The Michelle Apartments

The methodical Alex is a tax inspector who has been sent to a corrupt, desolate, small town to investigate suspected tax-evasion by the district's only large company: Turnbull Chemicals. Arriving late in the evening at his hotel, he is informed by the maliciously-smiling receptionist that his room is already occupied and that the hotel is full. Alex is forced to go out into the night to try to find somewhere to stay and is confronted for the first time with some of the absurd characters that inhabit the town. He normally feels a little lost in most situations outside of tax-inspection, so coping with these peculiar characters is not easy. He is finally helped by a friendly cab driver to a majestic but run-down old house where there are apartments to let: The Michelle Apartments. Alex soon realises that some of the tenants at Michelle Apartments are not only peculiar but also violent. To make things worse he finds out that the ex-tenant died under strange circumstances. Terror crawls after Alex like a long snake and finally grips him in a strangle hold. Alex doesn't even get to meet the employee at Turnbull Chemicals who is supposed to assist him in his tax-inspection. They treat him with hostile suspicion. He tries instead to find his own way through the almost impenetrable bureaucracy and discovers a maze of corruption and fraud. The situation is made worse when he meets a dark ''femme-fatale'' at Michelle Apartments. The inevitable attraction leads him into a spiral of corruption, violence and eroticism, and pulls him further and further down into the darker levels of human nature. The Michelle Apartments is a black comedy with erotic undercurrents. A surrealistic tone is struck early-on in the film. Bizarre characters and peculiar situations unfold with subtle humour. Director John Pozer combines action with a dream-like and poetic imagery. The film is full of mysterious and symbolically-charged images which create an atmosphere of ominous mystery. In Alex's new world one must accept strange noises from the drains, crackling neon signs and blood stains which return after washing. With an acknowledgement to David Lynch and the Coen brothers, Pozer takes us on a nightmarish but entertaining journey, quite unlike much of what's being done before. JK

Premiärstatus
Europeisk premiär: Medverkande
Henry Czerny, Mary Elizabeth Rubens, Daniel Kash: Producent
Stavros C. Stavrides: Manus
Ross Weber: Foto
Peter Wunstorf: Musik
Mark Korven: Talat språk
English