Philantrop

This is a special kind of crap. Body horror, strange stuff without even a trace of inherent logic, tragically bad acting, a storyline that basically doesn't exist and a plot as thin as down-watered cow manure.

As so often, the plot has been laid out often enough. So straight to the point: This movie sounds interesting and has an acceptable concept. Technically, it's well done; good acting (Rourke, De Niro, Bonet), dark atmosphere, a convincing set.

Its only fault is: It's boring and way more ambitious than what it delivers in the end.

(Spoilers ahead)

The age-old subject of a man selling his soul to the devil and then trying to cheat his way out of the deal may still be appealing but it only works if the cheater is at least a bit likable. Harry Angel (the obvious pun is annoying either) isn't. He's a brute, a bully, a loser. Someone you don't care about at all. Who cares if he looses his soul?

To make this waste of celluloid a bit more interesting, they thrust in some voodoo, some half-incestuous sex and lots of blood. Unfortunately, it's all uninspired and looks like a gumbo soup. Better spend two hours cooking instead of watching this piece of crap.

The plot of this movie has been described often enough here so I'll just get to the point: While we've indeed seen many of this movie's elements elsewhere, it's still a fairly enjoyable one. It's not exactly one of my favourite movies but it fulfilled all my expectations.

Many have criticized it for being predictable to some degree and, again, yes, that's true. I've seen the twist coming long before it is revealed to the audience but even though - who cares as long as you can still enjoy it? I surely did and even if it was only to see *how* they did it.

There is nothing new in this movie that would add to its genre. But haven't we seen about everything already anyway? Most movies made these days simply *can't* be all new and original. And still, we can enjoy many of them anyway.

So, if you like a good thriller and are not just watching movies to find their inevitable faults (like many here seem to do), you won't be disappointed by this one.

... and I have a habit of watching bad movies when I can't sleep at night. So I consider myself an expert for the few, select worst movies ever. And BWP tops them all.

(Spoiler begins here)

Three idiots stumble through a wood that wouldn't hardly even qualify as one in Europe. They argue and swear (I don't feel offended by strong words but this was simply swearing for its own sake) and the only reason they kind of break down is that they obviously can't stand each other. And I can't blame them. Any sane person would hate each of them. They reach some house, one of them stands in a corner (oh horror!) and that's it.

(Spoiler ends here)

In short: Don't watch this. BWP is the *real* "Ring" tape - it's just quicker, it takes only 86 minutes to kill you by boredom.

If you're in need of entertainment, better read the other negative comments here. They are way more entertaining than the movie itself.

Alexandre is a very human character. He is complicated: His love for his fiancée Laure is real but his fears are too. He hurts her deeply and yet simply *has* to do it. It's a fact of life. Laure in fact understands him but cannot let go of him completely which makes her very convincing as we all know how hard it can be to let a beloved person go. She finally comes to recognize the depth of Alexandre's love for Fanfan and shows deep insight in finally accepting it. Opposed to this understanding is Fanfan. For a long time she loves Alexandre but fails to understand him to the fullest. The portrayed characters are full of passion, of life and contradictions which makes the film very convincing - a tragedy, a comedy and a romance. Very special, very good, very french.