D'Agostino

The films of Jorge Ameer always entertain. They're not always good, but they always entertain. His early feature THE SINGING FOREST (2003)was notable for a reincarnation plot involving Nazi concentration camp victims, featuring well-fed prisoners and very uneven, hand-drawn Swastikas on armbands. In the supernatural drama THE HOUSE OF ADAM (2006), the characters freak out if a front door unexpectedly swings open but remain calm and collected when encountering a man tied to a chair for torture.

In D'AGOSTINO, Ameer raises the bar very high. Dissatisfied American yuppie Allan Dawson (Keith Roenke) lives with his fiancé Sylvia (Torie Tyson) in London. She is quite a bit older than he, which may explain his sudden outburst heard at the film's beginning – "What do fat and ugly people think they look like?" Things are mundane and boring until Sylvia says, "Your grandmother left you some property." Did his grandmother die? She doesn't say. "Your grandmother left you some property in Greece." So Allan jets over to Greece. The "property" is a very nice candle-lit apartment. Allan takes some time to sight-see, and then returns to the apartment that night. Looking behind a heavy oaken door, Alan discovers a disgusting human male (Michael Angels) covered in feces tied up in a tiled room. Slamming the door behind him, Allan takes a hot shower … goes back to sleep … wakes up the next day … does some more sight-seeing … has some lunch … Yes, none of it makes any sense, but perhaps it's not supposed to. Allan doesn't TELL anyone about the horror lurking in his apartment, in what amounts to a twisted agenda. Later that night, Allan showers his new-found friend off, notes a dog collar that lists his name as D'Agostino and checks his trusty laptop. "I see that you're a secret clone bred for organ harvesting," the smug Allan says – as if this would be posted online – from a dog tag that has no URL address. The barking, yelping D'Agostino has the mentality of a newborn baby trapped in the body of a young man, and Allan seizes the opportunity to put him on a leash and teach him a few, uh, "tricks." It's exactly what you think it is.

Very little, other than nonstop mental and sexual degradation of the title character continues for the rest of D'AGOSTINO's two-plus hour running time. Other than a pushy landlord (played by director Ameer himself) seems to interrupt the two mens' sadistic idyll. The viewer continues to watch the film as if to ask themselves, "why am I watching this?" Why ineptly told, D'AGOSTINO hammers home a classic fable of all the horrible things that happen when a human being considers another human being as being less than such.

It falls apart at the end when D'Agostino symbolically eats from "the tree of knowledge," i.e. Allan's laptop for an ending straight out of an EC horror comic book. Allan gets his comeuppance, but its not what the ending COULD have been.

D'AGOSTINO calls to mind such favorites as SALO: 120 DAYS OF SODOM (1975). It also recalls, with its minimal cast, single setting, Greek locale and sadomasochistic games the cult favorite SINGAPORE SLING (1991) and art house favorite DOGTOOTH (2009). In either case, D'AGOSTINO is the rare kind of movie that I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone – knowing full well that lots of them will ABSOLUTELY hate it. See it – it's not a good film, but remains a highly unique viewing experience.

Jorge Ameer is a polarizing filmmaker. No doubt about that. It is obvious in the score above. Either way, he is one filmmaker filled with some very interesting ideas worthy of attention. As for D'Agostino, .I've never seen anything like this film before and I watch a lot of movies. However, in my personal opinion, to discover D'Agostino, you really have to pay attention to the details. The clue to unraveling this drama, thriller, sci fi is to study the characters actions as they engage. As they say "the proof is in the pudding." This is one of those films that either you get it or your don't. I notice the score for the film is low, yet when I looked at the demographic, it seems like men respond better to this film. Maybe I'm male inside, who knows (lol)... but I liked it. Getting this film, means paying close attention. There is a lot going on here. There is the obvious, then the stuff beneath the surface that is eating away at the main character. Allan Dawson, a very hot and handsome Keith Roenke, is a man on the edge. On the edge to a break down as people have driven him to his wits ends. His home life isn't any better. Fertility problems and a nagging fiancé is the perfect formula to shove Allan to the breaking point with disastrous consequences. Then comes an outlet, Allan must go to Greece to take possession of property left by his grandmother.

He arrives and realizes, he's by himself and a new sense of freedom takes over him. Enters D'agostino into his self-discovery and things now seem to go his way. Figuring he's been pushed around for a long time, he sees D'Agostino as an outlet to mold his new clone friend and return the wrongs done to him. The film unfolds in a progressively dark manner until things get really ugly. On one hand you wonder how a man has been driven to the brink of madness in such a way he would choose to do the things he does with D'Agostino (don't worry I won't give it away). The answer is when life and society has been too overwhelming for him, it't time to take action. Time to settle the score. That is the underbelly of this film. It's got many things rooting for it and one of them are the many hidden messages...It's a if the filmmaker were trying to tell us many things at once right beneath the obvious. It's a film which merits at least one more watch.

The Allan character has been put to together with such detail that once he meets D'Agostino, he seems to have found his automatic pilot where all the awful things he does seem to come naturally to him.

This is a multi genre film with many messages both good and bad. It question personal morals as well as values. D'Agostino seeks to defy the commonality of normalcy. It is a condemnation of how people live and how they treat other, specially our valuable possessions may it be human or not. It is a case study worthy of much debate. The story also seems to take place in some futuristic version of reality. It could very well take place ten to twenty years from now, yet the situations in the film remain relevant to today's happenings. It's about the results of what we choose to do and D'Agostino is a clear example of what happens when you are so lost in your own world that you loose focus of what's appropriate and what crosses the line. There is no morality in D'Agostino. At least not with the Allan character. He seems to live in his head, and for him, there is no line. His actions does keep you thinking about the many things he could have done differently had he conformed to society's expectations. For one, I would have called the cops to report this "missing person". But again, if you did, there would be not story, or at least not the way it is set up for interpretation. There are many profound messages regarding our reason to be, how we treat each other, and where we are headed as people having to deal with each other in a changing world. There is also cause & effect happening here...lots of it. Yet, by the end of the film and its shocking conclusion it becomes clear... if you mess with nature, nature messes back and will always wins. While I was watching the film, you can't help to wonder if we are the victims of what we know to be true, a trait learned from our forefathers, or the culprits for what we instill onto our future generations and/or our young. After thinking about this film long after watching it, I couldn't help to wonder about filmmaker Jorge Ameer's intention... was to dragged us through this very strange multi-layered odyssey through the dark bowels of human nature or show us how screwed up we have become as a society or maybe how our priorities have become progressively skewed by greed and the need for personal fulfillment. For those reasons, I am still thinking about D'Agostino. I give the film a 8.7/10 for it's complexity of story, originality and for its breathtakingly beautiful scenery.

This is a re-imagining of a Greek tragedy from the amazing perspective of provocative filmmaker Jorge Ameer. Once a beautiful young god was so spoiled and arrogant, he was sent to Earth by his grandfather Zeus thinking that perhaps, living with the mortals, he might learn a lesson in humility and other good character traits. Alas, London, where the young god, who now calls himself corporate executive Allan Dawson, was cast out, was not a good fit. He became more arrogant, calling people he passed by on the streets fat and ugly. Allan also has an Oedipus complex, finding a fiancée who was very attractive but looks old enough to be his mother. And, oh, he became so bored out of his mind! Watching from the heavens, Zeus and the other Olympian gods were disheartened and decided maybe a change of scenery would help.

Allan Dawson was sent by the gods to Santorini, Greece, under the guise that he inherited a beautiful beachfront property from his grandmother, probably Hera. To help him navigate this new stunning world and watch over him, the gods sent a minor deity Niko. The gods also sent another minor deity, who resembles Allan, who is also egocentric like his uncle Narcissus. What better ploy for Allan to learn about himself and return to Olympus, a changed, better god, right? Wrong! Instead, Allan treats this demi-god cloned to his image, like a dog, keeping him on a leash, humiliating him, and basically making him his "b-tch"! Well, Zeus and the gods have had it! They cast the fierceness of their wrath on him! The punishment was twisted and completely shocking, but sometimes, to teach a lesson, you have to scare the living sh-t out of that pr-ck! Do you think Allan learned his lesson? Only time will tell.

D'Agostino. From the very provocative mind of Jorge Ameer. Superbly and unabashedly acted by Keith Roenke, Michael Andricopoulos, Torie Tyson, and Jorge Ameer himself. Stunning cinematography by Zach Voytas.

Hmmm. So here's the gist. "Allan" (Keith Roenke) is living in the USA with his older girlfriend "Sylvia" (Torie Tyson) but after six years they are really just going through the motions. Then he gets an unexpected call telling him that his grandmother has gone and left him an house on Santorini. Off he duly goes to assess his inheritance and it's all rather beautiful. Then one night he hears some scratching and upon investigation he discovers a naked man half starved and unable to speak. Now what would you do at this juncture? Doctor? Police? Ambulance? Nope, "Allan" decides to wash this rather grubby fellow and treat him like a dog. Feed him from a bowl, chain him up with a collar, indeed the word 'inhumane' just leaps to mind - especially when there are some very thinly veiled sexual connotations incorporated into this rather savage indictment of a dominating character. Wait, though! It gets better. It transpires that, after a quick search on Greek Google, that this lad - whom he's christened "D'Ago" was being used for organ donating; fell off his ship in the Aegean Sea and was pretty much abandoned by his creators. Yep, he's a clone! What now ensues took what little credibility that was left and drowned it. There are so many ridiculous scenarios, not least when "D'Ago" escapes and goes meandering across the island, stark naked, and then returns to his dog-collar providing master. Is the purpose here that the disgruntled, and frankly supremely arrogant "Allan" is supposed to be looking after this captive and starting to learn about himself? Is he supposed to count what blessings he had with his girlfriend or is he really just an irredeemable and odious character whose definition of kindly behaviour is to treat his new friend as if he were an animal. I must admit, though, that pretty tasteless as this was I did find it curiously compelling. I felt sure that something was going to happen - and it did! Thing is, what we get for a denouement is just as unsatisfying as most of the rest of this rather shallow assessment of humanity, sexuality and preposterousness. It is fitting that it's set in Greece where the ancient pantheon was riddled with gods and heroes whose mothers, sisters and goats were all the same creature and upon which quite possibly auteur Jorge Ameer (who frequently and persistently knocks on the door to say hello) used as his basis for the screenplay, but in any case this film makes little if any sense and is a long old watch to leave us with such an unfulfilling sense of ambiguity.

"D'Agostino" A Very Strange Engrossing Film Amos Lassen I had just finished watching Jorge Ameer's newest film and honestly I did not know what to think about it except that it had totally pulled me in. So I played in a second time and found myself completely absorbed by it. It is quite basically a tale of horror which later becomes something else altogether so I suppose I have to say it is macabre to a point but it is so much more than that. Allen Dawson inherited an apartment in Santorini, Greece. He learned that his grandmother willed it to him but he had to go to Greece to take care of the property transfer. He discovers a human clone in the apartment and decides that it or D'Agostino (who he nicknames Diablo) is to become his new best friend even though the only human quality that the clone possesses is his appearance.

We learn that the clone had been on a transatlantic voyage from Italy to America when there was a crash and he had been left for dead. He had been commissioned by men with wealth and was to be used for organ transplants but he had been abandoned. In the meantime, Dawson learns of his inheritance and leaves his home which he had been sharing with his girlfriend and goes to Santorini where he finds the abandoned clone. Through Diablo, Dawson comes to learn more about himself as he decides to make the clone his best friend. Dawson also realizes that his relationship with his fiancée is a sham and that it is going nowhere and he is bored with and upset that he gets nothing out of it. He realizes that he is trapped in a sedentary existence and that his prospects for future happiness do not look good so when he receives news of the inheritance he knows that he has a chance to get away from his him-drum life and travels to Greece alone. He understands that his life has been little more than an obstruction but he is also not quite ready to deal with what he finds. He quickly sees that with his new property his outlook on life changes and then changes once again when he meets D'Agostino.

At first Dawson s befuddled by the clone and has no idea of how to deal with him but as the two interact we see that his state of mind becomes quite strange and he becomes both ruthless and cruel but as he gets to know the clone, we watch him become victim to his own moral perversion which later creates a reaction that causes him to fall victim to his actions. How and what that is will be something for you to discover when you see the film and regardless of what I say, there is no way to prepare the viewer for what he sees.

The version I was an unedited screener but I could still tell that the cinematography was beautiful and Greece of course leads itself to creating beauty on the screen. Yet when the film is dark, it is very dark. Hats off to the actors who play Dawson and the clone and to Ameer himself in his performance as the man who has been watching the property. I cannot say that this is a film I enjoyed but I can say that it is well done. Enjoy just does not seem the right word to describe it. If you get the chance to see this film, do not hesitate.