Saturday, August 28, 2010
YOU WON'T WANT TO LOOK AT SOME OF THIS BUT YOU WILL WANT TO SEE IT ANYWAY
Today's movie was George Palfi's
Hungarian surrealism about human appetites and obsessions. Sex, gluttony and our internal organs. Yes. Internal organs. Like our heart or lungs. You know you do it.
Magical realism. Stupendous composition and photography. Riveting action (what will happen next?).
It is a glorious bath of color and clever effects to say nothing of surprises and a lot of laughs.
I only had to look away twice.
It is not cruel. There is an animal who is butchered but we have seen that before. Even in a famous home movie that my father made. And this brings up our aversion to watching that which we are deeply involved in. Slaughter of animals. It is not inhumane. Just graphic. I am sure that I minded it more than the pig, actually.
But that is not the point.
This is an experimental film that pushes boundaries of film making and film watching. Some of it is a gross out. But it is so comic that, in reality, I only wanted to be grossed out more than I actually was.
I couldn't stop watching it.
There is probably something about Hungary and its history in this. There are three periods. The First World War, the Communist occupation and a kind of post modern kitsch period. People in funny white outfits and a doctor on the traditional dictator's balcony.
I liked this so much that I will order Palfi's first film Hukkle which is silent. And involves a murder mystery without actually telling you that is what is going on. Well, there is no sound.
I love this kind of movie. I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5 because I predict a Palfi film fest sometime in the future and also because it prompted me to see another work of his.
