I admit that the first time I saw this movie, I turned the DVD off after about 20 minutes. I felt the movie was just too boring. Then a few months later, a female friend insisted to me that this was a terrific movie, that I should give it another try. So I saw it again. And I have to agree that it improved on second viewing (unfortunately, a sad fact of movie viewing is that how much you like a particular movie depends on a certain degree on how was your mood that particular day). The movie is set in a mysterious boarding school for little girls, that is surrounded by a sort of enclosed forest, and where the girls don't seem to be taught anything else but ballet. Once a year, a couple of the girls are selected by the school's imperious director, and are taken off the school. To where, the girls are not told. The director (the real life companion of infant terrible Gaspar Noe) chooses an ambiguous and indirect form of storytelling. The movie suggests a lot, but delivers a little less than it promises. It is an art movie, but with a lot of the mannerisms of the terror genre. And the ending I found a little disappointing. But if you are armed with a little patience, this might be a worthwhile experience.
