Phantom Love
2007·Drama·1h 27m
7.1
★
A surreal drama about an alienated family set in Koreatown, Los Angeles and Rishikesh, India.
Directed by Nina Menkes
hotel
casino
surrealism
alienation
film noir
woman director
erotic movie
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Cast
Juliette Marquis
Nitzan
Bobby Naderi
The Lover
Crew
Nina Menkes
Director
Nina Menkes
Editor
Popular Reviews
5 reviews
Gabriel Silva
8.2★ · 04/30/24
This is the second time where I’ve seen a Nina Menkes film, loved it, but didn’t know exactly what to make of it. Phantom Love blends together a lot of aspects of Menkes’ previous films for a stunning new story that is dense and weighted, jumping between space and time to tell its story and playing with our preconceived notions of the imagery we see. The relationship between images isn’t clear at first glance - I still am trying to make sense of it all - but the themes of familial abuse, marginalization, suffering under capitalism, etc. is incredible. This is something that I’m going to have to revisit at some time. The surreality of it is just fantastic.
This is the second time where I’ve seen a Nina Menkes film, loved it, but didn’t know exactly what to make of it. Phantom Love blends together a lot of aspects of Menkes’ previous films for a stunning new story that is dense and weighted, jumping between space and time to tell its story and playing with our preconceived notions of the imagery we see. The relationship between images isn’t clear at first glance - I still am trying to make sense of it all - but the themes of familial abuse, marginalization, suffering under capitalism, etc. is incredible. This is something that I’m going to have to revisit at some time. The surreality of it is just fantastic.
Sepia GorePRO
“Looks can be deceiving”
The horror that is suffering and suffering alone. Repressed all anger for the sake of others, for the sake of living but what kind of living is it when you have to pretend you are anything but what you are. When identity is not lost but thrown into the closet collecting dust. Nina Menkes is excellent at in her words conjuring the very real uncomfortable reality of being a women but even more then Queen of Hearts, this is not a spiral into quiet madness but a descending from repression into annihilation then finally revelation but self discovery here doesn’t remove the pain, it only makes the awareness of it more apparent, more forgiving but unignorable, because for all she has to carry she is carrying them, even if on her own. My mother always tells me to be happy, always even when I am in absolute despair, I know that on one hand she just doesn’t want to see her child suffer but I also know on the other, knowing who she is she just doesn’t want to suffer with me, she does not want to engage with anything painful even if it would mean I won’t be alone. Phantom Love for me captures that but in a societal and metaphysical level, sickness at once a reminder to take care of yourself, to heal as much as it is a manifestation of all the terror and pressure one has to endure and when it comes to body horror this goes both ways, the internal sickness the sisters shared but on a physical level one is rioting, purposeless the other is overused and aimless. The title is appropriate, if Queen of Hearts is set in a loveless world, here love is ghostly much like the sex work, like the characters’ relationship to those around her, it is disconnected from reality forcefully, it is duty then fully and if you ask some, they’ll tell you ghost don’t even exist but yet like that feeling you get being in the dark, that somebody is watching. Nina Menkes’ film makes sure you know everyone is watching, everything like the animals, the atmosphere, the TV, those unknown even if they don’t care at all about you besides your potential as physical husk and that might just be scarier. This is anxiety cinema at its most humane, unbearable, disquieting and true.
