Somewhat of a chick-flick, since there were a few too many cute coincidences......still, I loved this film! Along the lines of Amelie and Chungking Express, it was sweet,involves stalking, is darkly funny, AND has a love story. Why does true love always seem to make stalking OK?
Miriam witnesses John MacHale fighting the police in a train station, and testifies in court that he was only trying to help. John was trying to help an elderly Russian man chased down by police....for stealing buttons! From that moment when she testifies, John is obsessed with Miriam. He goes to her house, yet admits plainly he was looking for her, so she lets down her guard. He starts following her, tells her his story about why he is in Berlin. He is researching a photo of tightrope walkers, which he thinks has something to do with his grandmother's death. He also befriends the Russian man and his brother, and they help him in his search and with wooing Miriam.
John MacHale was kind of creepy in his devotion to Miriam, but he came off as sweet,none the less. I mean, from the beginning he is saying things fit for a soap-opera to her: She asks simply if he is staying in Berlin,and he right away says "Are you afraid i'll leave?", at once turning the conversation serious and emotional. But once you figure he is harmless, it would be hard to resist such devotion.
I figure Miriam fell for him because the boyfriend Pierre was such an unemotional bastard. They must have some sort of bond, but he is kind of cold. John is all emotion.
Once John went away, Miriam realizes she misses him all right. He sewed elephants on a jacket for her (awww)...like a puppy dog he follows her everywhere, asking "Can I come?" It's kind of selfish, but Miriam must like being so wanted. Even though she refuses him again and again, John doesn't give up. I was expecting something Fatal Attraction like because of the title and blurb on Netflix, so i was pleasantly surprised.
The rest of the movie is Miriam having feelings for both men, and about John's search for the identity of the tightrope walker. It all ties together beautifully. One moment this movie is sad, the next it's surreal and funny. It's not terribly realistic, but romantics might like it.
Parts I loved: The Russian brother who steals buttons just because they "glistened so nicely"...and John put those same kind of buttons on Miriam's jacket. John and Miriam eating candy, watching a present they set out on a fence, waiting for someone to take it. "Sunglasses for a one eyed monster"
Miriam witnesses John MacHale fighting the police in a train station, and testifies in court that he was only trying to help. John was trying to help an elderly Russian man chased down by police....for stealing buttons! From that moment when she testifies, John is obsessed with Miriam. He goes to her house, yet admits plainly he was looking for her, so she lets down her guard. He starts following her, tells her his story about why he is in Berlin. He is researching a photo of tightrope walkers, which he thinks has something to do with his grandmother's death. He also befriends the Russian man and his brother, and they help him in his search and with wooing Miriam.
John MacHale was kind of creepy in his devotion to Miriam, but he came off as sweet,none the less. I mean, from the beginning he is saying things fit for a soap-opera to her: She asks simply if he is staying in Berlin,and he right away says "Are you afraid i'll leave?", at once turning the conversation serious and emotional. But once you figure he is harmless, it would be hard to resist such devotion.
I figure Miriam fell for him because the boyfriend Pierre was such an unemotional bastard. They must have some sort of bond, but he is kind of cold. John is all emotion.
Once John went away, Miriam realizes she misses him all right. He sewed elephants on a jacket for her (awww)...like a puppy dog he follows her everywhere, asking "Can I come?" It's kind of selfish, but Miriam must like being so wanted. Even though she refuses him again and again, John doesn't give up. I was expecting something Fatal Attraction like because of the title and blurb on Netflix, so i was pleasantly surprised.
The rest of the movie is Miriam having feelings for both men, and about John's search for the identity of the tightrope walker. It all ties together beautifully. One moment this movie is sad, the next it's surreal and funny. It's not terribly realistic, but romantics might like it.
Parts I loved: The Russian brother who steals buttons just because they "glistened so nicely"...and John put those same kind of buttons on Miriam's jacket. John and Miriam eating candy, watching a present they set out on a fence, waiting for someone to take it. "Sunglasses for a one eyed monster"