The Lure (Agnieszka Smoczynska, 2015): Country: Poland

Reviewed by Felix Palmqvist, Viewed at AFI Film Festival, 2016. Los Angeles, California.

Very interesting, different, gruesome but yet beautiful. I would say the scenery made up for the very simple and thoughtless story line. If you like musicals and burlesque type of style of film this one is for you. Very intense, sometimes violent performance scenes, was almost like being there, at the show in Warsaw, the way you as a viewer got thrown into it.
I usually not a big fan of musicals but I would say that this one caught my eye, I found it interesting or at least entertaining because it was different. Different in the way of music/language, sexual tension, violence, heavy drug and alcohol consuming mixed with beauty and emotion.

I saw this film at the AFI film festival and the director (Agnieszka Smoczynska) of the film was there for a Q and A after the screening with one of the main characters (Marta Mazurek). Most questions were about the mermaid dress that the main characters used.

The first 30 minutes of the film you as a viewer getting introduced to the club, a freaky-burlesque type of club, if I should describe it. How it works and who is working there. Then you get introduced to the main characters, which is to what it first seems like two normal girls in their 20’s but it soon will be announced that they are everything but normal,  spill a glass of water on them and their legs turns into fins. Yes, they are mermaids. The rest of the film is a tragic, brutal love story about forbidden and impossible desire between human and mermaid. Also jealousy takes place and turns the end of the film into a bloody mess.

What I really liked about the film was the music/performance scenes, that really made the film different and interesting. The way the director choose to set the mood, lighting combined with song really set the emphasized the mood of the characters and story.

Reminded me of the film “Black Swan” by Darren Aronofsky. The artsy bitter-sweet chase to a glamorous lifestyle. And how one of the mermaids where more unwanted just like the girl in Black Swan.

I would recommend this movie to the artsy, alternative person and of course you got to like musicals. Because this is as far from normal as you can come.