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24 reviews in total

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18 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
beautiful film, I watched it a second time in the theatre!, 19 February 2003

Author: edward dardis (eduardo10075@hotmail.com) from Vancouver Canada

It's been a couple of years since I saw, but would like to see it again. I remember it being magical. Everything works well in this film: the acting carries the film without dialogue, the color of the film (sepia) gives it a surrealistic, fairy-tale quality. Great story, focusing on saving a family-operated bathouse from evil developers. Many memorable scenes, including fooling the blind father that the place is full of customers. Another example of a film that Hollywood/USA could never make.

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13 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
A Great Film, 3 December 2000

Author: phasmatodea (phasmatodea@hotmail.com) from toronto, ontario, canada

I enjoyed Tuvalu immensely. I found it to be a very touching and heart-warming look into the life of an ordinary man living in an extraordinary world. The story was great. It had elements of suspense, romance, tragedy and quirky humour. The actors also did an excellent job of bringing to life the odd and endearing characters. I also found that the film really succeeded in bringing across a mood with exquisitely bleak scenery and visuals which I found reminiscent of both "City of Lost Children" and "Brazil". Tuvalu is an incredible surrealistic journey through a world full of fantasy and wonder. I highly recommend it.

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12 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
A wonderful experiment in the basics of film making., 29 September 2000
Author: dzstroke015 from Canada

This is a film that filled me with warmth and appreciation for the cinematic artform. Using tinted black and white film and a suggestion of dialogue, Veit Helmer was able to successfully tell a story in the way they were told within the first 30 years of cinema. It should renew anyone's faith in this medium who thought that Hollywood productions were all that were left to call "entertainment".

Andre is the younger son of a blind man, left to run a delapidated bath house in a fictional European city a few years in the future(?). He not only has to juggle the possible closing of the house by local authorities, keep business going as usual, and keep his Father from finding out the true plight of which they face, but also face his first true love, Eva. All this and an evil brother who wants to see the bath house torn down in way for a new development and you have a formula that has been seen many times over.

However, several elements come into play that make this an outstanding film. One, the film is shot using tinted black and white film, giving the decaying sets a life of their own. Second, Veir opted out of having any "real" dialogue and instead presented a combination of gestures, expressions and universally known words to convey the words. This made way for the kind of acting that was predominate in the first 30 years of film history, and if he had decided to illiminate the dialogue altogether it would have come out the exact same way. Not since the premiere films of Luc Besson, David Lynch or Lars Von Trier can I stress the incredible treasure that has been created.

I hope that many more of you have the chance to see this film.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Brilliantly offbeat fairy tale around a swimming pool, 2 June 2000
Author: Sergeiii from Fribourg, Switzerland

I have never been particularly fond of movies with taglines like "a poetic adventure" or "a journey into the land of dreams" stamped on their front, as this kind of advertising is usually nothing more than a weak excuse for the absence of a coherent plot or some in-depth characterization, leaving you in the guess why the filmmakers didn't stick to the painting of aquarelles in the first place. My expectations sank even lower when I understood that there wasn't going to be any dialogue in "Tuvalu", at least not in the proper sense of the term. So this couldn't be more than a soothing eye candy at best; hopefully free from the embarrassing "isn't our imagination a wonderful thing"-moments or the "why can't we all be children forever"-messages that tend to haunt this specific genre.

After a few moments into the film, I was entirely cured from that kind of prejudice. "Tuvalu" surprisingly brings across the magic that is promised on the poster - and it works well for a variety of reasons. First of all, despite the movie's innocent fairy tale character, it isn't coy about adult themes at all (like all good fairy tales, for that matter). We actually even have scenes of violence and nudity, but both are introduced in a very playful and witty manner; in a style which I should consider perfectly suitable for children.

Secondly, "Tuvalu" is hilariously funny, and at times, the humour is pretty far from being tongue-in-cheek... There is a lot of crude slapstick going on, and sometimes the whole movie is close to the coarseness of a Punch and Judy show; but most of the time one just laughs at the sheer originality and inventiveness of the production. Furthermore, the sparse use of words proves to be a great means of comedy as well - the effect is somewhat comparable to the quasi-absence of comprehensible language in Jacques Tati's films, or, for those who have seen it, in "Themroc".

