The Book of Revelation

"The book of revelation" is one of those films that make you feel you had a great loss. It has a very interesting & original story, the right mood and some brilliant actors. However, one can not escape the feeling that something went completely wrong with the entire piece.

The film tells the bizarre story of Daniel, a dancer that's been kidnapped by 3 women and has been sexually abused by them for 12 days. well, I must say that for some men this is a dream rather than a nightmare... but on the serious side, I was quite disappointed by the kidnappers and the director, Ana Kokinnos. because as long as I remember, they were trying to make a thriller here, so where's the thrill?? the abusement scenes are not that terrible, but much more on the erotic side, what makes this film look as a cheap sexploitation based movie. Sexual provocacy was probably much more important for the director than a real delve into the humiliated man position thing. That goes for both male and female characters and scenes. I am not against nudity, but a film like that has got to have another dimension to it, except the sexual and kinky one, and this dimension lacks from the entire movie. plus, add the very expressionist lighting and photography, and the result is just another artsy fartsy film that has the appeal of a more serious one.

We don't really know anything about Daniel. when I think about the movie now, I dare to ask: was this all a dream? what about his relationship with one of the dancers from the group? they live together, but are they married? did he have a romantic or sexual relationship with his dancing coach, the beautiful and mature Isabelle? was he suffering a mental disorder prior to the kidnapping? we don't have answers to these questions in the film. you could say it's OK, and in a way it is OK, but not really...

But not everything is wrong here. actor Tom Long gives a monumental performance, both as a dancer and the tormented Daniel, who tries to reveal the identity of his lady kidnappers, and to restore his own mental life. and of course the wonderful Greta Scacchi, in a great supporting role.

To sum things up: if you're looking for a good thriller for your weekly DVD night, get something else. if you've already taken this film be prepared for some hot nudity, expressionist misery and mental torment scenes, fake provocacy and an unsuccessful attempt to create a Michael Haneke like thriller, where the hero is not the mystery itself, but the main character's way to deal with what happened to him. and believe me, there are better films than this one. for instance, "Cache", by the original Haneke himself, or "Swimming pool", by Francois Ozon.

Book of Revelations starts very well. Daniel, an egomaniac dancer is kidnapped, abused and sexually raped by three masked women.

After that, nothing else really happens. There is some hint of rediscovery but the movie gives nor explanation nor a real ending. Daniel reactions after the abuse are very basic. He quits dancing, has sex with every women around and finally starting a relation with very simple and common woman.

I have seen a good share of art-house movies but this has something missing in it.

The main leads are fine; but some characters does not seems to be completely defined.

Hands down worst Australian movie I've seen. This film is ultra garbage. Tries to be arty. Tries to be deep. Fails.

This film stinks.

This is not your typical Australian movie, despite its government funding. It could have come from a European art-house director and its location in Melbourne seems incidental (I think the original book by Rupert Thomson was set in Amsterdam). It is also not a movie for the nervous – at times it is very tense indeed and the cutting and soundtrack seem designed to keep the audience on edge. As Daniel the male dancer abducted and sexually abused by three hooded women, Tom Long gives an intense, if slightly monolithic, performance. Daniel's lines give him little scope for expressing his feelings, it is only in dance that he can do that, and the rest of the time he acts rather than thinks. On the other hand his physical appearance dominates the film – we are seeing essentially his view of things.

The abuse scenes were not as bad as I had feared, and were relatively short. They were pornographic, I think, only to people like the hooded women. And here's the problem. A handsome heterosexual man captured by three young women and forced to have sex with them? No wonder the cops laugh when Daniel tries to tell them what happened. What is it about Daniel that moves them to do this? He was not chosen at random. He's a fit accomplished young male dancer, someone of physical beauty and grace. Why do these women need to humiliate and degrade him? No doubt the director Ana Kokkinos wants us to ask this question but we are not provided with many clues towards an answer. All we are told by the hooded ones is that "it is for our pleasure". Well, if they are sadists, I suppose it makes sense but I don't think it tells us anything about relationships between men and women generally.

Even so, the whole thing is pretty well done, and we do get a very clear picture of the devastating impact abuse of this nature can have on a person. The revelation, I suppose, is Daniel's loss of both innocence and self-regard. Ana Kokkinos proved in "Head On" that she can mix atmosphere and action though this film is quieter overall. Tom Long gets good support from Greta Scacchi, never better, as his dancing mistress, and Colin Friels gives a quiet and convincing portrait of an understanding policeman ( a very rare beast). As Daniel's girlfriend, Anna Torv's performance is curiously flat – her character is underwritten and her impassive good looks convey little but emptiness. Deborah Mailman also puts in a good performance in a small role as the girl who helps Daniel recover from his ordeal. But the portentous (or is it pretentious) atmosphere dissolves to a banal ending, almost on the same level as a "Twisted Tale" (a Channel 9 TV series of mordant but slight stories) – the motivation for a routine assault is explained.

The screening I saw was sparsely attended and I don't think this film will do well, which is a pity. Ana Kokkinos is a talented filmmaker and it would be interesting to see what she could do with more mainstream material. Art-house Street can be a bit of a cul-de-sac.

Many questions arise about the making of this film. The first of which is: Why make a film that plays out as little more than an awkward female fantasy? It's one thing to leave an audience with issues to discuss about a film's intent, it's something entirely different to go into the process of writing a script which fails to adequately address real human issues before they are rendered on the screen.

Why the outrageously melodramatic and often comical soundtrack? Why the excessive and frequently clunky dialogue? Why is the lead character's girlfriend one of the hooded abductors? What purpose is there to turning the lead character's freedom from abduction into a joke by having him complete his "mission"? (This is a classic Little Aussie Film moment. Resort to quirky comedy at the most inappropriate moment.) Why so many scenes where absolutely nothing happens? (This accounts for approximately 15 minutes of the film, which is at least 30 minutes too long.) Why, if a man is imprisoned for so many days, does he not endeavor to make a serious attempt at escape?

The Director, who co-wrote the script, has failed on many counts to deliver a satisfactory story.

Dave Garver, Australia.