That’s right, you read that heading properly. I won’t be presenting a review for A Serbian Film today. Instead I’ll be delivering an R-rated rant, the likes of which have never graced the pages of The Film Reel before and hopefully never will again. Let me first point out that I’m totally against the idea of censorship. If someone wants to make something then let them and we, as the public, should have the right to decide if it’s acceptable. There are however moments in time when things cross a line. The recent remake of I Spit On Your Grave may fall in this category for some people. In fact, any film that involves rape will probably be crossing the line for some. While that films deals with a topic that is both heated and sensitive, it also deals with adults. Let me tell you that what happens after the break here isn’t something to read to the kids. Let the explicit rant begin now…
A Serbian Film takes the line that few dare to cross, sprays some blood on it, has sex with it, shits on it and then erases it. This is easily the most classy looking piece of crap that it has been my displeasure to sit through and sitting through it was something that I almost didn’t do. Twice during the film I wanted to leave and there was one other part that I could have done without seeing. Leaving the film would have made me feel better but it would not have allowed me the ability to adequately judge it and voice my opinion. By now I wish I had just walked out.
Writer/director Srdjan Spasojevic and writer Aleksandar Radivojevic would like you to believe there’s a message to this movie. From an article (read it all here) on Bloody Disgusting – Aleksandar Radivojevic ”I love to play with metaphors. When you put a naked metaphor on the table, it’s like you’re making a drawing. Like, when we say “your boss is fucking you,” we would draw your boss fucking you but we all know he really isn’t fucking you. We’re just depicting how you feel. And that’s what we did with the film. It’s like we feel violated by authority; our authority in politics and art is so restricted and narrow minded that it makes everything impossible. When you go to your regular job, it’s like you’re whoring yourself non-stop. That’s what the pornographic nature of the film is; it’s every indecent job you’ve ever had. It’s kind of pornographic because you get fucked for feeding your family. We’re turning metaphors into flesh, like the great David Cronenberg, one of our great inspirations for the film. He always puts metaphors into flesh. Like I said, this is your boss fucking you, we’re gonna show your boss fucking you. We feel violated and raped and we show that in the film, and it naturally fits into the genre.”
Give me a fucking break! Am I to understand that since you feel violated by authority you think a good visual for that is the raping of a newborn baby? Obviously this is a film. I’m not so stupid as to try and call someone out for child abuse or something like that and this is not a full on view of a rape. A little camera angle showing a man’s ass and the head of the baby is what you see but you’d have to be blind to not understand what’s happening. In case you are, one of the characters shouts out ‘newborn porn’. Maybe you missed the subtle thrusting of the man or the disgusting sounds that accompany it along with the terrifyingly disturbing cries of a baby. Yeah, I can see how that will help get your message across.
Who the fuck gave these two fucking sick fuckers a camera anyway? How could anyone be involved in this project? This movie crosses the line badly and shouldn’t be supported by anyone. The first 40 minutes of the film will lull you into it. It looks great and the performances are well done. Nothing really terrible happens at all. Basically Milos, the ex-porn star, is offered a lot of money to take part in one last porn. It’s art they say. He accepts and is on his way.
This is where things get uncomfortable. There’s a very young looking, I can only hope that she’s young ‘looking’ and not actually young, girl who watches as Milos gets a blowjob from a woman who has just been slapped. Milos isn’t really down for it but a very large man holds him from behind while the woman bites his dick. The man and the young girl chant for him to hit the woman and he does. By this point I’m starting to worry that this young girl is going to be the victim of a rape scene. Little did I know that it only gets much worse from there.
