[Certainly one of the most talked about films of the year amongst programmers other folks of extreme cinema, and very likely the reason that the Serbian Sidebar exists at Fantasia this year. Here is Todd's breathless account of the film from our archives.]
There is a part of me that feels sorry for Srdjan Spasojevic. He has,
you see, just created a debut film that will linger in infamy. No matter
what lies in the future for Spasojevic he will always be the director
of A Serbian Film and that may prove a difficult mantle to bear.
A Serbian Film is one of the most incredibly raw and
transgressive films I have ever seen. This is a film that left me
feeling dirty and assaulted, a film that will surely spark protest and
deservedly so. A film that contains a flurry of genuinely shocking
imagery sure to spark genuine horror and revulsion from its audience.
Spasojevic is always going to be the man responsible for that
film.
There is, however, another part of my that feels an overwhelming admiration for Spasojevic and what he has done here. A Serbian Film is one of the most assured and technically accomplished debut films I have come across in some time. More importantly as raw as the imagery may be it is never without a point. As extreme as it gets this is no mere exploitation film. No, this is a satire as sharp and pointed and genuinely shocking as was Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal was when it first appeared on the scene suggesting that the poor sell their children as food. A Serbian Film is an astoundingly bold piece of work one that will not just trigger a firestorm of criticism - any fool with bad taste can do that - but one that also has the substance and purpose to withstand it. And Spasojevic is always going to be the man responsible for that film.
An angry deconstruction of the cycles of violence that have crossed over generations and ravaged Serbia's recent history, A Serbian Film revolves around Milosh - family man and semi-retired porn star. He tries to lead a normal life but time are hard and he knows only one way to provide for his young family so when money runs tight Milosh takes on the occasional job to make ends meet. Little does he know that one of these jobs will be his undoing.
A former colleague comes to Milosh with a proposal. A change is coming. A way out of the cheap trash he's been starring in to make ends meet. There's a new player on the market. a well-financed creator of art-porn. Very well financed. And very well paying. And he is a fan of Milosh's work. One job for him and Milosh could removed the 'semi' from 'semi-retired'. The only catch being that he will never know what the film is about. He will never see a script. He will simply have to react to whatever scenario the director places him in.
And the scenarios are dark indeed. Rape fantasy is just the beginning. The blending of sex and violence here is troubling in the extreme, the extremes the porn director willing to go to to provide his audience a voyeuristic thrill absolutely sickening. There is no depravity, only profit, and damn the human cost.
As Milosh descends into madness Spasojevic tracks his descent with an unwavering eye. Though he shows less than he makes you think he does, Spasojevic's work is graphic in the extreme and graphic in ways that will turn the stomach. He employs his considerable technical skills in an all-out assault of his audience. This is a film meant to punish, not to entertain, and it succeeds absolutely. It is genuinely sickening and that is entirely the point. An enjoyable experience? I sincerely hope not. But incredibly powerful, Just don't bring your mother.
There is a part of me that feels sorry for Srdjan Spasojevic. He has,
you see, just created a debut film that will linger in infamy. No matter
what lies in the future for Spasojevic he will always be the director
of A Serbian Film and that may prove a difficult mantle to bear.
A Serbian Film is one of the most incredibly raw and
transgressive films I have ever seen. This is a film that left me
feeling dirty and assaulted, a film that will surely spark protest and
deservedly so. A film that contains a flurry of genuinely shocking
imagery sure to spark genuine horror and revulsion from its audience.
Spasojevic is always going to be the man responsible for that
film.There is, however, another part of my that feels an overwhelming admiration for Spasojevic and what he has done here. A Serbian Film is one of the most assured and technically accomplished debut films I have come across in some time. More importantly as raw as the imagery may be it is never without a point. As extreme as it gets this is no mere exploitation film. No, this is a satire as sharp and pointed and genuinely shocking as was Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal was when it first appeared on the scene suggesting that the poor sell their children as food. A Serbian Film is an astoundingly bold piece of work one that will not just trigger a firestorm of criticism - any fool with bad taste can do that - but one that also has the substance and purpose to withstand it. And Spasojevic is always going to be the man responsible for that film.
An angry deconstruction of the cycles of violence that have crossed over generations and ravaged Serbia's recent history, A Serbian Film revolves around Milosh - family man and semi-retired porn star. He tries to lead a normal life but time are hard and he knows only one way to provide for his young family so when money runs tight Milosh takes on the occasional job to make ends meet. Little does he know that one of these jobs will be his undoing.
