Film: A Serbian Film
Release date: 3rd January 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 95 mins
Director: Srdjan Spasojevic
Starring: Srdjan Todorovic, Jelena Gavrilovic, Katarina Zutic, Sergei Trifunovic, Slobodan Bestic
Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller
Studio: Revolver
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Serbia
One of the most controversial films of recent years, this journey into the dark world of underground adult filmmaking genuinely pushes the boundaries of extreme cinema. But does the disturbing content on show have a point? Or is it simply designed to shock the audience into submission?
Milos is a semi-retired porn actor with a loving wife and son, and a peaceful family life. He attempts to keep his family’s lifestyle afloat by taking part in numerous low budget adult productions, much to the amusement of his envious brother, Marko, a corrupt police officer who covets Milos’ wife.
After a recommendation from his friend and former colleague Lejla, Milos is approached by adult art house director Vukmir, who offers him considerable payment for acting in one of his experimental productions.
As filming begins, Milos is introduced to an uncomfortable style of filmmaking, which incorporates certain elements he does not want any part of. Shown the disgusting limits of Vukmir’s imagination, Milos attempts to leave the production, however, Vukmir drugs him, and he is subjected to a horrifying gauntlet of sexual violence, and forced into unimaginable acts against his will…
Controversy is a strange and unpredictable beast, especially in the realm of cinema. Often sparked by the knee jerk reactions of censorship boards, the controversy surrounding a production will more often than not provoke interest for all the wrong reasons - multitudes flocking to see just what was so bad that the censors didn’t want us to see. This will more than likely be the case for A Serbian Film, a deeply troubling experience that has garnered a considerable cult following thanks to its butchering at the hands of the classification board. Unfortunately, those that rush to see the gratuitous nature of the much talked about newborn sex scene (thankfully, cut in its entirety for this UK release) will be missing the point entirely.
Put bluntly, A Serbian Film is about being pounded. Writers Radivojevic, Dragojevic and Stanosevic purport that from the moment we are spat into this hellish world, to the inevitable (and frequently violent and abrupt) instance we are taken out of it. It’s a grim, autobiographical outlook that stems from the plight of the Serbian people at the hands of the government:
It all starts rather well, offering up a sobering examination of an ex-porn star’s fruitless retirement. A dejected husk on the verge of full blown alcoholism - Milos is the film’s strongest asset and Srdan Todorovic is an engaging presence. Skeptical at first, he is ushered through some wonderfully constructed sequences - his confusion echoing that of the audiences, as Vukmir’s goons shoot him on DV and his ‘director’ whispers instructions into an earpiece. It’s in these scenes that A Serbian Film impresses most; cold, abstract and evenly paced.
Light, comedic moments in which Milos interacts with his family are juxtaposed with darker scenes as Marko’s burgeoning jealousy becomes apparent and Milos’ wife question his passion for her in comparison to the girls he has sex with on screen. Later, as the Vukmir production begins, we are slowly eased into an uncomfortable universe, replete with surreal imagery shot with a minimalist’s eye.
Then the film radically shifts tone. Milos wakes up dazed, covered in blood, with only fragmented, hellish memories, which the viewer experiences in flashback. It’s certainly a gruelling experience for the most part - the final act in particular pushing the viewer to their very limits. Yet, while Milos is drugged, broken, beaten, raped and forced to do unspeakable things in the name of Vukmir’s grand cinematic designs, the writers’ intended message is lost amidst all the nihilism. It doesn’t’t help that that Milos’ torturers are cookie cutter bad guys straight out of a B-Movie. Sergej Trifunovic’s performance is far too overblown to be menacing - a pantomime villain, he is kindred spirit of Dr. Hieter, the zany mad man played by Dieter Laser in The Human Centipede, this year’s other sick trigger cult horror.
It’s a shame that the film loses its way so dramatically - the gratuitous violence on show bludgeoning the viewer with sequence after sequence of Grand Guignol mayhem, completely negating the chilling dread of the first half. The film becomes a perfect example of deliberately confrontational cinema - a pastiche of a hundred video nasties, undoubtedly powerful yet so OTT that it can’t help but seem a bit silly.
The filmmakers’ message somehow remains amidst the aftermath of all that carnage, especially in the grim dénouement. No hope is offered in the conclusion; no lesson is learned by the principle characters. It’s a bold move for such a soul draining experience to have no positive emotional reprieve, but that, of course, is the point. Milos and his family are exploited and destroyed by an organisation far too powerful for them to fathom and, in the simplest terms possible, the bad guys win.
A truly worthy entry into the annals of controversial cinema, A Serbian Film has lots to say, but has perhaps chosen the wrong way to say it - the filmmakers’ message morphing from an unsettling whisper to a primal scream that manifests itself as a cavalcade of extremely violent acts. Gorehounds will love it, but those that should see it, probably won’t want to. KT