While the movie is starting to make me uncomfortable, nothing has really happened to make me despise the film yet and I start to wonder if all the hype is pointless, like The Human Centipede. Milos decides that he doesn’t want to be a part of this anymore and goes to tell they mysterious man who hired him that he’s out. That’s when he makes Milos watch a movie where a woman gives birth to a baby and the ‘doctor’ holds the baby up, slaps the baby’s ass so it cries and then proceeds to rape the baby. Milos does exactly what I wanted to do which is leave. I don’t though. I stay and tell myself that I can’t honestly tear the film apart if I haven’t seen the whole thing. Maybe that’s the worst that will happen. Fuck was I wrong.
We find Milos waking up on his bed covered in blood and finding that he’s missing 3 or 4 days of his life. I can’t remember how many exactly. Now we watch as he begins to unravel what has happened to him. If the baby part wasn’t enough to stop someone from watching it then maybe some of the things that happen next will be.
A woman is choked to death when she is forced to perform fellatio on a man while her hands are tied and he pinches her nose closed. Towards the end of the film Milos kills a man by jamming his dick into the guys eye socket when he notices the guy is missing an eye. And to top it all off Milos unknowingly rapes his own son. Our shot is of two little legs sticking out from underneath Milos’ legs while blood squirts down from the inside of the boys thighs.
It’s fucking depraved and any ability that these people have to make a movie should be removed from them. They just simply shouldn’t be allowed to make films anymore. What purpose does this movie serve in the grand scheme of things? That you think your country is fucking you over? Guess what, I’m pretty sure that my country is fucking me over, probably not as bad as other countries but that doesn’t matter. Somewhere in life someone is going to fuck you over. I don’t think it gives you the right to make a movie where newborn babies and young children are fucked. This is easily the most disgusting piece of film I have ever watched.
I’m disgusted with myself that I even paid to see this one. Does nobody in the world have even the slightest bit of morals anymore? I tend to give movies on rape a pass, although it’s not something I enjoy. At least these films typically involve adults. Rape in a film is pushing that line but the rape of a small child is unforgivable. How can anyone stand behind this film? It’s the most useless piece of shit I have ever watched and I can only think of one other film that fits this bill and that is the August Underground film that I watched. Mordrum I believe it was. Again, another piece of filth that shouldn’t be allowed out into the world.
A Serbian Film makes August Underground look like Disneyland though. Any press is good press and I can imagine that fans of A Serbian Film and any company that stands behind it will applaud an article like this. Yes, we wanted to get fans to react! Look how upset this one guy is, that’s great!
I urge everyone to not see this film. At what point will it stop? We allow directors to overwhelm us with mindless torture porn flicks that seem to only satisfy an unquenchable bloodlust that the public has. Now we allow a film that involves the rape of a small child and a newborn baby to be made. When is it not okay anymore? I’m not even sure that anyone could possibly make a film that is anymore depraved and disgusting than this one unless they actually made a snuff film.
The world is slowly becoming a hard place to view with scenes of death and destruction happening right in front of our eyes or across our TV screens. Films are a way to deal with that in a safe environment. Horror films typically enjoy a boom when something tragic has happened in the world but this goes beyond anything that should be acceptable. There’s no reason that anyone should have to view this and it certainly won’t help anyone escape the realities of life. Quite the contrary, this takes some of the most disgusting things in life and shoves them down your throat while they masquerade themselves as having a message.
The only message here is that two sick fucks made a movie where a baby and a young boy get raped. The only message here is that there’s something wrong with us that we accept this film as a piece of art. The only message here is that there are no more lines to cross, A Serbian Film has crossed them all and somewhere people will be applauding it and its ability to push boundaries. I, personally, will vomit every time someone says they liked this or that it had such a strong message. That someone will sit through this isn’t what sickens me, it’s that someone could sit through this and not think the film is wrong for what it has depicted.
Will
Wow…
Well, I suppose I should return the Serbian Film T-shirt and mug I was going to give you for your birthday.
(Let’s just hope they don’t make a video game of it)
Those scenes you mentioned look disgusting yet very fake (rubber doll and a sheet covered dummy) and even grotesque, though purposely so.
