Exotica

“Exotica” centers around a club, an opera house and a pet shop. These places are “exoticised” by those who work at or frequent them. Eric and Christina, who first met years ago during a tragic and emotional search for a missing child, work at the nightclub “Exotica”. A shared history demands that their connection be much stronger than that of “co-workers”. Their intensely complex relationship develops and has disturbing repercussions throughout the film. Francis is a tax auditor by day and a frequent patron of “Exotica” by night. Francis relies on “Exotica” and the illusions it provides in order to fill the empty space left by his mysteriously absent family. He has know Christina for several years, first as his child’s baby-sitter and now as the repository of his longings for the daughter he desperately misses. Zoe is the pregnant woman who owns and runs “Exotica”. Since her mother’s death, Zoe has put all her energy into ensuring that the club, as with everything else in her life, is running in an organized, controlled fashion, where emotions are not allowed to interfere with business. Thomas is the quirky owner of a pet store who makes more money by smuggling and selling exotic animals from foreign countries than his meager pet store bank books portray. Thomas is infatuated by the desire to surround himself with exotic pets and people. But when Francis enters his life as a tax auditor who invites Thomas to share in his obsessions, Thomas learns that the exotic can be dangerous. Harold is Francis’ brother. Their relationship is full of tensions resultant from an unspoken betrayal in the past. The only link between them is through Harold’s daughter, Tracey, who is paid by Francis to come to his house and “baby-sit” while he is at “Exotica”.