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A Serbian Film
Jul. 27th, 2010 05:33 pmI first heard of this film back in March while reading Filmdrunk. I watched the trailer, and it looked very extreme and crazy, and then went on with my day. While reviewing the films for Fantasia, the film came up again. Tony and Forest were keen on seeing it, because it was rumored to be extremely screwed up and hardcore. My curiosity was raised again, and I purchased my ticket.
One hundred minutes later, Forest and I left the theater. He was desperate to get some air. I was strangely numb.
The (vanilla) core of the movie is this. Milos is a retired porn star. He's barely getting by with his beautiful wife and cute son, the money from his films is running out. He gets an offer through an old friend/porn star, to star in a film that will make him rich for the rest of his life. He meets the charismatic, manic director, and takes the job with one catch: he can't read the script, his discovery and reaction to it is part of what the director wants to capture on film. The film begins to take on some dark and disturbing overtones, and Milos decides to quit. He awakes one morning, covered in blood, to discover he's lost track of three days. He goes back to the movie set and discovers the nightmare that is the completed film.
To say that the film is shocking doesn't come close. It crosses boundaries you didn't even know existed. It shines a light on the darkest human behavior imaginable. It reminds you exactly what Horror means:. an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting. I've sat through some violent and nasty horror films at Fantasia, the fans there are quite jaded, and the theater echoed with screams from the audience. There were points when I felt my brain just turn off, and I stared at a light fixture above the screen, rather than feel the full brunt of the images before me. Despite the shuddering terror on the screen in front of me, I think it was one of the best films I saw at the festival.
Why see this movie? Why subject yourself to this? How can you even like it?
It's not terribly hard to shock an audience. Throw enough blood and viscera on the screen and people will heave. There are very simple and easy ways to just gross someone out. ASF is actually very sparing with what is shows. The first half of the movie is a long slow walk leading Milos to his breaking point. Milos decides to leave before it gets awful. The director is making a powerful statement about life in Serbia, and about making movies there. Serbia has known war and genocide for one hundred years. Serbians have lived under a corrupt government that killed its own people, where the average citizen was utterly powerless. Survivors of the Holocaust know what it was like to live through the Hell of Nazi Germany. The director of the film makes some stratgeic choices that drive home his point like a knife (or... something else you thrust with) that "from birth to death, a Serbian is screwed."
Many of you are probably thinking "there's not justification for portraying X or Y in the movie." You could be thinking "I don't need to see that, ever." You're right. Maplethorpe didn't need to take photos of naked men. Artist don't need to dunk a crucifix in a jar or urine and call it art. Whether something is Art is always up to debate, but I think the director of ASF was aspiring to make an work of cinema that challenged, enlightened, and expanded your mind. This is not "The Human Centipede." This is not showing you madness just because it can. The entire film is extremely well shot, directed, and acted. The pace is inexorable, the soundtrack works hand in hand with the movie to show the downward slide. It lures you into an entirely human world, and shows you just how horrible and hopeless humans can feel. What happens when choice is taken out of your hands, when the government and police that are there to "protect" you use you as a commodity to make themselves richer, at the cost of your own lives and souls. It talks about visions of art and madness, and it creates a tangible connection between the people on the screen as empathetic characters, who you care about and relate to. That's why the horror is so complete. It is utterly brutal, because it isn't trying to tittilate or stimulate the audience. It wants you to know dread, and hopelessness. There is some powerful catharsis amidst all the horror, and the theater roared with triumph near the end... but anymore will ruin it for you. It is up to the viewer, in the end, to determine if the horror served the greater story, or just served itself. I believe the former. You will draw your own conclusions.
If you never want to see the film but want the details, you can find them all over the Internet. Google "A Serbian Film review" to get the shock, but not the horror (or context).
If you are curious about your own limits, or want to see a powerful and dangerous movie, talk to me. I have a copy, and I'm kinda eager to view the film again, when the volume isn't turned up to eleven, and I have the power of Mute and Fast Forward.
One hundred minutes later, Forest and I left the theater. He was desperate to get some air. I was strangely numb.
The (vanilla) core of the movie is this. Milos is a retired porn star. He's barely getting by with his beautiful wife and cute son, the money from his films is running out. He gets an offer through an old friend/porn star, to star in a film that will make him rich for the rest of his life. He meets the charismatic, manic director, and takes the job with one catch: he can't read the script, his discovery and reaction to it is part of what the director wants to capture on film. The film begins to take on some dark and disturbing overtones, and Milos decides to quit. He awakes one morning, covered in blood, to discover he's lost track of three days. He goes back to the movie set and discovers the nightmare that is the completed film.
To say that the film is shocking doesn't come close. It crosses boundaries you didn't even know existed. It shines a light on the darkest human behavior imaginable. It reminds you exactly what Horror means:. an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting. I've sat through some violent and nasty horror films at Fantasia, the fans there are quite jaded, and the theater echoed with screams from the audience. There were points when I felt my brain just turn off, and I stared at a light fixture above the screen, rather than feel the full brunt of the images before me. Despite the shuddering terror on the screen in front of me, I think it was one of the best films I saw at the festival.
Why see this movie? Why subject yourself to this? How can you even like it?
It's not terribly hard to shock an audience. Throw enough blood and viscera on the screen and people will heave. There are very simple and easy ways to just gross someone out. ASF is actually very sparing with what is shows. The first half of the movie is a long slow walk leading Milos to his breaking point. Milos decides to leave before it gets awful. The director is making a powerful statement about life in Serbia, and about making movies there. Serbia has known war and genocide for one hundred years. Serbians have lived under a corrupt government that killed its own people, where the average citizen was utterly powerless. Survivors of the Holocaust know what it was like to live through the Hell of Nazi Germany. The director of the film makes some stratgeic choices that drive home his point like a knife (or... something else you thrust with) that "from birth to death, a Serbian is screwed."
Many of you are probably thinking "there's not justification for portraying X or Y in the movie." You could be thinking "I don't need to see that, ever." You're right. Maplethorpe didn't need to take photos of naked men. Artist don't need to dunk a crucifix in a jar or urine and call it art. Whether something is Art is always up to debate, but I think the director of ASF was aspiring to make an work of cinema that challenged, enlightened, and expanded your mind. This is not "The Human Centipede." This is not showing you madness just because it can. The entire film is extremely well shot, directed, and acted. The pace is inexorable, the soundtrack works hand in hand with the movie to show the downward slide. It lures you into an entirely human world, and shows you just how horrible and hopeless humans can feel. What happens when choice is taken out of your hands, when the government and police that are there to "protect" you use you as a commodity to make themselves richer, at the cost of your own lives and souls. It talks about visions of art and madness, and it creates a tangible connection between the people on the screen as empathetic characters, who you care about and relate to. That's why the horror is so complete. It is utterly brutal, because it isn't trying to tittilate or stimulate the audience. It wants you to know dread, and hopelessness. There is some powerful catharsis amidst all the horror, and the theater roared with triumph near the end... but anymore will ruin it for you. It is up to the viewer, in the end, to determine if the horror served the greater story, or just served itself. I believe the former. You will draw your own conclusions.
If you never want to see the film but want the details, you can find them all over the Internet. Google "A Serbian Film review" to get the shock, but not the horror (or context).
If you are curious about your own limits, or want to see a powerful and dangerous movie, talk to me. I have a copy, and I'm kinda eager to view the film again, when the volume isn't turned up to eleven, and I have the power of Mute and Fast Forward.
