En el sótano

'IN THE BASEMENT': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

An Austrian documentary flick; about people, hanging out in their basements, and giving into very perverse obsessions (and demented fetishes). The movie was directed by Ulrich Seidl, and it was written by Seidl and Veronika Franz. I had a chance to see it at at the OSU International Film Festival (at the Darkside Cinema, in Corvallis, OR), but I missed it. I instead recently caught it on Netflix; and I almost wish I hadn't.

The film starts out somewhat normal; as it just follows odd people around, doing strange things in their basements. As it goes on, though, the documentary gets weirder and weirder. I wanted to stop watching it, several times, but persisted (so I could do this review). It's only 82 minutes long, but it seems a lot longer (and it's a very painful 82 minutes)!

The movie is one of those films, I really wish I could unwatch. It's one of the most disturbing experiences, I've ever had (watching a film of any kind); and I love movies! I also thought I liked domineering women (and femdom fantasy), but I realize (after watching this documentary), that the real thing is definitely not for me (maybe just in role-play). Which is another reason I wish I could 'unwatch' this movie; it ruined my fantasy for me (at least for the time being)! It's well made, and serves it's purpose 'very effectively' though; at being a completely 'F'd up' film!

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As a photographer, I admit that certain aspects of certain fetishistic sex can be, uh, "photogenic". However, the real deal in suburbia is far from photogenic and, quite frankly, kinda boring. Wait, not merely "kinda", but EXTREMELY boring.

That said, this is a documentary about people that are not only sex fetishists, but exhibitionists as well. Everyone, even the non-sex fetishists, puts forth their weirdest crap to be filmed for the sake of "being in a film". Of course, they're all kinda clueless and operate on a very base-level; which never adds up to anything remotely interesting.

If you're here for the sex, just rent porn. If you think this is some kind of anthropological big reveal about the human condition... forget it!

This is a sort of documentary about various people in their basements. I say sort of because some of this movie is obviously staged. Plus in the end credits are listings for Foley (Sound Effects) artists & editors so some sound effects were added after filming.

There are no real run-of-the-mill basements & people here. All are in Austria. One is an adult woman that plays with a doll as if it's a real baby. Another is a man that's basement is full of Nazi & Hitler memorabilia he's very proud of and is also a musician and has his bandmates over. Two of those people were fired from their jobs after appearing in this film. Another man has a gun range and teaches a gun class. Then there are several separate Master/Mistress & Slave basements & participant. They show some of their play. There are a few scenes that are just people standing/sitting still in their basements, usually looking like deer in the headlights.

Yes a lot but not all is interesting. Yes a lot but not all is weird. But some things are a bit too much. Not everyone will like this movie. Not everyone will hate it. So I can neither recommend or dissuade from watching.

IN THE BASEMENT, Ulrich Seidl goes downstairs and finds creepy dolls, Nazi man caves, cock and ball torture and gives viewers a tour of the private hobbies practiced. Seidl continues his studies on taboos, social boundaries, the human soul's darkness and his beloved Austria. It benefits from a truly intelligent scenario which uses the form of the fable to give the spectator a complex social discourse. Between taboo and philosophy, the story follows the different things people do in there basement. Under the basement, Im Keller is a documentary film eyeing on different experiences, but also symbolizes here in a threatening way. I enjoyed the film's extremely mannered style. When characters are being "good," the acting is melodramatic, but when they're in the basement it's weird, they're often incoherent and loud, or the film heightens the viscerality.

Saw this movie in an International movie festival, while it sounded very unexpected - it really was. Seeing many people leaving before the end kept me thinking about how long am I going to survive in this madness which is actually happening in Austrian basements. While some of it I could take with humor and actually smile about the old generations habits and being just a little naive for their age and location. Few characters left me wondering - why the hell its not illegal in Austria to be a completely brainless person ? From the other side - a complete mind opener about the society we live in where everything is allowed and no morals exist beyond and past your basement or private property.