- 2001
- Indican Pictures
- 1 h 41 m
SummaryA black and white "silent" comedy told only with images and international dialogue.
Directed By:Veit Helmer
Written By:Michaela Beck, Veit Helmer, Lyudmila Merdzhanska
Tuvalu
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
User score
Mixed or Average
4.8
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
50% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
42% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
100
A concept executed with bravura style, intelligent curiosity, and playful wit.
70
Ultimately a rewarding -- if weird -- experience. It's just too bad that it takes so long to get there.
63
It may take a half-hour to get one's bearings, but there's a payoff in the subsequent charm of this nearly wordless, surreal comedy set in a decrepit bathhouse in Bulgaria.
60
Helmer's wildly whimsical debut film, Tuvalu, is the kind of movie that might one day find itself in the hall of fame of surreal movie weirdness alongside cult favorites like "Eraserhead," "Delicatessen" and the avant-garde frolics of Guy Maddin.
60
The film's tone is a matter of taste -- the more you enjoy the melancholy silent comedies of Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, the more likely you are to embrace its sensibility -- but it's undeniably the product of a singular and beautifully realized vision.
50
It's always risky to characterize a new film as "unique," but Tuvalu, the debut feature from German director Veit Helmer, has as good a shot as any at claiming that label.
25
A disappointment, a precious and grotesque exercise reminiscent of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Delicatessen," only less amusing.
User score
Mixed or Average
4.8
60% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
40% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Sep 18, 2016
0
A faux-silent film without anything of interest except some beautiful cinematography and some nice locations in Bulgaria. It's very boring, infantile, silly and seemingly the product of a low intelligence. It's not really a film for adults, because it's too childish and naive for that, and it's neither a film for children, because it's too arty and slow for that. And it features even a sex toy, so it's not really family friendly either. Sure, it's an unusual film, but this is no quality in itself, if there's no story to tell or any substance. This is a film for no one, except some movie freaks, who like to see a film without any dialogue. But they should watch instead "Le dernier combat" (1983), the far superior debut feature by Luc Besson, which was obviously a huge influence on this. Besson did it much better years before and created a small classic. This is a waste of time.
Report
Production Company:
- Borough Films
- Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg (FBB)
- Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA)
- Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR)
- Südwestrundfunk (SWR)
- Veit Helmer Filmproduktion
Release Date:Dec 7, 2001
Duration:1 h 41 m
Tagline:Eine Reise in die Welt der Träume
Awards
Fancine - Fantastic Film Festival of Málaga
• 4 Wins & 4 Nominations
Fantasporto
• 2 Wins & 4 Nominations
Hof International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
