July 21 is Belgium's national public holiday and our country is holding the presidency of the EU for the rest of the year.

From Sweden we have Ewa Aulin (1, 2) in an obscure 1971 Italian movie called "La controfigura". Be sure to have a peek at her big... glasses.

Then there's a trio from France : Lara Guirao in "L. 627" from 1992, Elsa Lunghini in "Le retour de Casanova" also from 1992 and Hélène Surgère in 1978's "Corps à Coeur" (1, 2, 3) a rather nice movie dealing with a younger man who falls in love with an older woman. Hélène must have been well into her forties but she obviously had no qualms about showing her naked body.

There's yet another trio but from Germany this time : Franziska Petri in "Wie eine Mutter ihr Leben verspielt" from 2001, Anneke Sarnau in 2000's "Vom Küssen und vom Fliegen" and Gila von Waitershausen in "Die Fälschung" (1981).

Finally we have a duo from Belgium. First is Ann Ceurvels in 1999's "Badry's Alibi" (1, 2, 3) where she keeps an illegal North African immigrant as her toy boy until he's busted by the police. Let's end this contribution with a girl from my home town, model/actress/sandwich bar owner Sofie Winters (Sophie in the IMDb) who nearly died a couple of years ago. She was in a coma for several weeks but luckily she pulled through and looks healthier than ever as you can see here.

That's all for now, for King, for freedom and for justice (last words of our national anthem).

-ICMS.