(Some spoilers about plot) This is not by any stretch of the imagination an easy film to watch or then to attempt to explain and defend after watching it. It is quite likely that the most common description of it will be made with words such as 'gross' and 'disgusting' which are examples of what I've overheard in movie theatre lines during the rest of the week at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept 9 -18, 2004.
In fact, the reactions of 'gross' and 'disgusting' against the actions on display in the film are likely the very ones that Moodysson is hoping to provoke, but I don't think that many will love the film itself for doing it.
At the world premiere screening in Toronto on Friday September 10, 2004 (projected onto 2 screens in 2 separate theaters simultaneously, to Moodysson's amusement) the director gave a brief greeting at the beginning and brushed off festival programmer Steve Gravestock's introductory comments of it being 'an unforgettable film' and then dedicated the screening to his children as he said he was missing them.
We were then rocked for 98 minutes with a barrage of various scenes usually revolving around sexual images and actions, several of which can only be described as being of a perverse and sado-masochistic nature and which were also sometimes accompanied by a soundtrack resembling electronic feedback and static white noise (although sometimes it was conventional pop-rock music and it ended blessedly with Bach's St. Matthew Passion).
The plot in brief involves Rickard who is shooting a home-made porno film with his friends Tess and Geko inside the very apartment he lives in with his teenage son Eric. Most of the scenes for the amateur porno start to veer from the realm of any sort of conventional pornography into simulated violence and degradation to the disgust of the son who is the only voice of reason in the apartment but often retreats into his room to listen to music on head phones. Fortunately, several of the worst actions are performed with or on dolls and rubber/latex sexual organ molds. Rickard the filmmaker has some personal demons which are revealed during the course of the film and although he is supposedly the main instigator of the porno he is not portrayed as being evil but rather as pitiful. Tess the young woman in the porno is desperate for fame and dreams of making a career whether through reality TV (she auditioned but didn't get on the Swedish 'Big Brother' TV programme) or pornography (she asks Rickard if he has sent the tape yet to a supposed porno distributor he knows in Los Angeles). Geko the porno actor is at a loss as to how people really connect with each other (when Rickard asks him for advice on how he should relate to his son, Geko suggests taking him to a gun shooting range) but has some sort of innate joy in life as he runs around in a field perhaps making crop circles. Even when Rickard and Geko go too far and start to terrify Tess with simulated violence for the porno she eventually returns to the apartment joyous and full of mothering and bringing food and drink back for everyone. The feast soon deteriorates into a disgusting food fight however. Tess is barely out of her teens herself and eventually connects with the teenage son Eric on a playful childish level as they go off to the laundry and each try to climb inside the washing/drying machine (likely a metaphor for returning to the womb).
We were mostly all too stunned to know how to react at the end and to even know what to ask at the Q&A session after the film. One audience member's question of whether the film was a statement against reality television was answered by Moodysson saying that they were very close to one of the statements being made by the film, of which there were eleven in total. Moderator Gravestock's quick take on that was to ask whether anyone wished to try to guess the other ten. No one did at the time, but here is an attempt (in no particular order) after thinking about this film for several days already.
This film is a statement against: 1) Self-abasement of self and others for the purposes of garnering a temporary and illusory fame through the media. 2) The degradation of women in various media (not only pornography). 3) Violence against women. 4) The objectification of women in various media (again not only pornography). 5) The superficiality of modern day pop psychology 6) The gluttony and greed of the Western World 7) The waste of food and resources by the same Western World 8) Self-mutilation via cosmetic surgery in order to supposedly improve/beautify one's appearance. 9) Gun 'culture' and/or any other sort of violence oriented entertainment past-time 10) The indifference of people to other people who are in crisis or need. 11) The abuse of children And finally, an all encompassing statement that: Everyone has to potential in themselves to do evil things, so don't go looking to blame others for the problems such as the above, you yourself are part of the problem especially if you are not actively working against it.
Due to the extreme subject matter and images, it is not likely that this film will receive a wide release distribution outside its production countries of Sweden and Denmark and the film festival circuit, so if it is of interest, you should make the most of any rare opportunity to see it.
Moodysson continues the provocation and raging that he kicked into overdrive with 'Lilja 4-ever', but that even began with the portrayals against intolerance and narrow-mindedness and stereotyping in 'Show Me Love' and 'Together' (I have not seen 'Terrorists'). It is difficult to imagine that he will ever do a more difficult film, but with Moodysson every film has been an increasing challenge to his audience.
