I did appreciate this one! It wasn't a surprise because I had read some previous comments here on IMDb, and the movie is just like some of them said: a piece of art cinema with a great cinematography! The "roller coaster" camera effect is really great and gives it an original and artistic touch, which I really appreciated! The plot, by itself, isn't particularly fantastic or original, in spite of have some suspense/mystery and create tension to the viewer. So, what's really great in this movie is its cinematography (especially the camera work). The characters are also great, very well constructed in the plot. In my point of view I just felt pity by the ending. I mean, I would prefer a more inconclusive ending, rather than this one, straight and "well explained"… In fact I think the movie would be better, and would have an increased artistic value, if the plot (and especially the ending) wasn't so straight to follow, like a banal/common murder story! I agree with a previous comment when the author says this movie crosses the European cinema sensibility with the American storytelling… I guess it's just like that, and in my point of view I think the film lost something with the American storytelling part…

All actors' performances were also good, but I will emphasize the main role played by the gentleman James Caan. I think it's well worked out and is a great part of the film!

It's a good art-cinema film which I will score 9/10, especially because of that!

Leonard Grey (James Caan) has been the super of the apartment building Jericho Mansions owned by Lily Melnick (Geneviève Bujold) for thirty year. Leonard is slow and agoraphobic, having also frequent amnesia, and dedicates his leisure time to build a complex bridge with clips. When the husband of the landlady Lily dies and she receives a call from her sister that lives in Europe, Lily rebukes Leonard and tries to force him to be fired or arrested by the police, forging evidences that he is a thief. However, most of the dwellers like Leonard and he stays working in the building. When Bill Cherry (Peter Keleghan),the husband of the masseuse Donna Cherry (Jennifer Tilly) and lover of the Spanish Dolores O'Donell (Maribel Verdú),is murdered in Jericho Mansions during the night, the police investigate the murder and there are many suspects, including Dolores's betrayed husband Eugene (Bruce Ramsay); Lily and Leonard. However, Jericho Mansions hides a dark and cruel secret.

"Jericho Mansions' is one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen, and I liked it. The intriguing story develops the bizarre characters very well and has a totally unexpected plot point, when a gruesome and very dark secret is disclosed and the viewer discloses one of the most cruel and repulsive villains of the cinema history. The acting is superb, highlighting Geneviève Bujold and James Caan, and this movie is underrated in IMDb. If you are seeking an original story with a surprising twist, rent or buy this DVD and I bet you will like this movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Condomínio" ("The Condominium")

Alberto Sciamma's "Jericho Mansions" is a strange film that hides a secret we are not going to be told until the end. This is a story of a building super, who is evidently slow, or mentally challenged. The film is mildly engrossing and it shows a director whose sensibilities seem to be rooted in European film making.

At the center of the story we have Leonard Grey, who we realize early on has a mental problem. The landlady, Lily Melnick is a horrible woman who seems to get pleasure in berating her employee. We wonder, why not fire him? Well, that's not possible because we discover toward the end the nightmare Leonard has gone through in his life and how the truth has eluded him all the years he was under Mrs. Melnick's employment.

James Caan makes a rare appearance in this indie production. He is good as the super that seems to be perplexed by all what's going on around him. Genevive Bujold, rarely seen these days, also makes an interesting landlady from hell. The supporting cast does good work under Mr. Sciamma's direction, notably Jennifer Tilly and Maribel Verdu.

"Jericho Mansions", while not breaking new ground, is different in the way the story is presented and developed.