Strange, Surreal, Sexy: Amer at the New Directors / New Films Festival

[Part II of Paste’s coverage of the New Directors / New Films festival] Perhaps all anyone needs to know about Amer before they see it is a glimpse at the movie’s poster: a creepy hand reaches forward, out of a vertiginous spiral, grasping at the figure of a nude woman. This evocative fantasia doesn’t reveal much, but grabs attention. Sit down to watch the flick, by French-born, Belgium-based filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, and you’re hooked from the opening title sequence. There’s an intriguing bit of acoustic guitar, suddenly overwhelmed by the menacing gurgle of some weird 1960s Italian...  read more