The Ring Finger

Just based on the cover art I had a feeling that I would like this movie. The description of it from Netflix lives up to this very strange movie.

A young woman named Iris loses part of her ring finger in an accident at a lemonade bottling plant. She starts looking for work else where which leads her to a very mysterious building where she gets a job with a man who conserves objects. People bring in the stuff that hurt them the most, or reminds them of the worst part of their lives, have it preserved in a green fluid and then left there so it will always exist, but will be separated from them. Many strange people come in and out of the story as Iris seems to have trouble figuring out whats real and whats not (that is if anything is supposed to be real in the story)

There are a ton of dead ends, unexplained actions and scenes. Metaphors that are out of the blue, and basically beyond me. The Art direction and props were great, it certainly made the story complete with its feel with the set dressing they used.

Its a very quiet movie, empty even. Mostly she is sitting alone in this office space, and the camera several times pans to find the scientist who hired her watching her as she works. There is a lot of time used up revolving around shoes, water, ships, her roommate whom she never meets. The thing is that none of this is really explained, and I think I'm pretty astute, and I don't think any of this had any real meaning. I could try and work the pieces of the puzzle into a complete picture but I'm sure if there is meaning to this stuff I would not get it right.

Its very erotic, but not in a way I'm used to. I wasn't turned on by anything I saw, I was more just caught up in the feel and the mood of the images. The story to me seemed like a mixture of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Everything is Illuminated" all in a dream world. The Cinematography was calculated and timed. We so often are watching her through doorways, or cracks in a window that you cant help but feel like a voyeur which is another large part of the story.

There is very little dialogue, one of the semi-important characters doesn't speak at all (named Costa) There are some really gorgeous shots in it. The end threw me for a loop because I honestly didn't get it. Aside from all that, which I don't consider negative, I really liked it. I like to see when someone takes a chance, but still keeps it grounded enough that you can follow it (Go home Davis Lynch, your not welcome) 8/10 stars.....but not for everyone, just be warned its an acquired taste.

Director: Diane Bertrand

Starring: Olga Kurylenko, Marc Barbe, Stipe Erceg