Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | February 10, 2005 | | Summary | Favorite Movie | Content
 | I first saw this film at the NuArt in L.A. when it first came out. I had no idea what the movie was about, and maybe that's why I liked it so much. Going in blind, without having heard anything, made the film so much more powerful. For years, I thought about the film and then I rented it again when staying at the Paramount hotel in NY. And the film lived up to my memory. Now, that I own it, I watch this film over and over, and honestly, I'm not sure why. None of my friends like it nearly as much as I do. But there is something about the relationship between the two main characters, as well as the relationships with the people in the building that resonates with me. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 27, 2005 | | Summary | Dark psychological horror. | Content
| Argentina has been called a "country of Spanish-speaking Italians who live in French houses and want to be English." This is even more so in the capital of Buenos Aires. A city with an identity crisis, and a people uncertain about the future and haunted by a past of corruption and terror. A claustrophobic, anxious environment that is the setting for this film. Adrian, the resident of Apartment Zero, has created within that space a controlled, sanitized existence into which the outside world cannot penetrate. He purposefully avoids intimacy of any kind, preferring to absorb himself in a celluloid reality of male screen idols (Montgomery Clift, James Dean) and classic American movies. The outside world begins to close in on Adrian after his institutionalized mother dies and the necessity of having a cash-flow forces him to rent one of the rooms in his flat. The prospect of a suitable flat mate is grim until Jack walks into the room. As Adrian puts it, Jack possesses a certain "James Dean je ne sais quoi." Jack turns out to be a chameleon of a man, who is also a quick study of human weakness and insecurity. In a short time, Jack has Adrian, along with the other lonely residences in the apartment complex, dependent upon his affections. All the while this interaction is going on, the "classic American" movie theater that Adrian operates, is now being used to show films from Argentina's past in an effort to hunt down former members of the death squads that once held the country in a state of terror. And staring in one of the reels is Adrian's very own screen idol Jack! |
| Rating | | | Date | December 15, 2004 | | Summary | THE ODD COUPLE FROM HELL | Content
| Colin Firth fidgets like Felix Unger by way of Norman Bates.
Hart Bochner hams it up like a bisexual Jack Nicholson.
Can two psychos share an apartment without driving each other crazy?
"Apartment Zero" is a claustrophobic, atmospheric mystery, most reminiscent of Roman Polanski's "The Tenant". (Firth's character is named LeDuc: any fan of Polanski's "Repulsion" will get that reference.) The film includes strange, well-developed characters and a beautiful score, a synth variation of Jerry Goldsmith's "Chinatown" score.
I first saw the film on its initial theatrical release (Fort Lauderdale, December 1989, age:16); I've loved it ever since. I can still remember the clips from "Apartment Zero" shown on Movietime, the E! Channel before it was E!
The creative team behind this near masterpiece, Martin Donovan (director/writer "Apartment Zero") and David Koepp (writer "Apartment Zero", "Carlito's Way", "Jurassic Park")were supposed to do a film on the heels of "Apartment Zero" called "Close Enemies" but nothing ever came of it. Another one of those potential classic films lost in development hell.
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| Rating | | | Date | November 24, 2004 | | Summary | Complex, tense, and fiercely entertaining | Content
| This is certainly one of my top 3 movies of all time, if not my all time favorite. The who-dunit part of the mystery is only the beginning. These characters, like most people have so many layers and conflicting personalities, that I can watch this film over and over again. The layers of personalities aren't always evident upon the first viewing, nor are the strategic set decorations, and subtle (and some not-so subtle) foreshadowing.
This film is the natural extension of Hitchcockian filmmaking. Every set piece, every word of dialogue, the most subtle nuances all play into a complex film that will miss its mark on most people. For example, if you are nervously giggling at the transgendered character, you will miss the entire theme and mission that the character serves to communicate. The dark humor serves well to balance the film, and the lovely Argentine soundtrack sets such a terrific mood.
I still want to get to Buenos Aires. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 25, 2004 | | Summary | great movie, bad transfer | Content
| I loved this one when it came out, so I couldn't resist picking up the DVD for under $5. What a waste. The DVD is simply a copy of a VHS taped copy & of rather dubious origins, despite the legitimate looking info on the back sleeve (no mention of copyright info.). Hopefully this will get a proper anamorphic release sometime soon. |
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