bforbetty

Although I had obviously heard of this before watching it, and had been told enthusiastically by all that it was incredibly interesting, I found it hard to believe that a film with a) no storyline, and b) no dialogue or intertitles could be so exciting. I am now more than willing to eat my hat.

This is quite simply the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Probably best described as a documentary about itself (although by no means only this), this film and it's creator were way before their time.

An interesting point to note: I've watched this twice, once with a traditional musical score, and once with a much more dynamic modern score, and it does have to be said that music can make the movie. I'm not a purist, so found the modern score much more interesting.

One of the most essential movies of all time.

The first thing to note about this title, is that it's so entertaining it doesn't feel like a documentary.

Morris very effectively uses a great deal of stock footage (circus footage mainly), to break up the four interviews. Cheesy though it may be, the footage of Clyde Beatty is amusing and all footage is well placed to illustrate Morris' not-so-underlying themes.

Morris unashamedly puts across pre-meditated themes, bending the interviews to his will. Nonetheless, these ideas are worth consideration, and the interviews don't come across as contrived, just heavily edited (admittedly, some simple questions are left unanswered)... but let's face it, even Reality TV isn't real, right??

Well worth the watch.

The first thing that alerts you to the idea that this might be a lighthearted journey is the title. Don't be fooled.

I watched this movie on a recommendation, and two days later I was still thinking about it. To me it dealt with often chilling aspects of sexual perversion with a great deal of sympathy for both the victims and the perpetrators. By the magic of great cinema, neither of these groups were painted as angels or devils. One feels that the perpetrators are as yet victims too.

If you are looking for something to open your eyes, this is it.

One last thing: I defy you not to cry during this movie. The last time I had tears in my eyes while watching a film was during "Life is Beautiful".