A former colleague comes to Milosh with a proposal. A change is coming. A way out of the cheap trash he's been starring in to make ends meet. There's a new player on the market. a well-financed creator of art-porn. Very well financed. And very well paying. And he is a fan of Milosh's work. One job for him and Milosh could removed the 'semi' from 'semi-retired'. The only catch being that he will never know what the film is about. He will never see a script. He will simply have to react to whatever scenario the director places him in.
And the scenarios are dark indeed. Rape fantasy is just the beginning. The blending of sex and violence here is troubling in the extreme, the extremes the porn director willing to go to to provide his audience a voyeuristic thrill absolutely sickening. There is no depravity, only profit, and damn the human cost.
As Milosh descends into madness Spasojevic tracks his descent with an unwavering eye. Though he shows less than he makes you think he does, Spasojevic's work is graphic in the extreme and graphic in ways that will turn the stomach. He employs his considerable technical skills in an all-out assault of his audience. This is a film meant to punish, not to entertain, and it succeeds absolutely. It is genuinely sickening and that is entirely the point. An enjoyable experience? I sincerely hope not. But incredibly powerful, Just don't bring your mother.
More from A Serbian Film
- News: Charges against Sitges Festival & director Ángel Sala dropped
- Reviews: A SERBIAN FILM Review (DVD and MUFF11)
- News: A SERBIAN FILM Due On Limited Edition Blu-ray From Invincible Pictures 10/25
- Interviews: A Conversation With The US Distributors Of A SERBIAN FILM
- News: A SERBIAN FILM U.S. Release Details & Red Band Trailer
- News: A SERBIAN FILM Shocks Its Way Into Australian Retail
- News: The Sitges Festival And Director Angel Sala Charged With Exhibition Of Child Pornography For Screening A SERBIAN FILM
- Reviews: A SERBIAN FILM Review
- News: A SERBIAN FILM Banned In San Sebastian
- Reviews: Boozie Movies at PFF 2010: A SERBIAN FILM REVIEW
- News: FrightFest And UK Distributor Revolver Comment On The BBFC's Demand Of Cuts To A SERBIAN FILM
- News: A SERBIAN FILM Pulled From Frightfest After BBFC Demands Cuts
- News: Cannes 2010: A SERBIAN FILM Claims A Victim.
- Reviews: SXSW 2010: A SERBIAN FILM Review
- News: Fantasia 2010 Announces SUBVERSIVE SERBIA!
- News: SXSW 2010: A SERBIAN FILM Theatrical Trailer Only Hints At The Depravity That Lurks Within ...
- News: SXSW 2010: Sex And Violence In SERBIAN FILM
Sounds like every other "torture porn" flick made in the las 6 years.
It is hard to recommend that people watch this film to negate any association with 'torture porn' (it really isn't) given the strong and disturbing imagery and themes present, but recommend it I will.
Even though I have no real clue of the situation in Serbia to support the themes and issues, it gives real food for thought, and I can only imagine what scars the nation and it's people have to bear after viewing this film
"Even though I have no real clue of the situation in Serbia to support the themes and issues, it gives real food for thought, and I can only imagine what scars the nation and it's people have to bear after viewing this film."
Dude there's not much food for thought here. IMHO, anyway.
A SERBIAN FILM was made for no other reason but to shock the audience and flip the Serbian film industry the bird. The screenwriter said so himself tonight, so I see no reason why I should think otherwise.
I disagree. Spasojevich said the film was intended to convey the cycle of raping and being raped that the Serbian people have been through over the past century or so. Vukmir's character conveys that quite often, especially in the scene where he tries to change Milos' mind. They had a very rough go of things in the 20th century. They suffered and perpetrated crimes far worse than anything in this film. It's hard for westerners to realize this. If an American director were to make something like this, I might be offended by it if it had no redeeming value whatsoever. To say that "a Serbian Film" has no redeeming value or that it is just shock for shock's sake is to be ignorant of Serbian and Eurpoean history of the 20th century. This film isn't just the product of some sicko sitting around thinking of the most gruesome ways to portray violence, rape and torture on film. Most Serbians probably either suffered or perpetrated on government orders crimes like those in this film or, at the very least, have a close friend or family member that did. Americans have no concept of how difficult it is to deal with generational brutalization of the type that may European countries have been subjected to in the 20th Century. Films like this are an attempt to deal with the problem.
Yankee, you just don't get it.