In fact, the reactions of 'gross' and 'disgusting' against the actions on display in the film are likely the very ones that Moodysson is hoping to provoke, but I don't think that many will love the film itself for doing it.
At the world premiere screening in Toronto on Friday September 10, 2004 (projected onto 2 screens in 2 separate theaters simultaneously, to Moodysson's amusement) the director gave a brief greeting at the beginning and brushed off festival programmer Steve Gravestock's introductory comments of it being 'an unforgettable film' and then dedicated the screening to his children as he said he was missing them.
We were then rocked for 98 minutes with a barrage of various scenes usually revolving around sexual images and actions, several of which can only be described as being of a perverse and sado-masochistic nature and which were also sometimes accompanied by a soundtrack resembling electronic feedback and static white noise (although sometimes it was conventional pop-rock music and it ended blessedly with Bach's St. Matthew Passion).
The plot in brief involves Rickard who is shooting a home-made porno film with his friends Tess and Geko inside the very apartment he lives in with his teenage son Eric. Most of the scenes for the amateur porno start to veer from the realm of any sort of conventional pornography into simulated violence and degradation to the disgust of the son who is the only voice of reason in the apartment but often retreats into his room to listen to music on head phones. Fortunately, several of the worst actions are performed with or on dolls and rubber/latex sexual organ molds. Rickard the filmmaker has some personal demons which are revealed during the course of the film and although he is supposedly the main instigator of the porno he is not portrayed as being evil but rather as pitiful. Tess the young woman in the porno is desperate for fame and dreams of making a career whether through reality TV (she auditioned but didn't get on the Swedish 'Big Brother' TV programme) or pornography (she asks Rickard if he has sent the tape yet to a supposed porno distributor he knows in Los Angeles). Geko the porno actor is at a loss as to how people really connect with each other (when Rickard asks him for advice on how he should relate to his son, Geko suggests taking him to a gun shooting range) but has some sort of innate joy in life as he runs around in a field perhaps making crop circles. Even when Rickard and Geko go too far and start to terrify Tess with simulated violence for the porno she eventually returns to the apartment joyous and full of mothering and bringing food and drink back for everyone. The feast soon deteriorates into a disgusting food fight however. Tess is barely out of her teens herself and eventually connects with the teenage son Eric on a playful childish level as they go off to the laundry and each try to climb inside the washing/drying machine (likely a metaphor for returning to the womb).
We were mostly all too stunned to know how to react at the end and to even know what to ask at the Q&A session after the film. One audience member's question of whether the film was a statement against reality television was answered by Moodysson saying that they were very close to one of the statements being made by the film, of which there were eleven in total. Moderator Gravestock's quick take on that was to ask whether anyone wished to try to guess the other ten. No one did at the time, but here is an attempt (in no particular order) after thinking about this film for several days already.
This film is a statement against: 1) Self-abasement of self and others for the purposes of garnering a temporary and illusory fame through the media. 2) The degradation of women in various media (not only pornography). 3) Violence against women. 4) The objectification of women in various media (again not only pornography). 5) The superficiality of modern day pop psychology 6) The gluttony and greed of the Western World 7) The waste of food and resources by the same Western World 8) Self-mutilation via cosmetic surgery in order to supposedly improve/beautify one's appearance. 9) Gun 'culture' and/or any other sort of violence oriented entertainment past-time 10) The indifference of people to other people who are in crisis or need. 11) The abuse of children And finally, an all encompassing statement that: Everyone has to potential in themselves to do evil things, so don't go looking to blame others for the problems such as the above, you yourself are part of the problem especially if you are not actively working against it.
Due to the extreme subject matter and images, it is not likely that this film will receive a wide release distribution outside its production countries of Sweden and Denmark and the film festival circuit, so if it is of interest, you should make the most of any rare opportunity to see it.
Moodysson continues the provocation and raging that he kicked into overdrive with 'Lilja 4-ever', but that even began with the portrayals against intolerance and narrow-mindedness and stereotyping in 'Show Me Love' and 'Together' (I have not seen 'Terrorists'). It is difficult to imagine that he will ever do a more difficult film, but with Moodysson every film has been an increasing challenge to his audience.