qariq

For several years I was in the Army, stationed in West Germany. I worked for a time in Counter-Intelligence. We looked for and caught spies. Many spies had very compelling stories and most of them were patriots, in their way. But they were spies. They preyed on human weakness and betrayed human trust. That's the nature of the spy business.

I liked this movie. All the reviews speak of the wonderful scenery, acting and cinematography. All good stuff. But forgive me if I find Vera less than sympathetic. She was a loyal East German who fooled a family, participated in the killing of an innocent girl, and betrayed her new home country. She wasn't "Lebensborn" but took advantage of them to benefit her old home country.

Vera died. Too bad, perhaps. But her family lived and had to live with her story. Any sympathy should lie with them, not her.

I've read everyone's comments about this movie and most of them make sense, even the ones I disagree with. But I cannot believe that no one saw what I thought to be the most important point or fulcrum upon which this flick rests.

I'm not sure what "Borderline" is, but I can guess. And judging by the fact that Reza's behavior is thus described I think I get it. That part of her personality and the destructive impact on the relationship form the skeleton of this story.

This movie was made 8 years ago when the explosion in breast augmentation was really gathering steam. Big boobs were all the rage; and it has only grown (Please, no pun intended). We never see Eric particularly interested in the breasts of the women he chats with, but that's ALL Reza sees.

I think the quality (genius is too strong a word) the filmmakers bring to this movie is the muted way they don't emphasize the breasts. We never see the camera linger over a cleavage or tight sweater, but we do see Reza getting real crazy whenever larger (but never monster) breasts are anywhere near Eric.

So Reza's "Borderline" behavior is really focused on her breasts. By the time we get to the scene where she accuses Eric of flirting with the "black girl on the tube", whether there was a girl there or not, we know that she had substantial boobs. Guys' eyes wander all the time and we often forget what we've seen as soon as we've seen it. But Reza cannot forget. Even if Eric didn't notice the girl, the fact that a large breasted woman was on the tube car was enough for Reza.

Finally, the post-surgery Reza was Reza at her most pitiful. Now she has what she wants. Now there is no worry about other women better endowed. Reza has got 'em. And she degrades herself with Rocco. What better testament to the futility of vanity rewarded.

To those who criticized the "river in France" bits; I agree. And in the end who cares if Silke loves Eric? All the power in the story was sucked out by this unrelated plot mechanism.

A thoughtful movie. I liked it.

This is a pretty mediocre movie. Hollywood never gets gambling movies right (Rounders excepted), but they did OK for the most part. Early stuff was good. Later depictions of real gambling were totally lame. Double agents, million dollar bets in a small joint, all that stuff was just plain wrong. But the ending line was wonderful. Worth a rent just for that. What was the striper scene about? Nice rack on the one we saw, but what was the point. I'd love to see Camden Brady's pair, but the best we got was teaser. Max Herholtz did a much better acting job than some have given him credit for. Especially early on. By the way, no casino in the world, ever, under any circumstances, lets a dealer lose 4 mil without changing everything. new dealer, new floor man, new cards, new cocktail waitress, everything. Hollywood never gets gambling movies right.