Hope Lost [DVD]

If you watch this cinematic pile of donkey crap expecting anything resembling entertainment value or thrills then it's titled appropriately because it won't be long before you realize really is no hope. The unimaginative story concerns a pretty young Hungarian girl who is tricked into going to Italy for a film audition but finds that she has been sold to a sadistic pimp (Michael Madsen, making absolutely no effort) who throws her on the street for 30 Euros a client, which seems ridiculously cheap given her young age and good looks. At first it's all tears and horror but she is eventually befriended by a more experienced woman in the same situation (Mischa Barton, not her best recent work but she is likable at least) and things become slightly more bearable.

Eventually both of the girls are sold to someone who wants to use them for a snuff film. If you watch this expecting sleazy exploitation sex like the similarly themed 1970's classic Thriller: A Cruel Picture or the I Spit on Your Grave films forget about it--there's virtually no nudity or sex despite the fact that both of the heroines are prostitutes. If the snuff aspect appeals then you're also SOL--as torture porn goes this is Disney Chanel or Nickelodeon compared with the Hostel or Saw films.

Without much of anything in the way of nudity or sex or violence what are you left with? Basically a depressing and dull drama that follows the same dramatic cycle over and over--one or both of the prostitutes feels some false hope for some reason, that hope is dashed, something else happens to provide false hope which is then again dashed--that's pretty much the movie every 15 minutes until we finally get to the underwhelming and way too tame snuff film finale which offers virtually no torture and even less payback. Hope Lost isn't just the title--it's pretty much the movie's only narrative idea.

Hope Lost never has the guts to be anything but dull or the imagination to avoid seeming endlessly repetitive--there is simply no reason anyone should watch this movie,ever, unless it is being used as a tool of torture and someone has your eyelids forced open Clockwork Orange style. If that happens to you then you need nicer friends or less sadistic enemies.

Sophia (Francesca Agostini) hoping to be a film star travels to Rome where she is forced to work for Manol (Michael Madsen) a pimp. She becomes one of Rome's Campfire Girls. The story then turns weird at the end.

This is one of the worst films I have seen with Madsen and Trejo. The plot went nowhere. The film is mostly shot at night with Sophia being tested and confronting a number of fetishes. The dialogue wasn't great .

Guide: F-bomb, sex, rape, minimum nudity, mostly from the back although I understand there may be versions with more nudity.

Cover photo is a little misleading. This is a drama about a young, single mother who wants to be a model and who falls prey to a man offering her a chance to be in a motion picture, actually a video. It turns out that she is imprisoned, abused and forced to participate in the filming of videos depicting violence on others sometimes resulting in the death of the participants. In one sense it is a good film depicting the dangers of falling prey to people engaged in human trafficking. It is a pretty well-done production though not up to Hollywood standards. I don't recommend it unless you're looking for something out of the ordinary and unless you are into sado-masochism. It is not a movie with nudity.

I found it to be well acted and directed. The technical side was also professionally done. It's better than several movies that I've seen coming from the big name studios. If you're looking for a bunch of nudity, don't rent this. If you want a cohesive, compelling storyline then this is a good choice.

ugly grit