The horror that is suffering and suffering alone. Repressed all anger for the sake of others, for the sake of living but what kind of living is it when you have to pretend you are anything but what you are. When identity is not lost but thrown into the closet collecting dust. Nina Menkes is excellent at in her words conjuring the very real uncomfortable reality of being a women but even more then Queen of Hearts, this is not a spiral into quiet madness but a descending from repression into annihilation then finally revelation but self discovery here doesn’t remove the pain, it only makes the awareness of it more apparent, more forgiving but unignorable, because for all she has to carry she is carrying them, even if on her own. My mother always tells me to be happy, always even when I am in absolute despair, I know that on one hand she just doesn’t want to see her child suffer but I also know on the other, knowing who she is she just doesn’t want to suffer with me, she does not want to engage with anything painful even if it would mean I won’t be alone. Phantom Love for me captures that but in a societal and metaphysical level, sickness at once a reminder to take care of yourself, to heal as much as it is a manifestation of all the terror and pressure one has to endure and when it comes to body horror this goes both ways, the internal sickness the sisters shared but on a physical level one is rioting, purposeless the other is overused and aimless. The title is appropriate, if Queen of Hearts is set in a loveless world, here love is ghostly much like the sex work, like the characters’ relationship to those around her, it is disconnected from reality forcefully, it is duty then fully and if you ask some, they’ll tell you ghost don’t even exist but yet like that feeling you get being in the dark, that somebody is watching. Nina Menkes’ film makes sure you know everyone is watching, everything like the animals, the atmosphere, the TV, those unknown even if they don’t care at all about you besides your potential as physical husk and that might just be scarier. This is anxiety cinema at its most humane, unbearable, disquieting and true.
“Looks can be deceiving”
The horror that is suffering and suffering alone. Repressed all anger for the sake of others, for the sake of living but what kind of living is it when you have to pretend you are anything but what you are. When identity is not lost but thrown into the closet collecting dust. Nina Menkes is excellent at in her words conjuring the very real uncomfortable reality of being a women but even more then Queen of Hearts, this is not a spiral into quiet madness but a descending from repression into annihilation then finally revelation but self discovery here doesn’t remove the pain, it only makes the awareness of it more apparent, more forgiving but unignorable, because for all she has to carry she is carrying them, even if on her own. My mother always tells me to be happy, always even when I am in absolute despair, I know that on one hand she just doesn’t want to see her child suffer but I also know on the other, knowing who she is she just doesn’t want to suffer with me, she does not want to engage with anything painful even if it would mean I won’t be alone. Phantom Love for me captures that but in a societal and metaphysical level, sickness at once a reminder to take care of yourself, to heal as much as it is a manifestation of all the terror and pressure one has to endure and when it comes to body horror this goes both ways, the internal sickness the sisters shared but on a physical level one is rioting, purposeless the other is overused and aimless. The title is appropriate, if Queen of Hearts is set in a loveless world, here love is ghostly much like the sex work, like the characters’ relationship to those around her, it is disconnected from reality forcefully, it is duty then fully and if you ask some, they’ll tell you ghost don’t even exist but yet like that feeling you get being in the dark, that somebody is watching. Nina Menkes’ film makes sure you know everyone is watching, everything like the animals, the atmosphere, the TV, those unknown even if they don’t care at all about you besides your potential as physical husk and that might just be scarier. This is anxiety cinema at its most humane, unbearable, disquieting and true.
The horror that is suffering and suffering alone. Repressed all anger for the sake of others, for the sake of living but what kind of living is it when you have to pretend you are anything but what you are. When identity is not lost but thrown into the closet collecting dust. Nina Menkes is excellent at in her words conjuring the very real uncomfortable reality of being a women but even more then Queen of Hearts, this is not a spiral into quiet madness but a descending from repression into annihilation then finally revelation but self discovery here doesn’t remove the pain, it only makes the awareness of it more apparent, more forgiving but unignorable, because for all she has to carry she is carrying them, even if on her own. My mother always tells me to be happy, always even when I am in absolute despair, I know that on one hand she just doesn’t want to see her child suffer but I also know on the other, knowing who she is she just doesn’t want to suffer with me, she does not want to engage with anything painful even if it would mean I won’t be alone. Phantom Love for me captures that but in a societal and metaphysical level, sickness at once a reminder to take care of yourself, to heal as much as it is a manifestation of all the terror and pressure one has to endure and when it comes to body horror this goes both ways, the internal sickness the sisters shared but on a physical level one is rioting, purposeless the other is overused and aimless. The title is appropriate, if Queen of Hearts is set in a loveless world, here love is ghostly much like the sex work, like the characters’ relationship to those around her, it is disconnected from reality forcefully, it is duty then fully and if you ask some, they’ll tell you ghost don’t even exist but yet like that feeling you get being in the dark, that somebody is watching. Nina Menkes’ film makes sure you know everyone is watching, everything like the animals, the atmosphere, the TV, those unknown even if they don’t care at all about you besides your potential as physical husk and that might just be scarier. This is anxiety cinema at its most humane, unbearable, disquieting and true.
