Moebius, Die Lust, Das Messer

Moebiuseu. A completely wordless experience. So in line with that, my reveiw will be short.

Moebiuseu is a sexual exploration like no other. It stuns, and enlightens.

And it's not for the squeamish.

Wow! What a jolt of caffeine was this! I guarantee you that you will see quite a few scenes in 'Moebius' that you will not see anywhere else. Boy, are these Korean filmmakers getting daring.

I'll try my best not to lay any spoilers in this brief review because that would ruin the joy of discovery for you. Suffice it to say, Hollywood or Bollywood would never touch a script like this with a ten foot pole. As a matter of fact, I didn't know what I was getting into when I acquired this film. I figured, well, it's Korean horror so I should probably prepare myself.

I'm glad I saw this film; it really made my day. It is a must see because of its originality. I'm not going to say what makes it so unique, but you can tell from the high ratings it's received on IMDb that it's worth the price of admission.

And I thought Pietà was appalling! But the 19th film by director Kim Ki-duk really brings on screen something that reaffirms his reputation as one of world cinema's highly controversial directors. One of the most uncomfortably hilarious films I've to sit through, Moebius tells the story of a destructive family in which the husband is having an extra-marital affair, the wife is jealous plus angry & their son who ends up paying the price for his father's acts.

Written & directed by Kim Ki-duk who really has a weirdly disturbing sense of humour, the film has no dialogues throughout its runtime & even music is absent except for the final moments. There is a lot of hilarity in the film but it comes with a price that not everyone will be willing to pay. The story begins on an extreme note but never really settles down for a bit & it'll have you go WTF every few minutes.

On an overall scale, Moebius presents its notorious director going way too far with the subject matter than he did in his last feature & although as pretentious it may be, it really won't be easy to get it out of your head once you've seen it. Infused with Buddhist symbolisms that completely went over my head, Moebius is an extremely scarring cinematic experience that'll find you laughing while your eyes bleed.

Watch it at your own risk & remember what you're going in for. You've been warned.

You have to love Asian cinema. It never holds back on any topic no matter how insane. Here we have an entire film about a father and son who are basically neutered by the woman of the household out of revenge for adultery. The rest of the film is about the agony of men dealing with life bereft of their penises, and how they try to get their penises back. Keep in mind this film has no dialog whatsoever which is not an unnatural as you might think, but it is still quite odd and seems a bit unbelievable at times. Perhaps there is some connection between speech, the word, and the penis? Yet it also creates a kind of emotional intensity that sets the film apart. Like Pieta, I wonder what the point is of all the perversity in this film. I suppose if you want to tie it into Freudian psychology, Greek tragedy etc that is one approach. Perhaps it is an absurdist tale about modern nonsense. Perhaps the black comedy satire this film is, somehow helps us come to terms with out repressions in the modern age not to mention our materialism, and hypocrisy. There is a repeating theme in Kim-Ki Duk's films of redemption through religion. The son who is castrated finds redemption in the Buddha. The son pays for the father's 'sins' at the hands of the mother. The mother corrupts her son further through incest to spite the father. In Pieta, the only character at peace with themselves is the one who gives up materialism and seeks the Buddha. I notice a pattern in the films of Kim-Di-Duk. The agent of justice is as 'bad' as those they punish for their transgressions. The ideal of a heroic moralist is lost in this Korean film. Instead everyone continues to fuel the fire of their own personal karmic retribution getting deeper and deeper, never really getting to the end, just deeper. Of course I may see this idea through the western lens of morality, while karma is more of an inherent, impersonal law of cause and effect, that no one controls. It is a force of nature really, assuming our interpretation of it is correct.

But enough theory. The acting is strong in this film. The story line is captivating. This film makes insightful points about human 'nature' such as the intermingling of pain and pleasure, or the amorality of the human animal. The extreme topic of this film may be a bit gratuitous and make you wonder what the point is though. The actors portray their pain and suffering in a believable, compelling way. The dark subject matter makes the film unapproachable by most though. I don't mean dark in some emo, Gothic poser fashion. It is harrowing watching the actors go though their pain. Perhaps that is the point of this film...to watch people suffer and feel sorry for them while being repulsed at the same time.

I wanted to write a review so as to somehow share what I just have seen with someone (anyone). Even if it's just my text being passed on to you the apprehensive reader.

As what happens in Moebius, stays in Moebius & I wont be able to share this over the coffee machine at work tomorrow.

I've see some weird movies (swedish, french, Japanese, south American etc etc...). I didn't think I could be made to turn from the screen & put my hands over my eyes anymore. However "Ki-duk Kim" writer/director reached deep into that dark space within his twisted soul and pulled this bad boy up for all to ponder.

So lets get serious! It's not the rape, violence & dark nature of this movie that you haven't seen before. It's the haunting way all it's been put together. The reason why you'll keep watching is as far as art concerned, the director & the actors do a wonderful performance in portraying this darker than twisted narrative. In fact if they didn't perform it so well, you wouldn't be able to watch.

Minus a musical score or any verbal communication, every sound you hear, affects the hairs on the back of your neck. It's not a horror, however you get that cold feeling as your eyes take in it all in.

The movie isn't all gore and shock throughout. There are genuine moments of tenderness when father and son come together, bonding due to the tragedy of it all. Guilt and forgiveness are exchanged within a moments glance and you feel warm as you predict the Hollywood style happy ending. Boy meets girl and again the eyes exchange their words.

I'd like to tell you more, however I struggle to describe the journey ahead without giving it all away.

You'll be adding this to your list. A well told and chair pinning watch. However I won't be watching it again anytime soon. 6.8/10