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Day 115: August 23rd, 2010
A Serbian Film
A poor man's attempt at shock value fails as the film that goes over the edge has no real purpose.
He can say whatever he wants re: his reasons behind the film, but it lacks any sense of human decency. If you want to see this film because so many people are hyping it up based on the controversy, I'd recommend not to. I'm one to always watch a film if it's ticked enough people off. Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox were two of them, I Spit On Your Grave was another. Yet those films are bound by the genre they represent themselves in. Exploitation and Revenge horror. A Serbian Film doesn't fall under these categories. I would suspect that Nicolas Cage would find this film on his quest in 8mm.
Rape, Murder By Penis, Incest, Child Molestation, Necrophilia, etc...these things do not make for a good film, or someone wanting to tell a good story. It's simply someone who wants to take you into a world where these things happen and then excessively push you deeper into a hyper realized madness.
The newborn baby scene wasn't as bad as I expected. Had I gone in not knowing it was going to happen, I might have cringed more. Plot points were predictable, specifically everything that happens in the climax. The actors were mediocre at best. The direction showed some potential, but the subject matter cheapens it, specifically when he also wrote it.
We all know Serbia is a messed up place, but we don't need to sit through an agonizing film that drags on and on about the so called atrocities. Even if that was the intention of the filmmaker, which I honestly think it wasn't. He is quotes as saying "This is a diary of our own molestation by the Serbian government...It's about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don't want to do. You have to feel the violence to know what it's about." Cue my eyes rolling.
As the film ended I was left sitting there thinking to myself, sure some scenes were disturbing, but at the same time they felt empty. The obvious going for shock value loses some of it's appeal as the filmmakers try too hard to push buttons. I'm not saying they don't, they undoubtedly do. This is a film I don't recommend to anyone, not even those looking for something shocking. Not because it's too much to handle, but because it's simply a bad film.
I'll give credit to those who humiliated themselves taking part in this, being an actor is hard. Do they filmmakers have balls for creating this film? Yes and no. For me, I'm fine sticking with Cannibal Holocaust and yes I still want to see Salo. If you want to watch a film that is hard to stomach, so see Martyrs.
A Serbian Film
A poor man's attempt at shock value fails as the film that goes over the edge has no real purpose.
He can say whatever he wants re: his reasons behind the film, but it lacks any sense of human decency. If you want to see this film because so many people are hyping it up based on the controversy, I'd recommend not to. I'm one to always watch a film if it's ticked enough people off. Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox were two of them, I Spit On Your Grave was another. Yet those films are bound by the genre they represent themselves in. Exploitation and Revenge horror. A Serbian Film doesn't fall under these categories. I would suspect that Nicolas Cage would find this film on his quest in 8mm.
Rape, Murder By Penis, Incest, Child Molestation, Necrophilia, etc...these things do not make for a good film, or someone wanting to tell a good story. It's simply someone who wants to take you into a world where these things happen and then excessively push you deeper into a hyper realized madness.
The newborn baby scene wasn't as bad as I expected. Had I gone in not knowing it was going to happen, I might have cringed more. Plot points were predictable, specifically everything that happens in the climax. The actors were mediocre at best. The direction showed some potential, but the subject matter cheapens it, specifically when he also wrote it.
We all know Serbia is a messed up place, but we don't need to sit through an agonizing film that drags on and on about the so called atrocities. Even if that was the intention of the filmmaker, which I honestly think it wasn't. He is quotes as saying "This is a diary of our own molestation by the Serbian government...It's about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don't want to do. You have to feel the violence to know what it's about." Cue my eyes rolling.
As the film ended I was left sitting there thinking to myself, sure some scenes were disturbing, but at the same time they felt empty. The obvious going for shock value loses some of it's appeal as the filmmakers try too hard to push buttons. I'm not saying they don't, they undoubtedly do. This is a film I don't recommend to anyone, not even those looking for something shocking. Not because it's too much to handle, but because it's simply a bad film.
I'll give credit to those who humiliated themselves taking part in this, being an actor is hard. Do they filmmakers have balls for creating this film? Yes and no. For me, I'm fine sticking with Cannibal Holocaust and yes I still want to see Salo. If you want to watch a film that is hard to stomach, so see Martyrs.