Nevertheless the mere idea shocked me but it also made me realize that these kind of things happen around us all the time and we should perhaps become more aware of it and if possible try to stop it, instead of turning a blind eye and just pretending it doesn’t exist….unfortunately this world is no Disneyland
It’s a shame you didn’t post this *before* I went to the theatre last night!
“I urge everyone to not see this film. At what point will it stop? We allow directors to overwhelm us with mindless torture porn flicks that seem to only satisfy an unquenchable bloodlust that the public has.”
I found this film to be against this exact thing you mention here – it depicts what the crazy filmmaker is doing as something terrible, vile and very wrong.
It almost seems as if you are putting an equal mark between filmmakers of Serbian Film and film’s villain, Vukmir?
Also, isn’t that a bit of generalizing, to think everyone who watches this movie to have ‘unquenchable bloodlust’ or perhaps that the film’s been done solely to satisfy those kind of persons?
Well, I can say to anyone who wants to watch ASF with that (bloodlust-y) state of mind that they’ll be very disappointed
Sorry Derek! HAHA!
Smokey – I don’t see where the message in the film that this is wrong is. The only person who survives in the end is the sick bastard who wanted the film in the first place. Milos’ wife doesn’t even attempt to leave him for whats happened and decides that death is the better result, not sure if I can disagree there.
The filmmakers didn’t make the film to rally against the prostitution or abuse of children, their point was to visualize their opinions of what they feel their country is doing to them. I quoted them from an article on Bloody Disgusting and that seemed to be the point they were trying to get across.
I also never said that everyone who watches this movie has an unquenchable bloodlust. What I said was that horror films seem to get worse and worse in terms of their graphic nature because the general public seems to want it that way. I don’t think that’s generalizing at all, I think it’s an obvious fact. You can’t deny that horror films are much more graphic than ever and horror fans love it. Hell, I love it! This film steps across many lines though.
I have two kids so this probably hits home a lot more than for someone who doesn’t have children. Yes, most parents end up like Brian in Family Guy saying how they couldn’t imagine something like that happening to their kids. I just can’t see the point to showing the rape of a child in a film. Why is the rape of the child shown with more striking camera angles than when Milos is raped by another man? The image of Milos’ legs straddling a smaller set of legs while blood spurts between the childs thighs is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen yet when Milos is raped we just see a closeup of the two mens heads.
Without considering the viewpoint of the filmmakers and the point they seem to be trying to make and just taking the film on its own I can see how what the villain is doing is portrayed as bad. Does that mean we have to see some of those images. Don’t these guys believe in less is more? Suggesting the rape of the kids would be equally as disturbing but a little easier to accept. I honestly don’t think it would have changed my opinion on the film though.
This movie really makes me miss the days of subtle horror and Sundays curled up watching Dracula or Godzilla movies. I love horror movies but this isn’t a horror movie. It’s not some psychotic killer chopping people up with an axe. This is a person who is filming the rape of a child and the murder of numerous people for the pleasure of another person. I don’t need this movie to remind me that there are sick fucks out there who actually do this type of thing. That’s what the news is for. I watch a movie for an escape from the tragedy that faces us each day in life.
If the point of the movie is to open peoples eyes to the world around them, which I don’t think it is judging from the filmmakers comments, then the film is still crossing a line by showing us some of these images. There’s almost no redeeming character in the film besides the innocent son and wife, who have little screen time. Everyone else in the film is a sick fuck with only Milos straddling the line between sick and innocent. I just don’t see the point to this film and the message is lost completely on me. I stand by everything that I said and still believe this is a movie that isn’t needed.
Notice I’m staying out of this one entirely!
(Hrmm… Hell must have frozen over!)
(…although, Will, you know I won’t be able to resist giving you my point of view when we meet up again this weekend!)
HAHA! I’m looking forward to finding out what you think about this whole thing man. I can imagine we could probably have quite the discussion about it!
