Allure mixes fiction and documentary, actors and non-actors, following the life stories of five women in the late summer of 2011 during the Occupy movement in New York. The film traces many themes through the women's stories, including personal struggle, representation and politics but it mostly flows like a series of vignettes shot in beautiful black-and-white, making New York a subjective experience through the eyes of its characters.

The individual stories are episodic. Each one shows a dramatic moment in each of the women's lives that they have to overcome. In-between the film cuts to actual footage from the Occupy protests, and in the end the actors are part of the demonstrations, blurring the lines between real and fictional even further.

Situationism – a movement about cultural commodification from the 60s – provides an underlying layer of the film and its reinterpretation of 60s cinema techniques and themes in our time. The acting is excellent and so natural it makes the film often seem like a real documentary. Allure allows the viewer to layer all these stories, sounds and images together him/herself and experience something truly refreshing in our time of celebrity-driven worn-out movie formulas.

As with most indies these days, you had to catch this film during a very short theatrical run, but hopefully it will be available on streaming. It's a beautiful and moody film, following five women in New York in 2011 during the Occupy movement. The film contrasts the personal struggles of the women with bigger political themes and ideas. It's reminiscent of films like Jean Rouch's Chronicle of a Summer, if you're old enough to know that or a cinephile. It's interesting that the film is a deliberate homage to 60s cinema, yet it feels so fresh among today's movies, which are all the same. Strongly recommended if you look for something meaningful.