Don't worry, no babies were harmed in this making of this review.
I'm sorry, I had to. Everyone makes such a huge deal about that scene. But to start, I love this film, in fact, I own it on DVD, and rented it from Blockbuster at the tender age of 15 when it was first released. I hate the cuts that the directors were forced to make. I hate the fact that now things within the film are just alluded to, and I don't feel that the cut version really makes the full impact on the viewer. However, that is enough about the problems A Serbian Film had in getting released in this country, especially since there are so many countries that have outright banned it.
Briefly, A Serbian Film is about a semi-retired porn star, Milos, who is offered a job that will see his family into his son's retirement. Milos, after some debate, agrees. Although, he is nervous because he has no idea what the film is about. After being forced to hit a woman with her child in the room, he decides it's not worth the money, and backs out, and then s**t goes down.
I really want to talk about the look of this film, because I think the way it is shot and the cinematography really are effective in it. Everything looks beautiful, weirdly, it's a very clean looking film, with very little shaky cam, and lots of bright colours. No washed out blue/grey filter in this. It feels like every shot, every second of A Serbian Film has been carefully thought out and planned to look gorgeous whilst still delivering the shocks it does. Then, the sound. For once, I'm going to focus on the soundtrack, which I will include a link to at the bottom of this review, because it is amazing, but the way it is used in the film is spectacular. And it is annoyingly catchy.
YES WE'LL COVER THE BABY. Sure, the idea of a man raping a newborn baby is disturbing, and this may be the only scene that is more effective in the cut version, because you don't get to see the least realistic and most fake baby ever shot on screen. HONESTLY, IT LOOKS LIKE AN ALIEN. Of course, every time I praise this film, the argument I'm met with is 'how can you watch someone rape a baby?'. I know it's fake for starters, but everyone conveniently forgets the huge speech Vukmir, our antagonist, makes before this controversy happens. Personally, my favourite bit of the film, he has a massive maniacal rant about how the entirety of Serbia is a Kindergarten and that victim sells well. I don't know much about Serbian society, but doesn't it ring true, we are all victims, normally of our governments, and we are all treated as children, unable to make our own decisions and only given information they want us to know. Also, 'could it be you don't get it Milos? This is a new genre. New. Born. Porn!' is kind of funny in the most twisted sense.
A Serbian Film covers almost every taboo possible, and it never shies away from making a point. The final scene of 'a happy Serbian family' is f**ked up, there is no other way to describe it. But what it shows is important, it shows that sometimes the victim can fight back, for a while. And then we have the final scene, showing that (in the director's own words) even in death, life f**ks you. There's always someone higher up, ready to take advantage.
I'll bet it's also a pretty good metaphor for the state of the porn industry, but it is a guess because I have no working knowledge of porn. The entire film is a metaphor. And a pretty obvious one at that, since the viewer is told what the metaphor is HALFWAY THROUGH THE FILM.
The acting ranges from mediocre to amazing. Vukmir Vukmir is portrayed fantastically as the charismatic, crazed and evil director, a man with no morals, whose only interest is making 'art'.Milos is, for the most part, played very well, a man forced and drugged to do terrible things, who gravely realises his mistakes far too late. The rest of the characters are fairly peripheral, but all acted quite well. Including his wife, who goes from loving mother to haunted woman very quickly.
In conclusion, A Serbian Film is a brutal, nasty little flick, with enough shocks and gore to keep the more extreme cinema lovers entertained, it really is not for the faint of heart, and deals with a lot of shocking taboos. If you can stomach it, it's a fantastic watch.
9.5/10
I'm sorry, I had to. Everyone makes such a huge deal about that scene. But to start, I love this film, in fact, I own it on DVD, and rented it from Blockbuster at the tender age of 15 when it was first released. I hate the cuts that the directors were forced to make. I hate the fact that now things within the film are just alluded to, and I don't feel that the cut version really makes the full impact on the viewer. However, that is enough about the problems A Serbian Film had in getting released in this country, especially since there are so many countries that have outright banned it.
Briefly, A Serbian Film is about a semi-retired porn star, Milos, who is offered a job that will see his family into his son's retirement. Milos, after some debate, agrees. Although, he is nervous because he has no idea what the film is about. After being forced to hit a woman with her child in the room, he decides it's not worth the money, and backs out, and then s**t goes down.
I really want to talk about the look of this film, because I think the way it is shot and the cinematography really are effective in it. Everything looks beautiful, weirdly, it's a very clean looking film, with very little shaky cam, and lots of bright colours. No washed out blue/grey filter in this. It feels like every shot, every second of A Serbian Film has been carefully thought out and planned to look gorgeous whilst still delivering the shocks it does. Then, the sound. For once, I'm going to focus on the soundtrack, which I will include a link to at the bottom of this review, because it is amazing, but the way it is used in the film is spectacular. And it is annoyingly catchy.
YES WE'LL COVER THE BABY. Sure, the idea of a man raping a newborn baby is disturbing, and this may be the only scene that is more effective in the cut version, because you don't get to see the least realistic and most fake baby ever shot on screen. HONESTLY, IT LOOKS LIKE AN ALIEN. Of course, every time I praise this film, the argument I'm met with is 'how can you watch someone rape a baby?'. I know it's fake for starters, but everyone conveniently forgets the huge speech Vukmir, our antagonist, makes before this controversy happens. Personally, my favourite bit of the film, he has a massive maniacal rant about how the entirety of Serbia is a Kindergarten and that victim sells well. I don't know much about Serbian society, but doesn't it ring true, we are all victims, normally of our governments, and we are all treated as children, unable to make our own decisions and only given information they want us to know. Also, 'could it be you don't get it Milos? This is a new genre. New. Born. Porn!' is kind of funny in the most twisted sense.
A Serbian Film covers almost every taboo possible, and it never shies away from making a point. The final scene of 'a happy Serbian family' is f**ked up, there is no other way to describe it. But what it shows is important, it shows that sometimes the victim can fight back, for a while. And then we have the final scene, showing that (in the director's own words) even in death, life f**ks you. There's always someone higher up, ready to take advantage.
I'll bet it's also a pretty good metaphor for the state of the porn industry, but it is a guess because I have no working knowledge of porn. The entire film is a metaphor. And a pretty obvious one at that, since the viewer is told what the metaphor is HALFWAY THROUGH THE FILM.
The acting ranges from mediocre to amazing. Vukmir Vukmir is portrayed fantastically as the charismatic, crazed and evil director, a man with no morals, whose only interest is making 'art'.Milos is, for the most part, played very well, a man forced and drugged to do terrible things, who gravely realises his mistakes far too late. The rest of the characters are fairly peripheral, but all acted quite well. Including his wife, who goes from loving mother to haunted woman very quickly.
In conclusion, A Serbian Film is a brutal, nasty little flick, with enough shocks and gore to keep the more extreme cinema lovers entertained, it really is not for the faint of heart, and deals with a lot of shocking taboos. If you can stomach it, it's a fantastic watch.
9.5/10
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