Review of Import/Export (2007) by Tim F — 21 Oct 2011

This is a very cold movie. Not only literally because it's set in the outskirts of the Ukraine with the industrial background or in Germany and Slovakie, but also figuratively because Seidl manages to make us feel down watching this.

Olga clearly lives in a bad situation, even her parents don't seem to give much about her while she is living with them and supporting them even with her baby. The other story is about Paul, a young german guy who's just broke up with his girlfriend because he got a dog of which she is afraid.

So he chose for the dog. His situation is also pretty bad, owing people money, no job, peculiar relationship with his stephdad, etc... Olga reaches for a last resort. She decides to do online webcam sex.

Both get humiliated, personally it must be very hard. But they don't give up. It's all brought very emotionally and very visually. Seidl let's you stand still and makes you think of it for a moment.

The language barriere is a tough one, surely for Olga. I think that and her identity are the main reasons she is treated like shit everywhere she tries to make a living. The nursing home for the elderly is very confronting, very sad.

Death is approached here in the most determined way. While we follow Paul and his stephdad to the wastland of Slovakie for a pointless sale of an 'arcademachine' we see how desperate people are over there.

Both Olga and Paul seem to find the futile joy only in music or dance or drinking. Sex seems to be one of them two but not for them. But surely for Michael, Paul's stephdad. His way of life seems one without principles.

(for example; cheating on his wife by letting a young naked Ukrain girl who does't understand a word he says, bark and walk arround like a dog, making her say stupid things, before letting her 'nibble' on his pathetic cock, all while Paul is in the room asking for the bill of the hotelroom he won't give him) Paul constantly reacts against him, he does seem to have principles, he just doesn't get any chances it seems.

For Michael it's easy to extort and show his 'power', being in a country where his money is worth a lot more. This is clearly shown. In this movie it's much harder to decide what's good or bad.

Compared to a Hollywood movie, these people aren't heroes, aren't given any comfort, aren't given any choices. Every piece of hope get's professionally sacked. I got the feeling sometimes; 'why am I 'forced' to watch this?' That's the point I think, confronting us with these parts of humanity.

Succeeded!