PARADISE HOPE

Director Ulrich Seidl / 2013 / Austria,France,Germany

"This final part of Ulrich Seidl's eccentric trilogy yields unexpected pleasures." - Hollywood Reporter

Thirteen-year-old Meli (the daughter of Teresa from Love) has been deposited at a diet camp in the Austrian hills in the hope she will lose a few pounds over the summer. Hopelessly unmotivated, Meli turns her attention to the in-house doctor on whom she develops a raging crush.

Although the title, like those of the others in the series, turns out to be ironic, there is something sweetly affecting in the innocence of Meli and those of her ragtag band of fellow fatties, whose transgressions with smokes, snacks and spin-the-bottle strike a sharply awkward but endearing chord.

Seidl has particular fun in this final film with his surreal, absurdly humorous visuals, making it the most optimistic of the three.

"Hope springs eternal, Seidl seems to say: brutally so." - Time Out Los Angeles

D Ulrich Seidl P Ulrich Seidl, Christine Ruppert, Philippe Bober S Ulrich Seidl, Veronika Franz Dist Curious Film L German w/English subtitles TD DCP/2013

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