"Kissed" walks very close to the invisible line marked out by this question. I say this because it wasn't necessarily compositional quality that kept me watching; more instead the apparent 'shock factor' of its topic, because gratuity often has a tendency to overwhelm any nuances that may also be present. When dealing with such an 'underground' subject matter (excuse the pun!), then technical proficiency almost becomes irrelevant. If some of the film's images weren't so loudly sensationalistic, one is left thinking with chagrin that the honest speaking voice could more easily be heard...
It's almost unfortunate that there is so much nudity, and that it's such an unusual topic, because the sympathetic quality underlying the script may well be overlooked by a lot of people. If you are the type who is able to put themselves in someone else's position without always agreeing with how they go about things; then the main character's struggle with her feelings may very well move you. I feel that certain shots contained within could well be construed as unnecessarily pandering to controversy, though. If this gets more people to give it a chance, then I guess it might well turn out to be a good thing. For the film-makers it must have been a case of being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, and each individual person will resolve the decided final approach in their own way...
The journey the audience take is an unsettling walk with a person longing to find a state where people don't judge, and it affected me far deeper emotionally when it was more reticent about what it revealed, not vice-versa. By holding back on what was shown and exercising just a little more subtlety, it's my opinion that a far stronger position would then be gained to concentrate entirely on this poor young woman and her inner torment. In fact, the more I think about it, not permitting her to give in to the temptation of the act would also lend more resonance to the moment when we finally learn how the people who love her deal with this issue, too. I think too much 'exposure' too soon unfortunately undermines a great deal of its potential impact at the cost of gaining the work a wider notoriety. Despite this hindrance that in my mind prevents it from being of even greater value, "Kissed" is a film which I would say still remains worth seeing.
It's almost unfortunate that there is so much nudity, and that it's such an unusual topic, because the sympathetic quality underlying the script may well be overlooked by a lot of people. If you are the type who is able to put themselves in someone else's position without always agreeing with how they go about things; then the main character's struggle with her feelings may very well move you. I feel that certain shots contained within could well be construed as unnecessarily pandering to controversy, though. If this gets more people to give it a chance, then I guess it might well turn out to be a good thing. For the film-makers it must have been a case of being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, and each individual person will resolve the decided final approach in their own way...
The journey the audience take is an unsettling walk with a person longing to find a state where people don't judge, and it affected me far deeper emotionally when it was more reticent about what it revealed, not vice-versa. By holding back on what was shown and exercising just a little more subtlety, it's my opinion that a far stronger position would then be gained to concentrate entirely on this poor young woman and her inner torment. In fact, the more I think about it, not permitting her to give in to the temptation of the act would also lend more resonance to the moment when we finally learn how the people who love her deal with this issue, too. I think too much 'exposure' too soon unfortunately undermines a great deal of its potential impact at the cost of gaining the work a wider notoriety. Despite this hindrance that in my mind prevents it from being of even greater value, "Kissed" is a film which I would say still remains worth seeing.