The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003)

The first of three parts, we follow Tulse Luper in three distinct episodes: as a child during the first World War, as an explorer in Mormon Utah, and as a writer in Belgium during the rise ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway

Stars:

JJ Feild, Raymond J. Barry, Michèle Bernier

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
JJ Feild	...	Tulse Luper / Floris Creps
Raymond J. Barry	...	Stephan Figura
Michèle Bernier	...	Sophie van Osterhaus
Valentina Cervi	...	Cissie Colpitts
Caroline Dhavernas	...	Passion Hockmeister
Anna Galiena	...	Madame Plens
Debbie Harry	...	Fastidieux
Steven Mackintosh	...	Günther Zeloty
Albert Kitzl	...	Gumber Flint
Jordi Mollà	...	Jan Palmerion (as Jordi Molla)
Drew Mulligan	...	Martino Knockavelli
Ornella Muti	...	Mathilde Figura
Ronald Pickup	...	M. Moitessier
Nilo Zimmerman	...	Pip (as Nilo Mur)
Franka Potente	...	Trixie Boudain

Storyline

The first of three parts, we follow Tulse Luper in three distinct episodes: as a child during the first World War, as an explorer in Mormon Utah, and as a writer in Belgium during the rise of fascism. Packed with stylistic flourishes, it's a dense, comic study of 20th century history, revolving around the contents of one man's suitcases.

---

Plot Keywords:

utah | suitcase | mormon | pubic hair | male pubic hair | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK Spain Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Russia Hungary Germany

Language:

English German Dutch French Spanish

Release Date:

18 July 2003 (Spain)

Also Known As:

As Maletas de Tulse Luper - Parte I: A História de Moab

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€36,124 (Italy), 25 January 2004, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABS Production, Delux Productions, Focusfilm Kft.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Cissie Colpitts' is the name shared by the three main female characters in Drowning by Numbers (1988), by the same director.

---

Connections

Featured in The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004)

User Reviews

Movie of the Year

I saw this movie at the Toronto Film Festival and it was incredible. It's a story of a man and his prisons and adventures. It's also about the twentieth century. The story is difficult to describe and hard to get your mind around but it is definitely there. I don't see this movie as form for form's sake or as pretentious dribble. Instead I understand it as a completely experimental and inventive form of story-telling. For me it was completely successful. The editing is insane. No doubt about it. The screen splits into hundred, images and sounds are repeated, sometimes endlessly. I do understand why some people despise this film. I just found myself as lost in its rhythm.

Tulse is an adventurer, a traveller and a dreamer. His dreams usually manage to anger those around him enough that he is oft imprisoned. But for him the world is full of prisons and part of his exploration is an attempt to understand them. The repetitive and maddening editing is, I think, the director's way of imprisoning the viewer in the world of Tulse's dreams. We aren't giving the usual linearity of Classic Hollywood editing and story. Instead we are locked in circles and spirals. The movie ends beautiful repeated image that haunts me to this day and it has left me eager for more but I have no idea how to get my fix (beyond the website TulseLuperNetwork.com which is only so so). Me and the person I went with loved the movie but I think about two thirds of the theater were pretty disappointed and a lot of them were Greenaway fans. Still give it a try and see if it connects with you