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This film is honest in the most odd way. It tells a dumb story, and it knows it. It rips off other movies blatantly. See it to see it.

IF you like watching it, check out: Dario Argento,Jodorowsky, Tarkovsky, Matthew Barney, Paradjanov, "Fantastic Planet", Pierre and Gilles, Brothers Quay ...

BONUS: Check out Dylan Baker, the boy-loving shrink from "Happiness", as a lab geek.

"Cremaster 5" successfully breaks more rules of long-form moviemaking than anything I've seen. I had to see it twice before I really got it at all, but the first time was also plenty of fun. The "Cremaster"series is profoundly hermetic. It communicates literally and symbolically on multiple levels at the same time. Thematically, it packs a wallop. Mr. Barney is uniting our current knowledge of the body with ancient esoteric formulae for nature. "Cremaster 5", the third "Cremaster" movie to be produced, is the one that tips the scales. It's also funny and poignant.

I saw this movie during its first run early in 1990, and found it more affecting and cathartic than anything seen before or since. A crucial shot in the arm during a bleak period in feature-length pictures, this film inspired many people now making their own stuff.