Phantom Love

The television set shows newscasts from aburning Iraq. In black and white, we meet Lulu’sthoughts, through the repeated and emphasizedsounds of her feelings. Director Nina Menkestakes us on Lulu’s trip to find inner peace. Luluwalks through empty hotel corridors jumpingover a boa constrictor or levitates in heavy,dreamlike sequences. In more “realistic”scenes, she deals with her depressive sisterand mother – symbolically surrounded by thesister’s two enormous dogs – or works at thegame table in Chinatown, repetitively shotin what seems like one long night. Menkesdirects with a hard visual approach and tastefor surrealism. She provokes, not with the sexand violence that we are fed through media, butwith her slow dramaturgy and refusal to let thedialogue “explain” the story. In “Phantom Love”, she instead creates tension by not signalingwhat is what: Lulu’s reality is inseparable fromher dreams. Images repeat themselves or is itreality itself?

Premiere Status
Nordic Premiere: Cast
Marina Choif, Juliette Marquis, Bobby Naderi: Producer
Kevin Ragsdale: Script
Nina Menkes: Cinematography
Christopher Soos: Music
Rich Ragsdale: Spoken language
English