Models  (1998)

Theatrical Release Information:
Models

Controversial documentary filmmaker Ulrich Seidl follows the sex lives and careers of a trio of ambitious models. Vivian, who will do anything, anything, to be a magazine covergirl, has a boyfriend and a bevy of lovers but still pines for a "real affair." Lisa, who sleeps only with black men, fills her time with routine plastic surgery and cocaine binges. Tarot card and yoga enthusiast Tanya loves animals in a manner that is unconventional to say the least. Using long voyeurist shots that seem to borough completely through the private spaces of his subjects, Seidl lavishes particular attention on the sexual relationships of the three models, exploring how sex and career intertwine. This is laid bare when Vivian meets with a sleazy photographer. She tacitly barters herself in exchange for a shot a becoming a star. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival as a part of a Ulrich Seidl retrospective. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide