Sacro e profano

Well, here's something we can ALL add to that laundry list of labels/notions/concepts we ALL harbor about Madonna: She is a helluva lot better director than she is actress!!! Of course, maybe that's not really saying much, so make that..."LIGHT YEARS BETTER DIRECTOR THAN ACTOR!"

Asmost of us are well aware.... Madonna has been re-inventing herself for like... over three decades.! That's what she does!

I think this is, by far, her most surprising, most interesting and most promising re-invention to date! She's credited as Director, Co-Writer and executive producer. Who else but Madonna would come up with a Title like FILTH and WISDOM ?!?

This is her baby. She has a lot invested in WISDOM receiving, at the very least, a modicum of both commercial and critical success.

Quite frankly, I think it would be well-deserved. I've read that Madonna is both a micro-manager and a perfectionist. It's easy to see how both of these traits are reflected through and through in the final cut of WISDOM. The overlay of the music tracks with the visuals is truly inspired and borders on pure genius! Perhaps this aspect was just a tad too "In-Your-Face!", but knowing Madonna and her excesses, I would say some of them were rather low-key, considering their origin.

Madonna has populated her film with a cast of starkly contrasting, singularly unique, true to life, rather dark and believable characters. The most shocking aspect of FILTH and WISDOM? Surprisingly, perhaps just the title! In retrospect, maybe a bad choice, considering it might scare off a lot of potential viewers who would have enjoyed its relatively tame rendition. There is no escaping this fact: Considering WISDOM is a first effort, we must give credit where credit is due and say that all considered, the Material Girl has turned in a rather surprising and oddly entertaining piece of work!

I cannot ever recall writing a review on this site before, but I felt compelled to after looking up the average rating out of curiosity and seeing a score of 5.1. Generally for any given film I can put my own taste aside and guess within half a point what the IMDb general consensus will be. I'd have gone here for something like 7.4 ... (and rated it 7 myself). Maybe as some other reviewer's have suggested, people's judgement has been affected by the hype and media around this film. I was fortunate enough to watch it knowing nothing about it and enjoying the ride. I found Eugene Hütz's character completely believable and felt the film managed to steer way clear of being pretentious yet telling an amusing story. OK, so it's no Trainspotting, but then again it is something different and in my opinion, worth a watch!

I saw this movie yesterday at the Berlinale.

Going into the theater I thought it might be a dreadful film (after all there were some terrible comments running the net...) I must say though after just a ten minutes the film had gotten to me. It is funny and has quite a pace to it. Getting to know the different characters did not seem to be "set up" as it happens to be in quite a few movies.

Despite the obvious humor the movie contains a lot to think about and even more to remember.

I really would advice anyone to go and watch the movie as it is one of a kind. Just go in expecting nothing and you will receive everything...

I really liked the film. I admit I almost didn't go to see it because of all the bad press, but Im happy I did. And for those who haven't seen it and consider not to based on all the criticism, you really should go and see it for yourself.

I wonder what these critics were really expecting? Something a little more Hollywood? And what do you consider to be a "good" movie, if you don't seem to like this one very much?

I found the movie to be very honest. The only part I wasn't so convinced of was the the blind guy, his facial expressions didn't match the character, I think he smiled too much.

But other than that, where is the problem? Have any of you ever worked as a Dominatrix or known any sex workers? Or professional dancers who turned to working at a strip club to earn a living? You say "cliché" but often clichés/stereotypes exist for a reason, because actual human beings (re)act in certain ways in certain situations.

I think Madonna should feel proud of her work here! It was inspiring in its way, regardless of what some might say.

If you're a Madonna fan, you'll probably be disappointed with this one. And i guess there are a lot of non-fans out there who can hardly wait to disparage the movie. Nevertheless, Ms Ciccone did a good job in her directorial debut.

Filth and Wisdom is clearly not a masterpiece, yet there is nothing wrong with this movie. It is the matter of personal preferences whether you like it or not. Besides, it features Eugene Hutz, whose role confirms everything you thought about him while listening to his band Gogol Bordello.

I assume the story is partially based on Madonna's experience as a struggling artist after her arrival to New York. More than that, i see it as a subtle competition with her then-husband Guy Richie, since some aesthetic similarities with RocknRolla (2008) are visible, apart from the setting. She proved him she can direct a movie, divorced him and moved on with her life...