Not all films end happilly which doesn’t mean it’s right…just like in life itself…
To me, it also has shown to what lenghts will people go for money nowadays (I dont necessarily refer to Milos but more to people who have power like filmmaker, and all those behind the snuff and in real life, power over us)… without thinking of the consequences and pain they inflict to others…and where does it stop? Who will stop it?
It shows the desensitised world, a world going down the drain and a scream for waking/sobering up and changing it. True, this is not a typical horror…neither it’s an easy movie and definetely not intended for entertainment.
Must… resist…. writing… my… o…pinion….. Must… close… the… browser…w-w-window….
While I agree that the film may show what lengths people will go for money, it doesn’t show them having a moral conflict over it except for Milos. I don’t know how deep into that I would read regarding others in real life. I’m pretty sure that only the sickest of fucks would harm children directly for money or power. Any sick bastard in power would willingly harm children indirectly through casulties of war but that’s a far stretch to take that point from this film.
If the film is to show a desensitised world and a need to change it then why does it resort to images that are so disturbing. If the film is accepted despite its disturbing images then they have lost their purpose to show our need to wake up and change it. By showing us something so disturbing they are only further pushing the desensitisation.
HAHA! Don’t worry Laer, as long as you aren’t outright hating on someone or resorting to childish name calling, the comments are all about opinions. If you believe the film serves a purpose then so be it. Believe me, there are lots of things I’ve left out of my post because I wrote it first in outrage.
Our private discussion may be more animated but as long as everyone keeps it civil in the comments section then everything is alright! HAHA!
Hi – interesting piece on a film that I will not be bothering with… but I will wade in on some of the points raised.
Firstly, I think that it is possible to review a film without having endured the whole thing. I walked out of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for very specific reasons and that formed the basis of my review…
http://cinemascream.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/girlwiththedragontattoo/
…I also have things to say about only being able to sit through twenty minutes of drek like Windtalkers.
Secondly, the ‘these things happen in real life’ defence is weak sauce. I sat through the utterly awful Mordrum and came to the conclusion that many subtler and much less graphic films have plenty more to say about society and violence. We know these things exist and being shown them does not increase out understanding at all. Yes, there are some films that sanitise violence and make entertainment of the most horrendous actions (practically all Hollywood product does this) but films like Mordrum offer little perspective on this. They just offer spectacle of a different nature.
I don’t think it’s impossible to review a film if you walk out on it, I just can’t really do that myself. I kind of wish I could because I’ve had to sit through some particularly terrible movies!
Your comment about Mordrum is sort of the same problem I have with this film. I just didn’t see the message they wanted to convey and the level of violence, especially against children, seems unnecessary. Nobody is ‘shown the way’ in this one and the final shot of the film only serves as the next level of violence. Nobody learned a lesson and came out a stronger person.
This was pointless violence in a film that is not over the top. Had it been a horror movie with some masked killer that can’t be stopped it would be a little more acceptable. The fact that there’s so much violence against children though makes it a film that I could never come to terms with on any level.
Okay, I can’t resist jumping in!
A few points on my mind:
Contemporary horror (as a general genre) kind of has a built in flaw, as I see it. It is, in itself, the response to a public challenge of ‘scare/disturb me’. Much like a rollercoaster, you have people coming on, ‘braving’ the experience, and coming off boasting ‘that wasn’t so bad’. Like dragons, each ride is ‘conquered’ by the more competitive visitors, in very much a macho/power type of thing. As a result, the rollercoaster/film is badged as ‘nice try, but this was nothing’, and is further challenged to ‘try again and beat me’. As a result of that, crazier and more extreme rollercoasters are created, to finally shut up the ‘that was nothing’ crowd.
So it is, in my opinion, with contemporary horror film… Sure, we can talk about the craft of filmmaking, and artistic impression… but we are kidding ourselves in many of these cases. The sole purpose of many films is to finally grab the trophey of ‘made the tough guy in the audience scream/cry/throw up, etc’… and not just for the bragging rights, but also (unfortunately, but understandably) to have that notoriety drive sales (due to curiousity and/or other tough guys wanting to stand up to the thing that took down their ‘tough friend’).
