Spending a good part of last year hitting nearly every corner of the festival circuit, those who delight in the off-beat and weird have been singing the praises of “The Lure.” Agnieszka Smoczynska‘s film is a cannibal mermaid musical, and if that three-word description doesn’t at least make you curious, I’m not sure what to tell you.
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Marta Mazurek, Michalina Olszanska, Jakub Gierszal, Kinga Preis, Andrzej Konopka, and Zygmunt Malanowicz are the ensemble that bring this ’80s-set story to life, one that sees the bond between mermaid sisters tested when a man enters the mix. Here’s the synopsis:
In this bold, genre-defying horror-musical mashup — the playful and confident debut of Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska — a pair of carnivorous mermaid sisters are drawn ashore in an alternate ’80s Poland to explore the wonders and temptations of life on land. Their tantalizing siren songs and otherworldly aura make them overnight sensations as nightclub singers in the half-glam, half-decrepit fantasy world of Smoczynska’s imagining. In a visceral twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s original Little Mermaid tale, one sister falls for a human, and as the bonds of sisterhood are tested, the lines between love and survival get blurred. A savage coming-of-age fairytale with a catchy new-wave soundtrack, lavishly grimy sets, and outrageous musical numbers, THE LURE explores its themes of sexuality, exploitation, and the compromises of adulthood with energy and originality.
“The Lure” opens on February 1st at the IFC Center via Janus Films, and you can probably expect a release on The Criterion Collection down the line too. [EW]
