Boarding Gate

47

Magnet Films ( minutes)
and Olivier Assayas
Asia Argento , Michael Madsen , Carl Loong Ng , and Kelly Lin

Rating: R for violence, sexual content, language and some drug material

Summary: Ex-prostitute Sandra is forced to flee London after a steamy S&M encounter with a debt-ridden ex-lover ends in violence. Fleeing to Hong Kong in search of a fresh start, she becomes involved with an attractive young couple, Lester and Sue, who promise to help her obtain papers and money. But nothing turns out as expected for Sandra, and she finds herself trapped in a sordid game of manipulation. (Magnet Films)

Glenn Kenny
Premiere:
(88) This is very much a French intellectual cineaste's idea of a B thriller, and hence is as far from innocent in its genre as you can get. Which is not to say that Assayas deals in bad faith.

Manohla Dargis
The New York Times:
(80) Even in Boarding Gate, a modestly scaled, self-consciously tawdry exercise in genre appropriation, Mr. Assayas manages to say more about what it is to be human -- to desire, to fear, to be alone -- than most filmmakers say in a lifetime.

Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com:
(70) Argento always gives us something to watch, and maybe even something to fear. I've never seen her in a movie where I haven't been at least a little bit scared of her.

Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times:
(70) The plot may be murky, but actress Asia Argento is a clear and commanding force throughout.

Scott Tobias
The Onion (A.V. Club):
(67) Boarding Gate's surfaces are often so staggeringly beautiful that its superficiality becomes forgivable, with the pleasant distractions of Assayas' multi-layered frames, Argento's sinewy allure, and snippets of Brian Eno ambience on the soundtrack. Why can't all movies this inane be this accomplished?

Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide:
(63) Seriously flawed and not for every taste, the film was shot quickly and on the cheap, and is driven by Argento's slurred, scratchy voice and Bette Davis eyes.

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