Eros (2005)

35% of critics liked it
(66 reviews)
45% of users liked it
(5,844 ratings)

Three of the world's most gifted filmmakers offer their own unique perspectives on love and lust in this omnibus film. The initial episode, "The Hand," was directed by Wong Kar-Wai, and tells the story of Zhang (Chang Chen), a young, virginal dressmaker's assistant who finds it difficult to control… More Three of the world's most gifted filmmakers offer their own unique perspectives on love and lust in this omnibus film. The initial episode, "The Hand," was directed by Wong Kar-Wai, and tells the story of Zhang (Chang Chen), a young, virginal dressmaker's assistant who finds it difficult to control his desire when he is sent to the home of Hua (Gong Li), a beautiful and refined prostitute, for a fitting. Steven Soderbergh directed the film's second story, "Equilibrium," in which Nick Penrose (Robert Downey Jr.) spends a session with his analyst (Alan Arkin) discussing a recurring dream of a beautiful naked woman in his apartment, but he keeps wandering off on tangents about alarm clocks and hair loss. Finally, Italian virtuoso Michelangelo Antonioni brings his short story The Dangerous Thread of Things to the screen, a story of a jaded couple, Christopher (Christopher Buchholz) and Chloë (Regina Nemni), whose relationship comes to a crossroads when both husband and wife become infatuated with the same woman, Linda (Luisa Ranieri). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Kar Wai Wong, Michelangelo Antonioni
Written By: Tonino Guerra, Kar-Wai Wong, Steven Soderbergh
Genres: Drama, Romance, Art House & International

In Theaters: Dec 31, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Feb 7, 2006
Studio: Warner Independent Pictures

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
I guess one out of three ain't bad.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
It is fairly melancholy news that the works of two of Antonioni's admirers outshine the master's segment.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Eros comes nowhere near meeting the challenge of its title when compared to the increasingly lewd standards of our current cinema.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
There's one good movie in here, sure. But unfortunately, it's over after the first 43 minutes.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
A triptych only a film festival could love.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's really interesting stuff.
Rob Nelson, City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
The rain still drips like tears in Wong's faintly lit alleyways, the paint in his narrow corridors continues to peel, the floral-print curtains in his '60s drawing rooms still billow in the breeze--but the colors have faded...
Robert Davis, Paste Magazine
The chatter in the lobby, I predict, will be from people wondering how and when [Antonioni] flipped his lid... The film is a failure, no matter how grandiose its title or the names above it.
Anton Bitel, Film4
Three is a crowd, and Wong and Soderbergh would have got along just fine without Antonioni there to wreck the marriage.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
If there's a point to any of this, it's the supposedly therapeutic revelation that major female mystery lies in what you can discover by rifling through her purse.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
If there's a point to any of this, it's the supposedly therapeutic revelation that major female mystery lies in what you can discover by rifling through her purse.
Tom Dawson, BBC
Anthologies by their inherent nature tend to be highly uneven. And Eros proves no exception, with the individual sections ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
An excruciating festival of middlebrow good taste.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
An intriguing but ultimately frustrating triptych.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
All three short films were minor works.
Scott Weinberg, DVD Clinic
Feels like an experiment that you'd be happy to catch during a film festival ... right before you nodded off for a solid 90-minute catnap.
Jean-François Vandeuren, Panorama
Eros demeure une expérience réussie en son genre, même si aucun des cinéastes invités ne réussit réellement à repousser les limites de son propre cinéma
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out
Three smart filmmakers produce three whiffs on the theme of love.
Jay Antani, Filmcritic.com
confoundingly horrendous
Scott Tobias, AV Club
The auteurist feast turns out to be a paltry spread, with one director on autopilot, another playing it safe, and the last apparently working on assignment for the European Red Shoe Diaries.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Conner R

Both Steven Soderbergh's and Michaelangelo Antonioni's segments are very interesting and for the most part flawless, but I really wasn't taken with Kar Wai Wong's. The first segment is just so repetative and drawn out for no reason, especially when the love story… More
Both Steven Soderbergh's and Michaelangelo Antonioni's segments are very interesting and for the most part flawless, but I really wasn't taken with Kar Wai Wong's. The first segment is just so repetative and drawn out for no reason, especially when the love story isn't even powerful. However, Robert Downey Jr. and Alan Arkin make up for it ten fold in a truly funny and powerful therapist session. I liked the b&w vs. color transition, it made the story feel all the more dreamlike. The relationship analysis in Antonioni's final segment is really a unique type of film making. It's not simplistic in its message, but the minimalistic visuals really put you in a unique mood.
Arash X

The Hand & The Equilibrium were good, But I didn't like Antonioni's The Dangerous Thread Of Things
Michael S

The only thing that brings the film down is Antonioni's very weak segment.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Eros" is a collection of three short languid films by three noted directors:[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]1. Wong Kar Wai's "The Hand" is about the relationship between a tailor(Chang Chen) and a… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Eros" is a collection of three short languid films by three noted directors:[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]1. Wong Kar Wai's "The Hand" is about the relationship between a tailor(Chang Chen) and a prostitute(Gong Li). And it might have worked if Wong Kar Wai had stopped with their first meeting, but errs by trying to shoehorn their entire relationshp into the short running time.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]2. Steven Soderbergh's "Equilibrium" is about an ad executive(Robert Downey Jr) talking to a psychologist(Alan Arkin) about a recurring dream. A nice setup, fabulous performances, great black and white cinematography all go to waste by the time it implodes at the end.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]3. Michelangelo Antonioni's "The Dangerous Side of Things" is about a bickering couple(Christopher Buchholz & Regina Nemni) going to a restaurant...and that's pretty much it.[/font]
meril l

Loved the first two, hated Antonioni's.
Leo L

Hmmm....interesting! I could have sworn that I rated this before. Oh well, this is an interesting collection of stories told in sequences with an amazing set of actors and actresses. From beginning to end, the stories detailed are extremely intriguing. Great cast!

Read all 6 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Li Gong as Miss Hua

            Chen Chang as Zhang

            Tin Fung as Master Jin

            Robert Downey Jr. as Nick Penrose

            Alan Arkin as Dr. Pearl - Hal

            Ele Keats as Woman - Cecelia

            Christopher Buchholz as Christopher

            Regina Nemni as ChloÃ«

            Luisa Ranieri as The Girl - Linda

            Enrica Antonioni as Guest at the Restaurant

            Carin Berger as Guest at the Restaurant

            Cecilia Luci as Girl by the Cascade

            Vinicio Milani as Guest at the Restaurant

            Auntie Luk as Hua's Servant - Ying

            Zhou Jianjun as Hua's Lover - Zhao

            Sheung Wing Tong as Tailor

            Wong Kim Tak as Tailor

            Ting Siu Man as Tailor

            Yim Lai Fu as Tailor

            Shih Cheng You as Tailor

            Siu Wing Kong as Tailor

            Lee Kar Fai as Tailor

            Un Chi Keong as Hotel Concierge

            Karima Machehour as Girl by the Cascade

            Riccardo Manfredi as Barman

            Valerio Burroni as Waiter

            Pelino Tarantelli as Gardener

            Maria Bosio as Guest at the Restaurant

            Carla Milani as Guest at the Restaurant

            Ugo Quattrini as Guest at the Restaurant

            Jason Cardone as Guest at the Restaurant

            Christopher Bucholz
            
See full cast