I can find value in many, many things. Martyrs, which was one of the most nihilistic and godless things I have ever seen, was technically brilliant and very, very chilling. But Serbian film was revolting in the most artless way. The cinematography and art design is uninspired, the editing becomes laughably juvenile at one point a little more than halfway through where the protagonist begins having flashbacks, the characters are portentous, flat and entirely unrelatable (except for, maybe, the protagonist's wife, who seems like the only reasonable person in Serbia).
I had not entirely finished the downloaded copy (yes, I'm part of the problem) when I read badvibesdude's comments. And you know, with all his talk of atrocities inflicted on Serbians and Yankees not understanding, I almost bought it. I almost gave the film some leeway.
And then the last line of the film was spoken- and stick around, it's a side splitter! I realized that A Serbian Film is the worst sort of film from a first-time director: It's desperate, bawling ambition is stifled by a complete lack of any writerly good taste ("good" being skill, not morality), and worse, people are mistaking the spectacle for bravery. They are mistaking the filmmaker's mind numbing lack of creativity for transgressive ambition. Sadly, this film IS torture porn: there is no reason to continue watching other than to see the next taboo that will be broken on film - and trust me, this film goes where only Happiness could coyly hint.
There is no comparison with Irreversible. The two films contain rape scenes, but beyond that, their worth is measured on completely different principles.
And 'torture porn'. I want to smash whichever journalist that came up with that moronic phrase in the face. It's meaningless - there is no torture porn movement. It's a load of journalists who don't appreciate extreme horror trying to demonise it with an easy tag.
Judging by the comments, a Serbian film did exactly what it was supposed to: Make genre fanboys uncomfortable.
You guys can give million different reasons why an 8 minute rape scene is justified or why Martyr is justified in showing 30 minutes of straight torture but Serbian film.
I'm sure you guys could justify why you like Cat III HK flicks like Untold Story or Ebola Syndrome, but still call Serbian Film senseless pornography. What about all those SOV German gore flicks or what about demon tentacle rape Jap anime?
I found the movie incredibly reserved. It could have gone much farther in every aspect. There's maybe 5 minutes of explicit shots in the movie (less than almost any torture porn flick) yet after you watch it you feel way more violated for some reason.
At least give the director credit for violating you using cinematic techniques instead of just showing you explicit imagery for way longer than it needs to be on screen.
For the record, I liked A Serbian Film. (I also liked Irreversible, but less so).
Obviously I didn't 'like' like them, as such. I thought they were relevant works that had a reason for being despite the levels they take the viewer to. Martyrs is an example of a film that didn't have such a good reason for being - it being a low-rent gore and women-beating bonanza dressed up with cod-theological allusions.
As for 'genre fanboy'... guilty as charged. Always fascinated to see what comes next in extreme cinema.
I guess we'll all have to agree to disagree on the 'torture porn' tag... !
On another note - how good was the soundtrack to ASF?
'Very' good, is the answer. It got me in the gut.
Watched the movie yesterday, still can't wipe some of the scenes from my brain.
im 32 and for years ive watched all the video nasties i could get my hands on from evil dead, cannibal ferox,the exorcist in the eighties through to more recent adult types like salo, irreversible, marytrs, human centipede, and have been shocked! but in a good way, i love being frightened, shocked or even sickened ,BUT..... "a serbian film" goes way further than anything iv seen before!
its so well made and well acted that you fall into an uneasy sense of security thinking "it wont be that bad, it looks well shot, people have put money into this, all the actors are really good, hey theres even a little kid in it!!!"
OH how i was wrong, i beg of anyone wanting to watch it, please dont!!!
however smart or clever anyone thinks this film is ,you are wrong and very mental.
but if you feel like fuckin up your brain then go ahead, possibly rent it from blockbuster, have freinds round, maybe a little party then chuck it on and watch several unwary ,slightly drunk people start crying and throwing up on each other while your creepy neighbour starts touching himself as your head melts through your nose!!!
This is the crazy sickening can of worms this film can open.
Im amazed anybody could put their name to this.
This is gonna cause a shitstorm if it goes on general release...........im praying it doesnt... not for my sake as its already burned my retinas and scarred me for life but honestly the general public just couldn't handle it!!
The soundtrack is amazing, i love that track!!
The film is amazing, but in the way being thrown into a combine harvester would feel amazing!
ANALLY RAPING YOUR SIX YEAR OLD SON ISNT!!
Looks like this movie accomplished what every good movie should in that it's inspired intelligent debate (studog888's hysterics not withstanding).
A Serbian Film will be playing at our upcoming film festival at Portage Theater in Chicago on Saturday, October 23rd. http://www.horrorsociety.com/festivals/