Exposed (1983)

Simply Perfect

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Every once in a while, you see a movie so dull and so stupid, you have to wonder if drugs were somehow involved in making the film. 'Exposed' is one of those films.The plot of this film doesn't unravel, it oozes like molasses in January. Nastassja Kinski plays a Wisconsin farm girl named Elizabeth who leaves home and runs away to New York. After being discovered by a fashion photographer (McShane) she is whisked away into the glamorous world of fashion. Soon she's in Europe, and is recruited by a mysterious violin player (the awful corpse-like Rudolf Nureyev) to infiltrate a terrorist organization and kill it's leader. The leader is played by Harvey Keitel, who is given next to nothing to do.The only good scene is at the very beginning when two terrorist babes blow up a Parisian restaurant. But it all goes downhill from there. In more capable hands and with a better cast, this film could have been good. But everything is a mess. The script is convoluted and boring, the acting is atrocious, the direction is flat, there is no suspense, and no characters that seem even human.Oddly, so many people seem to praise Nastassja Kinski as a great actress. I've just never seen it. In every film I've seen her in she just seems vacant and bored, but this is Kinski at her worst, no doubt.

Nastassja Kinski gives off an incredibly natural performance in this otherwise quite forgetful film. The plot is strange, convoluted and executed in a roundabout fashion, with many events that just seem randomly shoved together. It is really a mess on the writing front, with little, if any, structure to the screenplay. It is also filled with dislikeable small supporting characters that add nothing to the tale, and towards the end it becomes awfully weak. Even so, there is something really great about Kinski's acting. It never feels forced or unnatural. It is just about worth watching the film just for her, even though it is not terribly well made, nor particularly amusing.

When you focus on the aspect "direction", this movie seems to be one of the worst you can watch. The script, the direction, it's a whole mess. A silly story, scenes which are too long... The only positive aspect about this movie is Natassia Kinski.Mr. Toback (adequate name) probably has some influent friends, or is somebody's cousin or something.In this film, I always had the impression, that Mr Toback thinks that terrorism is the worst threat that exists for humanity. More important aspects, like corruption, hunger, inequality, aren't even mentioned. Forget this trash! I had to watch several good movies to start forgetting this crap.

This is a a very underrated film with many qualities. Somehow the parts don´t really add up but it´s still worth watching.The camera can´t get enough of Nastassja Kinski which is understandable since she is gorgeous. The films captures some of her feminine mystique and one can let oneself be seduced. The main weakness of the film is that it´s fragmented with parts that barely have anything holding them together except ms. Kinski.First she´s a midwestern farmgirl, then she goes to the BIG CITY and works as a waitress until -VOILA!- she´s discovered as a model! (which really is not at all unlikely as she is GORGEOUS). Then, she meets a mysterious man (European natch), follows him to France and gets involved with a terrorist group plotting to kill several people.But all this is very entertaining in a loose way with fine low-key performances from everyone. Nastassja is very good as the curious, open and vulnerable girl.So it´s the directors folly, but it´s very interesting to see the 80´s again, people like Nureyev, Harvey Kietel and Bibi Andersson, a terrorist groups´ way of thinking from the inside, and the looseness of the film is rather appealing if one can give reality a rest. I liked it.