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Spongey wrote on 04/24/2011:

A coming of age tale about a boy who goes off to college in the 70's. Peter moves into a fraternity of some sort. Something I found odd considering that a new member usually has to "pledge" before being accepted. (Didn't they watch "Animal House"?)

Peter becomes good friends with his new roommate Joe and his girlfriend, Bess. Their friendship turns sexual and leads to friction between Peter & Joe. At this point, the movie lost me since Joe becomes jealous of Peter and Bess' growing relationship. Even though Joe is the one that instigated the relationship in the first place!

Tensions boil over and Peter is forced to leave the fraternity and move in with his English Professor. (For a while I thought Joe and the professor were the same person, since they appear to wear the same wig!)

Peter's life begins to unravel as he starts developing feelings for his savior/professor. They try to make a life of it out in the woods with no electricity or running water! Bess convinces Peter to move back to the fraternity. The three of them resume their menage again, until Peter decides it's not what he wants and returns to the professor's home. Where they finally consummate their love. (It was the worst sex scene ever. Someone needs male anatomy lessons or to watch some porn!) I really started getting annoyed at this point.

Joe and the Frat president intervene, which causes Peter's family to confront him at the dean's office. They eventually drag him away after another confrontation with the Professor. Will they be together in the end? Can their love survive? Did I care? Not really.

The movie is so off the mark sometimes with it's tone and feel, it's rather disappointing. The movie takes place in 1972, but it hardly feels like it. I suppose a low budget didn't help matters. The set pieces, clothes, haircuts, etc. all screamed late 90's. The professor's classroom was clearly a church and there were only 9 students! I swear that three different actors wore the same purple shirt!! I'm nitpicking I know, but it bothered me. And If you're going to do a movie set in the 70's, at least have characters speak in the correct idiom.

The story gets bogged down in the middle, as the characters seem to make poor decision after poor decision. The use of reflections, indirect lighting and slow cams, was a little overdone.

I think I understand the filmmakers intent and perhaps a bigger budget might've helped. But I still can't recommend this movie. I suggest renting, "An Education" instead.

Amos Lassen wrote on 02/13/2011:

“Eden’s Curve”
Peter’s Story
Amos Lassen
“Eden’s Curve” (WaterBearer) is the story of Peter (Sam Levine), an eighteen year old boy who is on a journey of self discovery while studying at an all male university in the South. His roommate, Joe and his roommate’s girlfriend, Bess help him to learn more about himself and as he learns his values become crushed by those who love him. He also learns that he cannot do anything without relying on the strength of strangers and the decisions that he makes as he begins to discover himself will affect him his entire life.
The beautiful style of the film remains in the memory long after the movie is over. The movie itself is based on true happenings at a backwoods Virginia University in the early 1970’s and beautifully conveys both the time and the spirit. The framework of the action is a bisexual ménage-a-trois and the coming-of-age of a young college student. Yet there are other themes as well—identity, commitment, and the extent of romanticism. Sam Levine plays the boy who is the paragon of innocence—a blank page that is waiting to be written upon.
The film concentrates on the beautiful landscape of Virginia and the subjects of longing and desire come across as narration as opposed to characterization.
We watch as Peter’s tender love becomes jealousy and rage and the ethereal quality of the movie contributes heavily to the overall quality. What we get is a refreshing view of what mainstream America gets from the people who live there and not the standard representation of gay life. We see life with all of its challenges and its ups and downs. All of this presented as one youth enters adulthood. Imagination, imagery, and reflection play heavy roles in this film and they hit us hard and raise our spirits simultaneously.
I have heard it said that this is a depressing film; that there is no compassion, no thoughtful revelation and no redemption. I disagree with this completely but then I suppose the way one lives influences the interpretation of what I consider a beautiful film. The believability of the cast enhances the quality of the film. For someone to discredit a film like this is a grave injustice. Because one has to think and feel the movie makes it that much more realistic and personal. The emotion is touching and it sets the tone in the opening and never lets go. The story is totally believable. Everything about the film is done with the utmost taste; especially the nudity and the issues that are dealt with by the characters are real and genuine. The rawness of the photography matches the storyline and the story is certainly sad but exceptionally honest. The atmosphere of an earlier time is completely captured and the sexual and substance exploration was not decadent but beautifully handled. What especially stood out to me was the totally non-stereotypical approach to gay life. It is natural and it dealt with difficult issues with the utmost of reverence.

bobby78751 wrote on 02/05/2007:

I don't know what the deal is with the reviews so far but I love this film. I saw it a few years ago at the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival and was blown away. The story really touched me. I'm thrilled to see it finally available for sale.

robga wrote on 10/05/2004:

10/4/04 Save Your money. Absolutely the worse gay themed movie I have ever seen. The director (and photographer) told the story thru "slow motion" - reflection in mirrors, etc, etc.
It is a shame - as it was an interesting story, when you could view it. Why do first film directors have to be sooo "artsy" in their story telling. Keep it simple, keep it direct.

BABA wrote on 07/03/2004:

Anne Misawa's EDEN'S CURVE is a poetic and passionate account of sexual oppression and discovery in a puritanical America, one that has little changed since the early 70's when the story is set.

The sex is romantic and authentic, with superb acting. When the film was invited to premiere in London at the British Film Institute's Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival additional screenings were added to accomodate audience demands.

This is a film that show's the sensitive side of same sex partnerships with a power that could teach heteros a thing or two about loving.

See it with someone who's hand you're holding. Warning: this is not a film for movie going light weights.