The Five Senses

directed by Jeremy Podeswa (1999)

It took me a few days and 2 viewing sessions to get through this.  I almost quit and came real close to reading up on how it ended, because I felt played by the plot.  I'd already seen this on video, not long after it came out. I didn't realise this until I started it and since I didn't remember it well, inertia kept me watching.  Besides, the write up sounded interesting.  It's about a group of folk representing the 5 senses:  a chef who can't taste, an optometrist losing his hearing,  and so one.  It's just that all these folk are tangentially connected around the story of a missing kid. And I could not remember how that one key element of the plot played out.  Do they find her? Is she okay?  A 3 year old girl goes missing, and fuck you writer, is how I feel about that.  I get a real visceral reaction when flicks put kids at risk as a dramatic device.  It's a cheap tactic that totally works.  I feel exploited but I can't help but get sucked in.  I find it hard to believe I wasn't all that disturbed by this plot element when I first saw it, but it was before I looked after my nieces so I guess that makes some sense.  Anyhow, it was easier to go back to this more realistic drama of child endangerment, after watching the gothic kill the kids excess that was The Woman in Black.

I watched the rest of it after having my hissy fit of not wanting to feel worried about the little girl.  It was good.  I especially liked the Morrissey looking character played by Daniel McIvor.  (Check out his site and wordpress.) He's a freaky and hilarious cleaning guy with an acute sense of smell, who's doing housework for a few of the characters.  He meets up with past lovers so he can smell them, because he can tell if they still love him by their scent.  His search has not been going well when he describes his odd but charming quest to a client, "I don't like calling them lovers because they don't love me."  The client disagrees saying something like, just because they don't love you now doesn't mean they didn't once.

 

It's a Proustian flick, with some very poetic, and insightful sequences.  The ensemble cast does a great job and are totally believable in their scenes, because it's well written and good dialogue is much easier to deliver well.  While the dialogue rings true,  this movie is about more than words obviously, and the non verbal interactions and experiences are really well done too.  It left me thinking about what makes me happy and who and how, and why those questions are important.

 (This trailer is misleading, makes it seem like a romantic comedy, but it's much more melancholic)