Sometimes you hear about films that sound so nuts you just must see them for yourself. Bibliotheque Pascal is not one of those films.  Oh, it sounds nuts, but it is also not very good.

We open, in Hungary, with a woman of Romanian descent before a social worker, arguing to keep her kid.  She begins to tell her story, which involves an impregnating rogue, dream projection, traveling puppet shows, selling oneself into sexual slavery and, eventually, a "literary brothel," where patrons get to live out scenes of classic literature.  (That last bit sounds high-minded and nice, but it actually means rape and murder, so it is not so nice.)

I could never put my finger on the tone of this movie.  There are parts that were legit kitchen sink drama, then gypsy music pipes in to make things "quirky."

The production values are quite good (just how much Hungarian tax dollars went to his flick) but it is ultimately a disheveled mess.  There are cool ideas in there, but it never gels as an engaging story.  I give this movie a C.

Here's my InstaReview, taken inside the Alamo Drafthouse itself, as another film was just about to start!

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