You hit a guy, and he doesn’t flinch, and smiles at you in victory, challenging you to try harder…. You hit him harder, he reacts, but quickly turns back to face you, with that same boastful smile, inviting you to try and somehow topple him… The natural (and seemingly ONLY) response is to keep punching harder and more visciously. So it is, in my opinion, with the horror genre. The audience keeps saying, “That film that is supposed to be ‘the most terrifying experience ever’ was nothing…”, so they have to throw continually more disturbing/upsetting images, in hopes of finally hitting that mark.
Granted, one may argue about the difference between making people jump vs upsetting/disturbing people… but keep in mind that the ‘jump’ trophey is very easily accomplished, and almost a pointless victory… as even an airhorn (as I jokingly pointed out to you, Will) would acheive that. And, as for ‘classic horror’, sadly the subtle and the classic (wolfman, etc) are nowhere near as affective (in the ‘shutting up the tough guy’ battle) as more hard-core methods… That’s not to say that classic horror is no longer a worthy artform… but this (currently) is a race to finally crack the tough guy, and he’s not there to be impressed by subtle/classic horror. Sadly, the other subtleties, art, etc have been tossed asside in order to fully attack that one last guy that sits in the audience, arms crossed, commenting on how un-scary it all is.
So, after several attempts at increasingly harder hits, you finally hit that one level where the tough guy DOES fall to the ground… and in the case of film, you finally hit that level where it DOES crack the previously unmovable audience… but, being horror, and thus attempting to scare/disturb/upset you, many feel (rightfully) upset by… well, being upset! Just as a person challenging you to hurt them with a punch would not be happy once they ARE actually hurt with a punch. A lot of times, these types of challenges are made with the assuption that you will never win, and with little (or no) regard to the consequences if the person DOES.
So, you get the film that DOES manage to upset/disturb… The challenge is won… but, naturally, we (the defeated) are not happy about it. But, when I look at the whole thing, who is to blame? Granted, the subject matter is, in itself, disgusting, etc… much as a punch is a terrible thing… but, afterall, the challenge is to upset/topple us. Why do we get upset, when what we challenge the filmmakers to give us is given? It seems that often we are only happy when the ‘terrifying/disturbing film of the year’ is actually NOT what it claims, and we walk away unscathed. If it truly succeeds, then we are suddenly upset that we are reacting exactly as we SHOULD be… being upset by it. A successful punch in the arm will ALWAYS hurt… otherwise, it’s not successful.
Now, one can make an arguement of ‘how far do you go’… but then I would think one would also have to consider that you have to ‘punch’ as hard as you can, otherwise you risk that your ‘carefully increased’ punch attempt will not be enough… and in the case of making movies, you often only have one chance (due to financing, reputation, etc).
In any other genre (for example, comedy) the challenge to ‘affect the resistant guy’ has, by nature, less harmful effects…. be it laughter, or inspiring thought, etc, which is a far less upsetting defeat to those who are finally won over (…unless you’re some uber-macho guy who gets really upset about the fact that the film made you cry in public). Contemporary horror, on the other hand, has the unique ‘victory condition’ of ‘punching so it finally hurts’.
I’ll cut it there… but that’s some of my thoughts. Just some things to consider, or discard as you please.
Oh, btw… This is not to defend this film in particular, which I haven’t seen yet. I’m just talking about the subject in general. Yes, supposedly this film is a metaphor for the struggles of the people of Serbia… and I really can’t judge the validity of that, one way or another. All I know, is that films like this are challenged to finally truly upset people… either by horrific imagery, shocking imagery, or controversial subjects (…be it the literal on-screen ones, or the supposedly implied ones of the metaphors on screen). So, did it succeed to be the shocking film that everyone talked about? One might say, ya… Doesn’t mean it’s a ‘good film’ on all other respects… nor even ‘right’…. but it certainly made you (and probably others) ‘flinch’. Maybe we should be asking ourselves why we (the public) keep throwing in that challenge in the first place?
