By Ed Koch
“Everyone Else” (+)
This is a wonderfully sensual film about Gitti (Birgit Minichmayr) and her boyfriend Chris (Lars Eidinger) — who are vacationing at his parents’ luxurious villa on the Island of Sardinia. Chris’s sister is also at the home. Gitti is playful with the sister’s daughter, who is about five years old. At one point she says to the young girl, “If you hate me, shoot me.” When the child pretends to do so, Gitti falls into the adjacent swimming pool and plays dead to frighten the little girl.
Chris’s sister and her family depart the villa. Gitti and Chris are very physical with one another and also constantly probe one another with questions. He asks her if she finds him masculine enough. While all appears sunny and wholesome for the most part, the ending in a brusque, unexpected and unbelievable way changes everything.
I won’t divulge the details other than to say it didn’t work for me or add to the film. In fact, it detracted from it. Nevertheless, the prior sensuality exhibited in a wonderfully wholesome way made the movie more than worth seeing. In this season of terrible films, one that is 90 percent satisfactory isn’t bad.
I saw this film at the IFC Center, which has very comfortable lounge seats.
Henry Stern said: “The movie was eye-catching — both the half-naked young couple romping about and scenic Sardinia (which, I learned, has rugged heights for rock climbing). Moody boy patronizes smitten girl, but both enjoy the sex. The plot is an implausible sequence of relatively unrelated events, making the movie almost picaresque as it wanders from scene to unrelated scene. The ending was so abrupt that it looked like the director had simply run out of film. It was an adult version of “The Blue Lagoon” — Brook Shields’ breakout movie in 1980 also set on a lovely island.”
Unrated; 120 minutes; in German with English subtitles. At the IFC Center (323 Sixth Ave., at West 3rd St.) Call 212-924-7771. For the Box Office, call 212-924-5246 or visit www.ifccenter.com.
