ATLANTIC CITY

Directed by Louis Malle, 1980.

Date: Sep 7th, 2005. Format: Video. Surrounding: Tampere.

I fell in love with the melancholic milieu and eerie atmosphere of Atlantic City five years ago in Sodankylä Film Festival where they screened Bob Rafelson's King of Marvin Gardens (1972) . Especially the (now in)famous boardwalk seemed to be like some closed path of American dream where wanderers have stayed waiting for someones (eh, the lost tourists) to rock their world. Through the eyes of the French director Louis Malle the town doesn't look much more alive, but his inhabitans do sense a little more hope, because they are beginning to understand the possibility to realize their past dreams together. Old gangster Burt Lancaster's and lonely waitress Susan Sarandon's lovemaking scene was cut from this version, which was broadcasted in Finnish television in 1991 (!). What a rude action. I'm absolutely sure it wouldn't make their relationship any harsher, only more touching. *****