Two Heads Are Better Than One

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Originally uploaded by Mkae.

I was flipping through the channels last night and stopped on IFC, the independent film channel. I would never stop here so I'm not sure what caught my eye and made me stop. There was something about the scene of Penny walking down the spooky hallway at the direction of the crusty old elevator operator that got my attention.

"It's the brown door."

"Which one? They're all brown. Is it this one?"

"What's it look like?"

"It's brown."

"Oh, it's the next one."

Priceless dialogue.

I expected it to be a monster movie of some kind where something awful would jump out and eat poor Penny the prostitute that we already sympathized with. Instead, after a few minutes of meeting the two brothers behind the door, we get the gist of the movie. Two brothers fall in love with prostitute Penny.

By the way, the brothers are siamese twins. Now we're cooking...

The film was "Twin Falls Idaho" and I was absolutely riveted. It deals with a pair of siamese twins who check into a motel to die. For their birthday, they decide to call for a prostitute. (For the record, I got a drill.) At first Penny is horrified and runs out. She comes back to get her forgotten purse and we realize that even though she's a hooker, she's just a sad frightened girl that needs to care about someone as much as she needs to be cared for.

Written and starring the Polish brothers, the film is truly a work of art. It never strays into the obvious points of ridicule but instead settles for subtle imagery. The bicycle scene at the end was both brillant and innovative. I can't tell you more about it without giving it away.

The relationship between Penny and Blake is real and tragic, all at once. Francis, the weaker of the two twins realizes he's the anchor that is dragging down Blake. There's a fight scene between the two that was so uncomfortable to watch it would almost make you cry in its saddness.

The movie ends like I thought it would but it still pulls off a wonderful lesson of life. I felt sad, uplifted and hopeful for these wonderful characters.

In a million years, I would not expect owning this movie, but I plan on picking up the DVD for what must be a fascinating extras set. If you're looking for a film to remind you how cruel and wonderful at the same time humanity can be, I would highly recommend this film.