Love (2005)

Told through a looping, non-linear narrative from each of the characters' points of view, the film reconstructs the stories of a Yugoslav hit man, his former lover and her police officer boyfriend, as their paths cross in New York.

Director:

Vladan Nikolic

Writer:

Vladan Nikolic

Stars:

Sergej Trifunovic, Geno Lechner, Peter Gevisser

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sergej Trifunovic	...	Vanya Nevakovich
Geno Lechner	...	Anna Petrovic
Peter Gevisser	...	Dirk Malloy
Didier Flamand	...	Jean Mitnick Rochand
Mario Padula	...	Emanuel 'Manny' LaPalma
Al Nazemian	...	Ali Mabuz (as Al Naz)
Eric Frandsen	...	Agent William Hayes
Liat Glick	...	Faye LeGrande
Kerry Rossi	...	Mina Gordon
Vija Vetra	...	Helen
Mariano Mederos	...	Rivera / Gomez
Mark Perez	...	Bodyguard
Howell Seth Mayer	...	Middle Aged Man
Renata Darlen	...	Young Woman
Eugenio Arias	...	Receptionist

Storyline

A narrator introduces several characters as we watch events unfold from various vantages: Vanya is a Yugoslavian, adrift after his country's breakup. He's a hitman, now in New York. Anna is a physician, European, in New York after volunteer work in Bosnia. Dirk is a policeman, Anna's boyfriend, seemingly on temporary leave. Vanya's on what's to be a simple job, no violence, an exchange in a hotel. He arrives to find a dead body. He takes the case he's to pick up. Has he been set up? A murderer seems to be right behind him. Anna, in the hotel to see a patient, becomes his hostage while Dirk waits for her outside, ignorant of the deaths nearby. Can Dirk find Anna? What else is going on?

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Plot Keywords:

new york | hotel | hitman | policeman | police officer | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Serbia and Montenegro

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Killer senza scampo

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thoke Moebius Film Company, Mikado Film, Why Not Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Dirk Malloy: As his country disappeared, so did he - Vanya became an invisible man.

User Reviews

Highly original and strongly recommended

I don't write reviews but decided to make an exception here. I saw "Love" first at the Tribeca festival, intrigued by a low-budget approach to the ambitious story. I liked it then but had I given it stars right after the screening, it would've been 8. A big plus to me was that I could not predict where the story would go and where it would end up. This happens rarely, as I see 15 movies a week, and in most cases know by the 10th minute everything that will happen till the end (just a reminder how stale most movies are nowadays). "Love" is original, and the retelling of the stories from different point-of-views is excellent, not gimmicky, as it was intrinsically linked to the stories itself. The characters are well fleshed-out, multidimensional, (not two-dimensional simplistic cartoon-types - hint: "serious" Hollywood movies) most impressive was the director's ability to make them all fragile human beings, in spite of bad or even horrible things some of them do. A nice film with great atmosphere, I thought then. As days passed however I couldn't get the haunting images out of my head. Recently I saw the film again during it's short run in NY, and liked it even more. The film works on so many different layers, it's astonishing. "Love" can also be read as political allegory, with its foreigners from neglected nations stuck in NY. I would call it a postmodern noir that quotes the conventions of the genre, as well as cinema history. It does so in an elegant and unpretentious manner, effortlessly and effectively switching from thriller to comedy to tragedy-- and still doesn't take itself too seriously. Highly original and strongly recommended.