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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
With thanks to indiemoviesonline.com, which screens many foreign titles online for free.
Gore hounds delight! The release of Srdjan Spasojevic’s debut feature, A Serbian Film, has come amidst waves of controversy, and there’s nothing more guaranteed to make sure the film finds its target audience. The subject of numerous international court trials accusing it of violating laws against sexual morals (particularly the abuse of minors), A Serbian Film has seen hysterical British critics asking, “Is this the nastiest film ever made?”
Milos is a retired porn star, famous in his day for being able to achieve ‘performance ready’ status without external stimulus or physical assistance, now living out a quiet life with his wife and young son. The cash from his former career is dwindling, however, and when one of his former co-stars turns up with an offer for one last high-paying job, he agrees to meet with the enigmatic director in charge of the project.
The charismatic, mind-bending Vukmir introduces Milos to a world of boundary-pushing, extreme porn, broaching taboos such as infant rape, murder and necrophilia. With the offer of a huge pay check, Milos agrees to take part in Vukmir’s new project, on the condition that he knows nothing of what is to happen to him each day.
When Milos realises just how extreme the director’s vision extends, he hurriedly backs out of the project, but it isn’t long before he is pulled back in against his will. After waking up to realise he has lost three days of his life at the hands of Vukmir, Milos must piece together through found video tapes just what the obsessed director has had him do in the name of his art…
The familiar elements are all here: scuzzy warehouse set pieces, sexily trashy euro-models, and a hard-drinking, world-wearing lead who chain smokes and guzzles litres of whisky but somehow never seems to get drunk. Whether intentionally or otherwise, the script often mirrors the stilted dialogue of its subject, proudly proffering such gems as: “With great talent comes a great desire for self-f**kability.” Spasojevic does have some original ideas of his own, unfortunately most of which are too horrible to detail here. Particularly ingenious is a death scene where Milos uses his prodigious member as a lethal weapon speared through an empty eye-socket, bringing some ironic justice to a deserving bad guy.
Bjorn-from-Abba lookalike Srdjan Todorovic plays protagonist Milos with enthusiastic commitment, although his character is undermined by a somewhat unbelievable relationship with a beautiful family, who are quite content with his occasional dabbles back into porn-stardom, and his casual alcoholism. Sergej Trifunovic plays the charismatic director Vukmir with real zeal, but the character too often plays out as cartoony and over-the-top, undermining any real malice. There is, as well, implied in Vukmir through allusions to his past as a child psychologist, a depth of character which is never really explored. It is a problem which the film shares: a delusion of being more than it really is. With statements about the film’s parallels to Serbia’s own troubled history, one gets the feeling that Spasojevic, like his fictional auteur, has in mind some grand plan which remains a mystery to the rest of us.
Anyone who can’t see where the set-up is heading a mile off is giving the film more credit than it deserves, but when the payoff comes, it is still pretty horrific. Spasojevic is a man with a very definite agenda: to push the boundaries and to screen horrors which have never been seen before. Shock fans viewing the BBFC approved UK release of A Serbian Film may be left wondering what all the fuss is about, as they have insisted on a full 4 minutes worth of cuts for the film to be granted an 18 certificate. In cases such as the infamous ‘newborn rape’ scene, the gory details have been removed entirely, leaving the atrocities to be merely hinted at. It is revealing that in a film where the shock is everything, where the most appalling details have been censored, the film is left feeling somewhat of a lacklustre effort. Compare this with classics such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer, where the censorship board found that removing sections of the film had no effect on their power over an audience. At the very end of A Serbian Film, Spasojevic throws in one last horrible gut punch just before the credits role. Here is a man trying right until the very last second to sicken and disgust, but after 110 minutes of appalling degradation, it just comes across as trying too hard.
While credit should always be given to directors for pushing boundaries, A Serbian Film is little more than an excuse for Spasojevic to put on screen the worst horrors of his mind with little thought to such bothersome details as character development or a believable narrative. Fans of this kind of extreme cinema will not be deterred, and will doubtless find some source of gratification here, but there is little to recommend A Serbian Film as a serious entry into the annals of horror history. LOZ
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
A twisted tale of an adult film star’s horrifying descent into an almost unimaginable hell, Radivojevic himself describes the film as “a diary of our molestation by the Serbian government… It’s about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don’t want to do.”
Milos (Srdjan Todorovic) is a retired porn star leading a normal family life with his wife Maria (Jelena Gavrilovic) and 6-year old son Petar in tumultuous Serbia, trying to make ends meet.
Aware of his problems, Layla (Katarina Zutic), a former co-star, introduces Milos to Vukmir (Sergej Trifunovic), a mysterious, menacing and politically powerful figure in the porn business who wants Milos to star in his latest project, and is willing to pay him a fee that will provide financial support to Milos and his family for the rest of their lives. The only condition is that Milos signs a contract insisting on his absolute unawareness of the scripted scenes they are about to shoot.
Encouraged by his wife to accept the job, Milos turns up for the first day of shooting and is immediately drawn into a maelstrom of unbelievable cruelty and mayhem devised by his employer, the ‘director’ of his destiny. It soon becomes apparent that Vukmir and his crew will stop at nothing to complete his insane vision. The only way for Milos to escape the living cinematic hell he’s entered and to save his family life is to sacrifice everything to Vukmir’s art – his pride, his morality, his sanity, and maybe even his own life.
Confrontational, shocking, uncompromising, with hints of dark humour and absolutely unforgettable, A Serbian Film is an affecting and thought provoking work of cinema that ranks alongside the likes of Requiem For A Dream, Videodrome, Irreversible and Antichrist as one of the most provocative films of its time.
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
DVD Special Features:
•
An introduction by Srdjan Spasojevic
A twisted tale of an adult film star’s horrifying descent into an almost unimaginable hell, Radivojevic himself describes the film as “a diary of our molestation by the Serbian government… It’s about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don’t want to do.”
Milos (Srdjan Todorovic) is a retired porn star leading a normal family life with his wife Maria (Jelena Gavrilovic) and 6-year old son Petar in tumultuous Serbia, trying to make ends meet.
Aware of his problems, Layla (Katarina Zutic), a former co-star, introduces Milos to Vukmir (Sergej Trifunovic), a mysterious, menacing and politically powerful figure in the porn business who wants Milos to star in his latest project, and is willing to pay him a fee that will provide financial support to Milos and his family for the rest of their lives. The only condition is that Milos signs a contract insisting on his absolute unawareness of the scripted scenes they are about to shoot.
Encouraged by his wife to accept the job, Milos turns up for the first day of shooting and is immediately drawn into a maelstrom of unbelievable cruelty and mayhem devised by his employer, the ‘director’ of his destiny. It soon becomes apparent that Vukmir and his crew will stop at nothing to complete his insane vision. The only way for Milos to escape the living cinematic hell he’s entered and to save his family life is to sacrifice everything to Vukmir’s art – his pride, his morality, his sanity, and maybe even his own life.
Confrontational, shocking, uncompromising, with hints of dark humour and absolutely unforgettable, A Serbian Film is an affecting and thought provoking work of cinema that ranks alongside the likes of Requiem For A Dream, Videodrome, Irreversible and Antichrist as one of the most provocative films of its time.
Film: A Serbian Film
Release date: 10th December 2010
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: Cinema
Country: Serbia
