(Warning: Spoilers)

This film written and directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari was shown at our Cosford Cinema as part of the "Shock me, Shock me: A Cinema of Transgression" series. Advertising materials privilege a disturbing image of protagonist Marina and her friend Bella that gives the impression they share a tongue. I generally avoid any film that self-consciously aims to draw attention by means of bizarre, grotesque, or shocking images because often those superficial attributes are the rationale for the film's existence. Most of Matthew Barney's famous Cremaster series fits that description, as well as lesser works. However, the fact that Attenberg it is the rare Greek film that gets distribution stateside and that Ms. Tsangari produced the consistently interesting Dogtooth (2009) makes its viewing de rigueur for this cinephile.

The "tongue scene" opens the film, followed by the first of a series of choreographed and synchronized walks by our perky duo. The forced quirkiness recalls scenes from many presumably "hip" but mediocre Amerindie flicks from the past 20 years. Then Attenberg begins to take form as an honest and fairly insightful portrait of a woman dealing with her arrested sexuality and the impending death of her father. At age 23, Marina is too old to find sex embarrassing and penises disgusting (while Bella fucks every man she meets and dreams of penis-trees) . And she is too young to be her Dad's sole companion through illness and death.

Attenberg ultimately becomes: an unassumingly uplifting film about a young woman who loses her virginity to someone who makes her feel "unembarrassed" and enjoys it, and an inspirational film about a young woman who lovingly and unceremoniously takes care of her father’s needs at a most difficult time. Attenberg turns out to be better than advertised.