(Now, this is not directed to you specificaly, Will, as I know you to be far more a lover of the classic horror genre. Again, just throwing it out there as a discussion point….)
I agree with you about the entire horror aspect but that’s one problem about this film. It’s not a horror movie. It has moments of great gore but I don’t think you could put it in the horror genre.
I will never challenge a movie to disgust me. Been there, done that. I want a film to scare me. A Serbian Film isn’t scary, it’s disgusting. I wasn’t looking to be disgusted and didn’t even really want to watch the film but in writing a blog about movies sometimes I find myself having to watch something to give my opinion on it. Usually this means sitting through a movie that I find boring and have no interest in. Going into this one I had assumed that the hype about it being disturbing was just that, hype. Much like Human Centipede which isn’t even close to disgusting but a rather lame, boring and bloodless attempt to shock.
Instead of wanting to see A Serbian Film as a challenge for my level of disgust, I looked at it more as a challenge to show that it wasn’t at all disturbing. What’s really bad about it is that if you removed the pointless moments of child rape there would have been a good film there. I liked the concept of Milos trying to figure out what had happened to him in a drug induced haze and think there are numerous things they could have done in place of raping children.
I agree totally with you on the genre trying to outdo itself by sending people racing from the theater and it’s probably true that when we’re defeated in our challenge that we sulk and complain the movie is terrible. A Serbian Film would have won that challenge, and my respect as a disturbing movie, based on the images that happen to the adults in the movie. By including violence against children of the most unimaginable kind I feel the filmmakers have only created a borderline child porn flick.
I challenge films to frighten me, not cause me to vomit all over myself. This movie wasn’t frightening, it was disgusting and a pointless waste of film and my time. The film representing the filmmakers feelings of their country or how they’re treated by government is a load of bullshit if you ask me. The rape of a newborn baby doesn’t explain to me how your country has turned your life upside down. That Milos takes this porn film job to make the kind of money that he can’t get anywhere else is a little more of an acceptable visual metaphor.
I gotta say that Milos didn’t really look like he was suffering in his home though, which seemed like a very nice place to live. He didn’t seem hard up for cash and seemed to enjoy a very fulfilling life. His son even attends singing lessons. If your concept for the film was how people have to do some questionable things to be able to provide for themselves and their family then it’s probably a good idea to show a family that has less than I do. I can’t afford to send my children to singing lessons as much as they may enjoy that. I certainly wouldn’t take a porn job with no description involved for the money. Even more obnoxious is that we never learn the amount of money that Milos is offered, only that peoples reactions to it make it seem like a lot.
I’m sure this film will continue on and become one of those movies that people challenge their friends to watch. I’ll just continue to suggest to my friends that they watch Shutter because I found that movie scary. I’d rather my friends think I’m a little girl and not a demented child molestor!
Agreed, but keep in mind, again, these things:
1) What you find over the top may very well be ‘just enough’ to ‘push the buttons’ of some of those ‘tough guys’ who are still throwing out the challenge to disturb them. Again, taking it in small steps each time would be the ‘wise’ thing to do, so that you ‘hit the buttons’, but don’t go completely overboard (or get your film completely banned)…. Yet, again, being a business, where the film HAS to be successful (drawing people in, winning that ‘most disturbing’ trophey, etc), and the filmmaker often has only one chance, they kind of have to ‘go for broke’, and risk being overly controversial… In the end, even THAT just serves to make more people want to see it… which, full circle, generates the revenue… which is what the film industry is sadly about, for the most part, these days. Had they taken out the bits that you found (rightfully) disgusting, they may have ended up with a film that ‘wasn’t enough’ for those hard core guys… These are the guys who come off of every rollercoaster saying, “That was lame”. With those guys, you virtually have to simply slam them into the ground in order for them to even admit it was worth it.
