Sunday, February 14, 2016

MUST LOVE DOGS 

AND 

A SERBIAN FILM 

"A Serbian Film" (2010)
Directed by Srđan Spasojević


   When ever I discover that there's a movie out there that has people up in arms, I want to see it. Not because I need to have an opinion or want to feel like I am part of some special club of viewers who have seen a controversial film, but because I find that a lot of the time, movies that upset people tend to entertain the heck out of me. Why? I'm not quite sure. I think it may have something to do with being a total weirdo that has a chronic condition of the crazies.
    As long as I have been watching films, I have been wanting to see everything that I could get my hands on that pushed the envelope. I want to see what people have thought of that I have not thought of yet. Being comfortable with my own sick tendencies to be entertained through extreme examples of sex and violence, I am always ready to take on the taboo titles that others hide from.
   If you have never seen "A Serbian Film", imagine the grossest Troma film you have ever seen and remove humor. You know if you are the type of person that can watch something like this without being scarred for life if that description intrigues you. I am one of those people. I'm pretty unshakable. I'm like the tagline to "The Last House on the Left". I always remember that "It's only a movie". 
   I would like to point out that I LOVE the title. The people of Serbia must be so angry. Only one film has ever gotten this much attention around the globe, and it's this one. I bet they feel defensive. "Not all of our films are like that one!" The director must be vilified in his own country.
   All he wanted to do was make one of the most shocking films most people have ever seen and then he gave his home a bad name by naming his film after his country. This aint just any kind of film. This is a Serbian film! Well done.
   It would be awesome if director Srđan Spasojević made a G rated Children's' film. That is the most SHOCKING thing that he could ever do and the only way to top himself. Then he should retire. What a legend! "The guy made two movies and they couldn't be any more different!"
  
   When I saw "A Serbian Film", the first thing that I did was read every review that I could. Before seeing it, I was aware that it had a reputation, but I refrained from reading reviews to avoid spoilers. Now that I had seen it, I wanted to know how people felt about it and why. One of the most interesting things that I kept encountering in reviews that I read were stories where the viewer either watched it with or later showed it to their significant other. In all of these stories, their wife or girlfriend would get angry. The thing is, they were not so much angry at the film, as they were angry at their significant other for either showing it to them, or even wanting to watch this kind of film to begin with. I remember feeling that it was unfair that these people were, in my opinion, stuck in relationships where they could not be themselves without being made to feel ashamed.
   I like "A Serbian Film". This is not a piece where I defend the film. I feel that if you like it, nothing I write will make you like it more. I feel that if you hate it, nothing I write will change your mind. I must now let you know, that when I first saw this film, I did not have a girlfriend. When I think of the women that I have dated in the past, it's easy for me to answer this question: Would any of those women like this movie? The answer would be: No. They would not. 
   I have a girlfriend that I love very much. When people ask themselves: I wonder if she's the one? This is not a question that I think should be asked. I feel that you just KNOW if she's the one. When people ask you if she's the one and you answer them Yes, they may ask: How do you know? Can you do that? Can you answer these people how you know she's the one with confidence? I can. Here's my answer: My girlfriend loves "A Serbian Film". You know you are with the right person, when you can think of one of the most messed up, freaky movies you have ever seen and be able to share your ability to get over what keeps most people from getting through a potentially uncomfortable film and enjoy it for what it is: An over the top freak-fest where the film maker kept trying to top himself in terms of "crossing the line". What line? All of them.
 
(Artwork by Isaac Keith Martinez)

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