L'Amour braque AKA Limpet Love (1985) - Andrzej Zulawski

Andrzej Zulawski's L'Amour braque opens with a bank robbery sequence, and for anyone out there that knows Zulawski's shooting style, they can only imagine it is a great treat and I swear an inspiration for Christopher Nolan's opening sequence in The Dark Knight.  If one ever wondered what an action film directed by Zulawski would look like, L'Amour Braque is the closest thing to it you're going to get.  The story is for lack of a better word, a batshit insane love triangle between two men, Leon a man who was just released from some type of mental institute who now is posing as a Hungarian, and Mickey,a hood, who was the lead man in the opening scene bank robbery.  The third piece of this triangle is Mary, who happens to be Mickey's boyfriend.  For those not familiar, be prepared for a film thats narrative makes little sense, featuring absurdest drama and kinetic cinematography.  The film's direction matches the world these characters inhabit, kinetic, constantly in motion, evoking a sense of oft-kilter energy where one never knows as a viewer what is going to happen next.  The emotions in this film are heavily exaggerated at times, but I'd argue it completely fits the style of the narrative and what I believe Zulawski's main point is - living in a world without emotion and most importantly love isn't one worth inhabiting.  Suffering is a major aspect of the movie, but in the end, L'Amour braque in a strange way captures how it's all worth it, with emotions being a powerful and important aspect that defines us as individuals. Throughout the film there are characters around are main three who believe in order, discipline, and social progress, and while I'm not smart enough to know about Polish politics, Zulawksi does seem to be saying something about the importance of freedom of expression, doing so in a way he only can.  While it may be a stretch, I'd argue that L'amour braque has a lot to say about the male ego and feminine oppression,  oppression but unlike politics or conservationism, Zulawaski seems to cynically suggest this battle, if you will, between man and woman is already over.  Mary for me was by far the most compelling character in this film, a woman who has never experienced her own individualism, also being attached to a man due to her beauty.  She is a tragic character, a woman who feels like she destroys everything she loves, and the ending offers no solitude, doing so in a way that shows how little say she truly had in the matter of a love triangle with two men.  One could think of L'Amour braque as an intellectual crime drama, but perhaps the best way to describe this bizarre but kinetic experience is emotional chaos, with Zulawski, along with the actors, injecting an energy into the film that depicts emotion in its rawest state.

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