2) What WAS the purpose of the film? Do we assume it’s to broadcast this message of oppression? Or, is it to be ‘that controversial film that we are dared to watch’, like so many of the other ‘video nasties’? Even if the first is the true intention, the second has become (seemingly) it’s main drive… and I’m sure the filmmakers are not terribly upset about that.. as long as it means people will watch it. As you say, it’s not a horror film, so it shouldn’t really be judged as one. It’s a ‘disturbing’ film, and again, one could argue if the ‘message’ is disturbing, or the method…. either way, a disturbing film that everyone talks about, and ‘dares themselves’ to see. I don’t think neither you nor I would even consider this film, if it wasn’t for the ‘this is so disturbing’ hype that surrounded it… otherwise, there’s plenty of films on similar subjects of opression that we could pursue… even IF we were interested in that!
3) Much like other factors in other genres (ex. how easy the film is to understand… how much star appeal there is… etc), the film has to often choose a target audience, and often alienate or upset other conflicting philosophies… Example: 2001: A Space Odyssey alienates the MTV generation (…and, let’s face it, many general audiences) with its slow pace and lack of exposition/explanation. It COULD cater to those who want to know the meanig of everything… or those who want fast action… or… to those who want to appreciate each shot…. and those who want to think for themselves, and have some ambiguity… and/or not want to be treated like a moron. Regardless of the choice of path the film takes, it’ll upset/lose some portion of the viewers. Same with films intended to disgust… A film, for example, that shows animal torture would be completely unwatchable by me (and would have me fuming)… yet for some others, it’s funny and entertaining. A film that shows a rape may be ‘going over the boundry’ to some, whereas it’s ‘nothing’ to others (…in fact, they may enjoy it). Even things that you yourself find standard, like a woman being stabbed, may be ‘completely out of line’ to others… and who’se to say they are wrong? Really, what IS the line? Considering what we now consider ‘okay’ these days, you really have to wonder. Since when is someone getting stabbed okay? In fact, we cheer for the ‘good kills’ now. We really have to take a step back and see where we are, and what we’ve become.
That’s not to say that film kills are undoubtably evil or wrong… Hell, I still love a good head explosion as much as the next guy… you know that! But, there seems to be a real paradox as far as what we accept (and ‘enjoy’) vs what we finally say is ‘wrong’. Odd to judge morality, when we have a shelf of DVD deaths, satanism, rape, etc! I just find it very odd (again, pointing at us all as a society, not at you, Will!) how on one side of this ‘border’ we have ‘unspeakably wrong’, and the other side, ‘Great fun and entertaining!’. That ‘I Spit On Your Grave’ remake really seems to show that dramatic boundry switchover well… where the one part (rape) is ‘wrong and unspeakable’, yet the very cruel and nasty other part (revenge torture) not only is ‘okay’, but is cheered on… and only, supposedly, due to the ‘context’… which too could be argued for a whole other page!
Again, not arguing your opinions, or anyone else’s… as they WILL be varied, for sure! Just kind of taking a step back and questioning it all, including my own thoughts and reactions… as I see conflicts and odd contraditions/paradoxes… even in my own thinking.
(Wow, say what you will about the film… but it’s got a ton of discussion happening here, eh!)
Sorry, me again… (Floodgates have opened!)
Overall, here’s what I see:
1) The film is intended either to ‘drive home’ the message of Serbian opression… or to be ‘the most disturbing/gross/upsetting’ video nasty out there (and gain notoriety/popularity through that).
2) If the first is the case, and we (us guys discussing it here) are a reflection of the general feelings of the public… then it failed… as none of us are talking about the opression, or are further educated about it, or are driven to learn more.
