Paradise: Hope
Director: Ulrich Seidl
Year Released: 2013
Rating: 1.5
More of Seidl's condescension comes into play in this third installment of his sarcastically-dubbed "Paradise" trilogy as several girls - and a few boys - get sent to "Diet Camp," with one of the girls (Melanie Lenz) becoming enamored with the camp physician (Joseph Lorenz). If the "hope" in question is that the young, insecure girl will find 'love' or any kind of affection (her mother won't answer when she calls, Dad is distant) in such a setting the answer is clearly 'no' - and to make things worse, the Lorenz character is a downright despicable figure, eventually dragging an unconscious Lenz (having passed out from sneaking out and partying too hard) into the woods and ... well, smelling her and laying next to her (whether or not he deflowers her is never explicitly stated). As much as it pains me to say it, Breillat is really the person for this project - she did wonders with the similarly-themed Fat Girl over a decade ago.