Thirdly, there is always joy in watching talented and charismatic actors under the direction of a talented director and screenwiter. You can tell that everyone involved in the making was perfectly devoted to the project; and this justified euphoria of the makers comes across in almost every scene. They probably knew that they were doing something special, and this is indeed what they have achieved. Additionally, Helmer's use of light and colour is always original, but never distracting; every scene of this movie is simply beautiful to look at. Yes, I should say, imagination is a wonderful thing and it is an utter shame that we can't be children forever.

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
A genre bending film, 13 September 2000

Author: Shiva-11 from Vancouver, BC

I attended the preview screening of "Tuvalu" for one simple reason - it was the first film of the day and fit into my schedule. Having read a brief synopsis of the film, I went in with mixed expectations - the review snippets lauded the film, but could a two-hour black and white film largely bereft of dialogue really be that entertaining? Please pass the crow...

Set in a dilapidated indoor swimming pool (the Central Baths in Sofia), the film details the efforts of Anton, a clueless dreamer who yearns to sail the world, and Martha, the button obsessed cashier, to maintain the illusion for Anton's blind father that business is thriving. Working to sabotage their efforts is Gregor - Anton's brother - an amoral developer who is determined to raze the entire town and construct a sprawling condominium complex. Gregor engineers an accident that seems certain to doom the business and in the process steals away Eva, the beautiful woman of Anton's dreams. Will Gregor's dastardly plan succeed? It is difficult to categorize this film as it refuses to fit neatly within the confines of any particular genre. Taken on its simplest merits it is a slapstick comedy in the tradition of the Marx Brothers, Chaplin and the Keystone Cops. On this level, alone it will satisfy most viewers. A closer examination reveals a beautiful fairly tale with an innocent dreamer fighting to save his world and loved ones from evil. Finally, there is the none- too -subtle rail against the freight train of modernization, particularly relevant in many areas of post-Communist where vast construction projects are radically altering the cityscapes at the expense of history. However, one need look no further that our own city to see this -only recently have serious efforts been made to safeguard heritage buildings in Vancouver - some fear it may already be too late.

Originally filmed in black and white, the stock was laboriously tinted to give the interior shots take a Sepia tone and the exterior shots a muddy turquoise- grey, providing further contrast for the story elements. The visual experience is further enhanced by masterful cinematography, most notably the underwater sequences, which take on a wondrous ethereal quality. The sound engineers have also created a richly diverse auditory realm that meshes uncannily with the onscreen action. Finally, the exaggerated expressiveness of the actors, both emotive and physical keep the action flowing seamlessly.

If you are in search of an unusual, intriguing film, look no further.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
A delightful black and white "silent" comedy acknowledging a debt to Chaplin and Buster Keaton, 19 September 2000
Author: stebmarc from United States

The film is a beautifully photographed and outrageously funny example of visual story telling at its very best. Performances by all the leading characters are breathtakingly good and never for a moment overdone. I saw this film at the Taos Film Festival 2000 and it was by far the most memorable of the 10 or 12 I saw. I recommend it to anyone who is serious about the art and history of film making.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
The most beautiful movie I've ever seen..., 9 June 2001

Author: Dagmar Bittner (deirdrey2k@yahoo.de) from Erlangen, Germany

I love this movie! It's funny, it gives you material for hours of discussion and it makes you think and dream. my favourite scene is when Eva goes swimming with her pet-fish. Not only that her naked body looks very beautiful in the blue light - what impressed me most was the fact, that the fish believed to be free although it was imprisoned in a bigger vessel. A good film to reflect about your dreams and how to realize the ones that are no pipe dreams.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
A Fun and Bizarre Slapstick Fantasy!, 29 June 2008