3) If it’s the second (…let’s face it, it probably is, and the first theory is just a ‘backbone’ to build the structure onto so it doesn’t seem like it’s soley a gross-out film…) then it has succeeded. With Will, for example, it upset you, offended you, and got a serious reaction from you.
Now, here’s the thing… You can argue that it pissed you off, etc… so it went overboard. But, consider this… if it DIDN’T offend/disgust you…. and you could walk away from it with a laugh and a smile, saying ‘Man, that was nasty… heheh’, then has it truly ‘disturbed/offended’ you as the hype boasts it will? If any film ends with you smiling and joking about the ‘nasty bits’, has it really succeeded in being shocking… controversial… nauseating, etc?
Again, an odd paradox… Horror/shock/controversy that ‘we can take’ is ‘entertaining’…. yet the same thing at a level where it is TRUE to itself (truly shocking… truly offensive… truly horrifying…) suddenly becomes a negative, despite it ‘being what you came for’.
I mean, if we open a box that says ‘This will totally offend/shock you’… what ARE we expecting?
Why do they make these?… Well, because we are curious about boxes that say ‘This will totally offend/shock you’. Blame the filmmaker, or the audience?…. or perhaps both.
One last ‘food for thought’…. (ya, who am I kidding)
The Exorcist is a great film… I think a lot of people would agree on that.
It was frightning… shocking… riviting… unique.
It had great performances, great story, great cinematography, even great music. So, all around good filmmaking.. and not just ‘a scary film’.
So, here’s a thought…
One could easily say that the film had everything going for it there.. many strengths… yet one could be completely offended by (say) the intense sexual/swear content… such as a little girl using the F word… or that nasty bit she did with the cross. Hardly unthinkable for someone to be offended or upset by that… AND… one could argue that the film didn’t need that… seeing as ‘without it, it would have still been an amazing film… still scary… still excellent performances, etc’. And, as far as I’m concerned, they would be right… It would still be a solid film, and one could say those bits were ‘over the top and unnecessary’. Then again, one could argue that those elements are what put it above the others (or at least contributed to it) due to their shock value, and overall ‘we’re not holding back on anything… This is serious sh*t’ tone.
By the same token, one could even argue that NONE of the more dramatic visuals ‘were needed’… in that the story/concept alone was terrifying enough… and would they be wrong? For some, yes, for others, no.
So, what do you put in, and what do you keep out (or just imply)?
Heck, some may have even been completely unaffected with the full version, and would have needed ‘a bit more’ to make it truly terrifying or alarming.
One thing is for certain… If you risk going ‘too far’, the worst that happens is ‘you succeed in shocking’… which is not exactly a bad thing for a horror film (or a film intended to shake people up). Play it safe, and you risk just being yet another film that fails to stand out.
Pingback: Bloody Chops: Halloween Edition | entertainmentmagz.co.cc
I think you’re asking the wrong questions. This film is about as succinct an allegory for life in Serbia as you could ask for, and rather than going on and on about “who would make a movie like this, how sick were these people”, etc., you should be asking “how messed up is life in Serbia that this is the sort of film that the culture produces?”
Everything in this movie, from the roles of the different characters to the inextricable connection between sex and violence, to a refusal to draw the line at violence against children, to the meaning of the movie-within-the-movie, all of these things speak to a specific, deeply moral message, and a perspective very much at odds with that of the West. It may be damn near impossible to watch (having watched it, I never need to see it again), but dismissing it as crass exploitation or the product of degeneracy is a mistake. If anyone wants an example of truly transgressive art, here it is.
The violence insinuated, thankfully not graphically depicted, against children in this film is completely unnecessary. I don’t care how messed up life actually is in Serbia, that’s still no excuse.
Why must a violent upbringing result in more violence? There’s no liberation for the characters and no hope offered by the film. Regardless of how little hope there may be for the filmmakers living in Serbia, although they get to make movies so I imagine life must be a little bit easier for them, wouldn’t they want to show that despite their situation they still have hope?