LEFT BANK
Directed by Pieter Van Hees
Produced by Bert Hamelinck, Kato Maes & Frank Van Passel
Written by Christophe Dirickx, Dimitri Karakatsanis & Van Hees
Released by IFC Festival Direct
Flemish with English subtitles
Belgium. 102 min. Not Rated
With Eline Kuppens, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sien Eggers, Marilou Mermans, Frank Vercruyssen & Robbie Cleiren
 

Set at the intersection of several genres, the relentlessly atmospheric Left Bank is at once a love story, a suspenseful thriller, and a bizarre tale steeped in faux-history and horror. Aside from the Dardenne brothers, cinematically Belgium largely lies under the radar, but this odd Flemish-language export should certainly whet our appetite for more than just damn-good beer from that seemingly dreary part of the world.

When Marie (Eline Kuppens), an introverted and dedicated young athlete, is diagnosed with an immune infection and forced to rest, she shifts her focus from running to a passionate new relationship with Bobby (Matthias Schoenaerts), who has a swaggering rock & roll attitude and a deluxe apartment in Antwerp’s stylish Left Bank. Seeking refuge from her over-protective mother, Marie quickly moves in with her new beau.

The relationship blossoms until Marie discovers that the flat’s previous tenant, also a young woman, had disappeared, and Marie becomes obsessed with the mystery. Meanwhile, she begins suffering from headaches, nausea and insomnia—side effects, she learns, from the building itself. As Bobby dismisses her theories and fears, Marie delves deeper into her investigation, growing suspicious of her loving boyfriend and the ritzy building, whose dark secrets lurk deep behind a dignified façade.

The sex scenes are bountiful and unabashed. And though the impact of the visuals somewhat outweigh the depth of the plot, neither the sex nor the horror ever seem gratuitous. Each racy or revolting moment (of which there aren’t too many) dutifully adds to the texture of the film as it builds an entirely believable but eerily fantastical world.

Having teased us with a supernatural plotline in the first incongruous few minutes, Left Bank takes a long time returning to its otherworldly facets, until we almost forget that a dark imagination is at play in writing and directing this film. The nuanced character development also helps to lull us into the false impression that this is just another sexy drama from some gloomy Europeans. So when Marie becomes entangled in an increasingly creepy world of monsters, dark secrets, and abduction, the audience must quickly readjust.

Shot in macabre gray and yellow tones, Left Bank leaves a potent visual impression and an unsettling feeling that hangs in the air long after the film is over. But its strongest punch comes courtesy of the final, unexpected moment when the film’s originality and emotional resonance really take hold. Yana Litovsky
May 31, 2009