Author: NateManD from Bloomsburg PA

"Tuvalu" is a fantasy/ comedy that pays homage to everything from early German expressionism to Buster Keaton, David Lynch, Fellini and Jeanet and Cairo. In fact, in many ways it's similar to the films "Delicatessen" and "City of Lost Children". In "Tuvalu" a mother and son own a public pool in a creaky old building. Customers pay in buttons to use the pool. Yeah, buttons. An evil contractor, who looks like Jack Nance from "Eraserhead", longs to tear the place down and build a casino. The son falls for a beautiful girl only to have the contractor steal her away from him. He fights to keep the place open and win the heart of the girl. That's the basic plot, although it almost defies description. Even though it's a German film, there is hardly any dialog. The characters communicate by saying each other's names, or using crazy facial expressions, grunts or simple words like "yeah" or "no" which translate into every language. Filmed in sepia tones, It also reminded me of Canadian director Guy Maddin. "Tuvalu" is visually stunning, comical and highly surreal. It is also very cute with its romantic charm.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Drab colours, annoying characters... call me crazy but I liked it, 25 August 2006

Author: rooprect from New York City

This is one of the weirder movies out there. But I can't say it's original, because Jeunet & Caro pioneered this exact style 18 years earlier in "Le Bunker de la dernière rafale" (1981). This is so much of a rip-off that I wonder if the director was deliberately making an homage to "Le Bunker", right down to the weird woman's chewing gum collection (except in "Bunker" it was boogers. yeah, yuck).

Also, let's get something out of the way in case you don't know it already: this is basically a black & white, silent film. So you need to have a good attention span. It also has some of the ugliest actors I've ever seen. So don't expect to instantly fall in love with any of the characters, the way we do with Johnny Depp or the Hollywood prettyboys. Instead we see a lot of wrinkly guys in need of a good orthodontist. Welcome to European cinema.

If I haven't scared you off yet, then maybe there's hope. Now let's get to the good part. Even though the plot is simple, it's a very challenging & fun film to watch. Because there's very little dialogue (mostly grunts, a few shouts and oh yes, the most hilarious line ever: "TECHNOLOGY... SYSTEM... PROFIT!"), you're forced to work your brain to understand even the simplest situations. In that respect, it reminds me of those emergency cards you read on airplanes. You know, the goofy cartoon icons without any words which are supposed to explain how to save your life in the event of cabin depressurization. It's all so retro.

Some of the gags are classic, and you may be reminded of some old Charlie Chaplin material.

And even though I said it's black & white, there are some downright magical colour tints which give it a dreamy feel. In one particular blue-tinted shot, we see a graveyard of half-sunken ships. I couldn't think of a better way of showing it--all the colours in the world couldn't express it better. Imagine if "Metropolis" (1927) had been re-done with seamless camera-work, cranes & dollies, and a very convincing set. That should give you an indication of the visual style.

Really the only reason why I'm rating this a 7 instead of a 9 is because it lost points for lack of originality (Jeunet/Caro rip-off). But that shouldn't diminish its effectiveness as a work of art, especially to those of you who haven't seen "Le Bunker de la dernière rafale" or "Delicatessen". In any case, it's definitely worth the rental fee.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Chaplin's Internet Dreams, 23 January 2011
Author: tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Going into this, you need some background, because the beginning does not much help you enter this ambitious world.

When this was made, the expectation was that much streaming online video (like Netflix) would be via websites with the suffix "dot TeeVee." That domain (the word itself is significant) was assigned to a tiny Polynesian island nation, who subsequently sold rights to internet speculators. The irony of watching a film, itself a pretense, in such a pretend domain is something that would have given me a chuckle. As there are a number of people like me, there is an audience for extensions of this comic notion.

The film features a wasteland of rubble, in the midst of which is an ornate old-fashioned moviehouse. Every narrative detail is built around various elements of the film experience, and the fantasies that it both evokes and rides on. You would not know that from the film itself however, and I suppose that is intended.

Once entering the building, having passed the box office (you can pay with a button), the immersive experience is a swimming pool. The success of this is fabricated for the senile owner, and threatened by "the authorities." It is powered by a complex steam device, clearly labeled "Imperim," incidentally the name (at the time) of a large movie file sharing website.

Built on this are many overlapping references to film-fantasy borders, using overt film references, mostly from the era of "pure" cinema. One narrative thread has to do with a romance, woven into another with the notion of escape via sea. The "engine" of the cinema is literally moved to the boat of this romantic escape while the moviehouse collapses. It is all something of a muddle, but a muddle in such respectful and complex notions of film, you end up glowing at the sharing of the thing.

If you like Guy Maddin, you will like this. Some scenes simply charm your soul. The one most often cited is our love interest swimming nude underwater with her beloved pet goldfish in a bowl.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

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