Synopsis
A documentary celebrating the work of Walerian Borowczyk, a director of unparalleled sensitivity, revered in the 1970s, who was later labeled as a maker of erotic movies.
Love Express. The Disappearance of Walerian Borowczyk
Cast
Director
Producers
Hanka Kastelicová Izabela Łopuch Danuta Krasnohorska Katarzyna Siniarska Kristiina Davidjants Anu Veermäe
Writers
Editor
Cinematography
Assistant Director
Additional Photography
Composer
Sound
Studios
Countries
Primary Language
Spoken Languages
Alternative Titles
Love Express. Zaginiecie Waleriana Borowczyka, Dragoste expres. Cazul lui Walerian Borowczyk
Genre
Releases by Date
Premiere
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Poland
Digital
21 Aug 2020
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USA
Releases by Country
Poland
18 May 2018
- Premiere
USA
21 Aug 2020
- Digital Virtual cinemas
Popular reviews
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When I was getting serious about cinema in my last years of high school and at University (late ‘60s and early ‘70s), Polish director Walerian Borowczyk, who had made a number of experimental short films and animated short films (the earliest was dated 1946), was on his way to becoming one of the foremost European filmmakers who, with directors like Bertolucci and Ōshima, led the push to bring realistic portrayals of sex into the cinematic mainstream.
Because we were underage, we had to sneak into Goto, Island of Love (1969), where it was the politics rather than the sex that blew our minds. He followed this up with Blanche (1971), Immoral Tales (1973), and La Bête (1975), which continued to…
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This film is a missed opportunity, it basically confirms a very old and stale narrative that Borowczyk was a great artist that was spoiled once he made erotic films. It glosses over too much of his career and is conventionally dismissive of his erotic films which are far more creative and challenging than this documentary would lead you to believe. There are many other critics and historians working today who are better versed on Borowczyk’s work that should have been involved with this to give a better portrait of the artist and man, who’s work deserves to be discovered by a wider audience. Though the short running time might indicate that the filmmakers were unable to flesh this out as much as they might have liked. The interviews with Terry Gilliam Mark Cousins and Neil Jordan were cool, and it was cool seeing the Beast costume being unpacked.
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Talking heads documentary about the rise and fall of Polish director Walerian Borowczyk, who started out as an enfant terrible of Surrealism but ended up stereotyped and dismissed as a pornographer. A fine appreciation of an overlooked talent, but probably better suited as a Blu-ray extra than a standalone feature film.
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Good reminder that it's crucial to watch special features and making of/director docs because you find out important information such as the fact that Walerian Borowczyk refused to eat anything but boiled potatoes and that he hated Emanuelle 5.
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While it's good to see people addressing Borowczyk's legacy, and the behind the scenes footage and interviews are revealing, this feels like too slim an investigation of his work. Several of his early animated works and the ten year run of his live action films, from the stunning short Rosalie (1966) up through The Margin (1976), are worth considering in detail, but most aren't even mentioned (The Story of Sin, from 1975, was nominated for a Palme d'or at Cannes but here only gets a single title card). Although there's worthy stuff here, and I think that anyone interested in Borowczyk would get something out of seeing this, I would like to have seen a lot more.
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More like a DVD bonus feature than a stand-alone documentary, with a strange assortment of talking heads whose only really shared property seems to be "the highest-profile/most famous people we could get to do this." The assistant director for "Emmanuelle 5" offers some of the most interesting anecdotes, without much hagiography or evaluative opinions, and I wish more of the movie had been structured like that.
The doco itself is a bit too obtrusive (weird cuts to and away from hands while people talk, bizarre music choices, the strange animated illustrations as people talked) for this kind of straightforward legend-constructing – and Zižek absolutely took this invitation as a chance to just share his Opinions on the mixed legacy of the…
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Fascinating documentary about Walerian Borowczyk that covers his varied career. Although, for me, they could have spent a little longer on how to spell his name.
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“We were only accessories to his meticulousness.”
I don’t know any of Walerian Borowczyk’s work, but it appears to be subversive, experimental, and influential. I was especially intrigued by the reverence that Terry Gilliam has in his interviews for this. I’m going to definitely check out some of the early animation work and a few of the erotic films that Borowczyk became known for—they’ve been added to my watchlist. The idea of a film like Goto influencing Monty Python and the Holy Grail completely alters the paradigm.
This documentary does a good job of highlighting Borowczyk’s influence and place in the pantheon of experimental filmmakers by bringing in several experts to not just describe his impact, but to actually watch…
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A decent if middling documentary on Borowczyk. Too often, the talking-heads in this piece get more carried away with their own thoughts, feelings and constructs thereby muddying whatever was to be part of the mystique or allure Borowczyk had in the first place that waned as he was getting pigeonholed and had films where distributors wanted more sex, tits and all that jazz. It's all rather simple, once you make an erotic film that's raking in the money, you're forever doomed to be seen as such. And he got a literal slap in the face from the American "actress" who couldn't understand him (along with most of the Americans on set). The metaphorical slap was delivered years before, this just sealed the deal.
It's a great shame all the same.
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Real unfortunate that the production didn't handle this documentary better as Kuba Mikurda had a crucial role in Boro: Lîle D’Amour, an excellent book on Borowczyk; such passion doesn’t exist here. While I believe there is more value in the enigmatic, legendary Borowczyk, there should have been more meat to the film. Some highlights were any time that props or cels appeared on the screen. Also, why was Žižek even in this? While I enjoy him talking about film and cinema, he merely showed up to play his greatest hits and collect a check.
Everyone is better off buying the aforementioned costly book and watching the Arrow release supplements. -
Rather than celebrating his work and craft, you just feel sorry for him for getting trapped in unfortunate circumstances. If the makers of Love Express wanted to portray Borowczyk as a genius trapped under the weight of his sordid reputation, it never clearly comes out. He just comes across as a person who was voted most likely to succeed after graduation but ends up blowing his opportunities.
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There’s a scene in this film where they go to some Swiss film warehouse and uncover the beast suit, and it’s toned so magically as this moment in the film.
“Face to face with the beast”
How I long.