Sepia GorePRO
“Looks can be deceiving”
The horror that is suffering and suffering alone. Repressed all anger for the sake of others, for the sake of living but what kind of living is it when you have to pretend you are anything but what you are. When identity is not lost but thrown into the closet collecting dust. Nina Menkes is excellent at in her words conjuring the very real uncomfortable reality of being a women but even more then Queen of Hearts, this is not a spiral into quiet madness but a descending from repression into annihilation then finally revelation but self discovery here doesn’t remove the pain, it only makes the awareness of it more apparent, more forgiving but unignorable, because for all she has to carry she is carrying them, even if on her own. My mother always tells me to be happy, always even when I am in absolute despair, I know that on one hand she just doesn’t want to see her child suffer but I also know on the other, knowing who she is she just doesn’t want to suffer with me, she does not want to engage with anything painful even if it would mean I won’t be alone. Phantom Love for me captures that but in a societal and metaphysical level, sickness at once a reminder to take care of yourself, to heal as much as it is a manifestation of all the terror and pressure one has to endure and when it comes to body horror this goes both ways, the internal sickness the sisters shared but on a physical level one is rioting, purposeless the other is overused and aimless. The title is appropriate, if Queen of Hearts is set in a loveless world, here love is ghostly much like the sex work, like the characters’ relationship to those around her, it is disconnected from reality forcefully, it is duty then fully and if you ask some, they’ll tell you ghost don’t even exist but yet like that feeling you get being in the dark, that somebody is watching. Nina Menkes’ film makes sure you know everyone is watching, everything like the animals, the atmosphere, the TV, those unknown even if they don’t care at all about you besides your potential as physical husk and that might just be scarier. This is anxiety cinema at its most humane, unbearable, disquieting and true.
The horror that is suffering and suffering alone. Repressed all anger for the sake of others, for the sake of living but what kind of living is it when you have to pretend you are anything but what you are. When identity is not lost but thrown into the closet collecting dust. Nina Menkes is excellent at in her words conjuring the very real uncomfortable reality of being a women but even more then Queen of Hearts, this is not a spiral into quiet madness but a descending from repression into annihilation then finally revelation but self discovery here doesn’t remove the pain, it only makes the awareness of it more apparent, more forgiving but unignorable, because for all she has to carry she is carrying them, even if on her own. My mother always tells me to be happy, always even when I am in absolute despair, I know that on one hand she just doesn’t want to see her child suffer but I also know on the other, knowing who she is she just doesn’t want to suffer with me, she does not want to engage with anything painful even if it would mean I won’t be alone. Phantom Love for me captures that but in a societal and metaphysical level, sickness at once a reminder to take care of yourself, to heal as much as it is a manifestation of all the terror and pressure one has to endure and when it comes to body horror this goes both ways, the internal sickness the sisters shared but on a physical level one is rioting, purposeless the other is overused and aimless. The title is appropriate, if Queen of Hearts is set in a loveless world, here love is ghostly much like the sex work, like the characters’ relationship to those around her, it is disconnected from reality forcefully, it is duty then fully and if you ask some, they’ll tell you ghost don’t even exist but yet like that feeling you get being in the dark, that somebody is watching. Nina Menkes’ film makes sure you know everyone is watching, everything like the animals, the atmosphere, the TV, those unknown even if they don’t care at all about you besides your potential as physical husk and that might just be scarier. This is anxiety cinema at its most humane, unbearable, disquieting and true.
