A Serbian Film

I heard about this movie on YouTube it was someone saying don't watch it it's made to disturb you but I didn't listen and I feel like vomiting now please do not watch this just don't I'm literally crying right now.

I've written a book and some articles about film censorship, so given the controversy looming around this particular film, and its highly interesting release history in the UK (read wikipedia for more), I got my hands on a pre-release uncensored copy. What's very interesting is that apart from some suggestive shots hinting at pedophilia and the extension of the film's most gruesome, unforgettable scene, it's all there, only left to the imagination - leaving me with the question I've come up with whenever confronted with such a case: if censorship leaves certain aspects to the spectator's imagination, isn't the effect even more stimulating?

Yes, 'A Serbian Film' undoubtedly runs for the title of the yuckiest film ever. Yes, it's definitely reveling in the very muck it pretends to criticize, i.e. the complete and total moral decay of our times. I would have very much favored an incorporation of the (presumably Western) consumers of the kind of pornography it deals with, for that remains the film's weakest aspect: the social commentary is quite accurate, but not sufficiently explored.

And yet, 'A Serbian Film' is still unmistakably a piece of art. The technical specs are top-notch for such a limited budget. The acting, especially Sergej Trifunovic as psychiatrist-turned-porn producer Vukmir, is nothing short of (disturbingly) wonderful. And most important of all: the underlying anger appears to be real. I was in Serbia for a festival last year (prior to this film's release), and cannot help but remember how similar some opinions and stories I heard were to the views expressed in this film. That being said, I completely understand why Serbs were outraged at this film. Being born in Romania, which has an equal share of ethical bankruptcy, I must admit that if this had been made in Romania, and called 'A Romanian Film', I would be very very mad.

This is one of those rare pieces of celluloid which will most likely not allow for any neutral point of view, like 'Mondo Can(nibal)e', or Pasolini's 'Salo', or the collected films of Catherine Breillat. The difference for me is that I usually dislike films of this nature because of their wantonly exploitative nature serving no narrative purpose; that purpose, however, exists in 'A Serbian Film', making it all the more disturbing and relevant.

first of all, this my first time i write a review in here.

second of all, the reason why i'm doing this is because this movie made me second thoughts about watching this kind of movies.

i think i've watched almost any horror movie's out there, but this one.. this one made me very uncomfortable in any way.

i'm not gonna vote it, because i'd probably will give it a 8/10, and if i do so, i will feel bad about it, because i don't think that any one should see this movie. and if you gonna see it anyway, so you'll probably understand my dilemma in this situation.

in summary, i hope you're smart enough to decide what's best for you.

Consider this not exactly as a review, but as a warning from a friend, in case you haven't seen this film yet and are curious about it. There are already many good reviews here dealing with the cinematographic, technical, cultural etc aspects of this film, so I won't add anything new there. This is not about the film, but about you, the potential viewer.

As many other reviewers, I've seen a significant amount of "extreme" or strong horror movies. Fear and shock are powerful emotions, and films are a safe and entertaining way of experiencing them. Some of them left a deep impression in me, sometimes for a few days, but that eventually vanishes.

With this film, it's a different story. It may leave permanent scars in your mind that will ruin some of the best experiences of your life, such as witnessing the birth of your child or lying in bed caressing a son's hair. Violent and obscene thoughts will keep intruding, and it's scary for me to think how much this can affect some people. If you think that you may belong to this group, don't risk it. There are many good films out there, and you may go on living without watching this one. Otherwise, go and watch it, but just remember that images can not be erased from your brain aftewards.

This is why this is so different. The fear does not come during the movie. It comes after. And it is too real.

I have never had such a hard time on knowing how to sum up a film. I just cannot really say what is appropriate. To my shock, I actually watched the edited version. Let's start off in order shall we...

In the film's first half one can clearly see that this is a well-made film. It has good cinematography, great music, some actually good acting. It isn't one of those soft and completely mediocre horror films (as in The Roommate or The Stepfather). So by the first half I was actually really invested in the film. It has a very intriguing plot that did bring up good questions. Then the baby rape happened. This is definitely the most disturbing scene in the film and the most shocking I have ever seen. Heck, I watched the edited version which means we don't ACTUALLY see it. But you know what I usually want to see films uncut... but I honestly can't imagine how that scene could affect me more. Which means the film did its job. It actually disturbed me, and that RARELY happens. In fact, I can't remember any film that truly shocked me the way this film did. So yeah, it was effective. Maybe because it was the first truly explicit scene.

The film's actual problems came after that. The editing began to resemble that of a Saw film and because explicit scenes began to occur more and more they made less of an impact. The ending, although still pretty sick and disturbing, didn't have half the effect the first really explicit scenes had (the baby rape and the first torture rape of the protagonist).

Overall, I do want to say that the film did too much in its 2nd half and because of that wasn't as disturbing as it was before, and there was really not that great of a narrative in the 2nd half. But I do think this film shows the amount of content people will be willing to watch and the extreme measures cinema can go to. Yet I can't say I can recommend it to be honest, or even say that it's a GOOD film. But that wasn't the point. It WAS a hard-hitting film many times and is definitely effective. But I do think there's a difference in this and what many people say is so sick The human Centipede. This definitely shows that The human Centipede is nowhere near as shocking as this. While this film may have more going for it in its content than that, The Human Centipede remains a better film, if not only because it resembles an actual film and is something that CAN be watched as a regular film, and also because I found it better executed at the end of the day in its narrative. A Serbian Film may not work even as the sickest entertainment there is simply because it really IS too disturbing, BUT it is definitely an act that brings up debate and for that it was effective. Granted, I probably won't ever see it again or even recommend it.