Sizzling Euro film fizzles

Mike Swanson

Imagine driving through the uninhabited country and finding a young,

beautiful, forward woman who first wants to give you flowers, then

her body, then her life.

Sounds at first inviting to the average single heterosexual male,

but there’s a catch. Sylvia’s as sexually aggressive as anybody on

the block, but she’s a human praying mantis, so a hot night between

the sheets -- or between dancing vines in the greenhouse in this

flick -- comes only in exchange for your life.

“The Feast of the Praying Mantis,” which had its first screening

Saturday at the Newport Beach Film Festival, will get its second,

final viewing Thursday at noon at the Edwards Island 5. It’s perfect

for those who agonize over the choice of Bravo versus Cinemax when

watching late-night TV.

The Belgian film is overwhelmingly European in its beautiful

cinematography and its artsy treatment of a plot Hollywood would have

likely turned into a gratuitous bloodbath. True to European form, the

director chooses eroticism over violence. The plot is unquestionably

silly, but it’s executed in such a restrained manner (which borders

on the painfully slow) that the viewer stays interested in more than

the next sex, or at least breast scene.

Julien thinks he’s struck gold upon meeting and moving in with

Sylvia, but it doesn’t take him long to learn who, or what she is.

Sylvia won’t sleep with Julien because, of course, she loves him and

doesn’t want him dead, so the pair proceeds to independently court a

host for her needs. They find one in the free-wheeling daredevil

Patrick, and away the movie goes ....slowly.

“The Feast of the Praying Mantis” looks and feels like a free-love

‘70s film, so much so that the viewer’s left waiting for the Pink

Floyd soundtrack to kick in. Legendary French director Roger Vadim

likely would have loved this movie, but Vadim certainly doesn’t

represent the average Newport-Mesa filmgoer, even among the South

Coast Village-frequenting crowd.

If you’re free around lunchtime Thursday and have been waiting for

a film that crosses “And God Created Woman” with “Red Shoe Diaries,”

then a ticket for “The Feast of the Praying Mantis” is highly

recommended.

* MIKE SWANSON is the assistant city editor. He may be reached at

(949) 574-4286 or by e-mail at mike.swanson@latimes.com.