“Looks can be deceiving”
The horror that is suffering and suffering alone. Repressed all anger for the sake of others, for the sake of living but what kind of living is it when you have to pretend you are anything but what you are. When identity is not lost but thrown into the closet collecting dust. Nina Menkes is excellent at in her words conjuring the very real uncomfortable reality of being a women but even more then Queen of Hearts, this is not a spiral into quiet madness but a descending from repression into annihilation then finally revelation but self discovery here doesn’t remove the pain, it only makes the awareness of it more apparent, more forgiving but unignorable, because for all she has to carry she is carrying them, even if on her own. My mother always tells me to be happy, always even when I am in absolute despair, I know that on one hand she just doesn’t want to see her child suffer but I also know on the other, knowing who she is she just doesn’t want to suffer with me, she does not want to engage with anything painful even if it would mean I won’t be alone. Phantom Love for me captures that but in a societal and metaphysical level, sickness at once a reminder to take care of yourself, to heal as much as it is a manifestation of all the terror and pressure one has to endure and when it comes to body horror this goes both ways, the internal sickness the sisters shared but on a physical level one is rioting, purposeless the other is overused and aimless. The title is appropriate, if Queen of Hearts is set in a loveless world, here love is ghostly much like the sex work, like the characters’ relationship to those around her, it is disconnected from reality forcefully, it is duty then fully and if you ask some, they’ll tell you ghost don’t even exist but yet like that feeling you get being in the dark, that somebody is watching. Nina Menkes’ film makes sure you know everyone is watching, everything like the animals, the atmosphere, the TV, those unknown even if they don’t care at all about you besides your potential as physical husk and that might just be scarier. This is anxiety cinema at its most humane, unbearable, disquieting and true.
The horror that is suffering and suffering alone. Repressed all anger for the sake of others, for the sake of living but what kind of living is it when you have to pretend you are anything but what you are. When identity is not lost but thrown into the closet collecting dust. Nina Menkes is excellent at in her words conjuring the very real uncomfortable reality of being a women but even more then Queen of Hearts, this is not a spiral into quiet madness but a descending from repression into annihilation then finally revelation but self discovery here doesn’t remove the pain, it only makes the awareness of it more apparent, more forgiving but unignorable, because for all she has to carry she is carrying them, even if on her own. My mother always tells me to be happy, always even when I am in absolute despair, I know that on one hand she just doesn’t want to see her child suffer but I also know on the other, knowing who she is she just doesn’t want to suffer with me, she does not want to engage with anything painful even if it would mean I won’t be alone. Phantom Love for me captures that but in a societal and metaphysical level, sickness at once a reminder to take care of yourself, to heal as much as it is a manifestation of all the terror and pressure one has to endure and when it comes to body horror this goes both ways, the internal sickness the sisters shared but on a physical level one is rioting, purposeless the other is overused and aimless. The title is appropriate, if Queen of Hearts is set in a loveless world, here love is ghostly much like the sex work, like the characters’ relationship to those around her, it is disconnected from reality forcefully, it is duty then fully and if you ask some, they’ll tell you ghost don’t even exist but yet like that feeling you get being in the dark, that somebody is watching. Nina Menkes’ film makes sure you know everyone is watching, everything like the animals, the atmosphere, the TV, those unknown even if they don’t care at all about you besides your potential as physical husk and that might just be scarier. This is anxiety cinema at its most humane, unbearable, disquieting and true.
Ryan F
6.9★ · 03/30/21
Stunning black and white photography, and the sound design feels so important to the conveyance of what’s going on.
That being said, I need this movie to become more popular so that people smarter than me can actually have discussions about it and explain to me what’s going on.
That being said, I need this movie to become more popular so that people smarter than me can actually have discussions about it and explain to me what’s going on.
Stunning black and white photography, and the sound design feels so important to the conveyance of what’s going on.
That being said, I need this movie to become more popular so that people smarter than me can actually have discussions about it and explain to me what’s going on.
That being said, I need this movie to become more popular so that people smarter than me can actually have discussions about it and explain to me what’s going on.
AshleyPRO
7.0★ · 02/09/24