So where do I even begin on one of the most controversial movies of all time? I guess that's why I felt that I had to see Salo, I was very curious. I like to challenge myself when it comes to film and test my limits. When I watched the film Cannibal Holocaust, as disturbing as it was, it had a meaning to it that I really admired. Salo is looked at either as the worst film that you could possibly see or a masterpiece. Before watching the film I read a couple of Pier Paolo Pasolini's poems online, as he is praised for his writing and I have to say that I was in awe. What a soul this man had and I couldn't wait to see Salo. Well, if there was a film ever to test my limits on what I could handle, Salo sure did a good job of testing my gag reflex.
Four men of power, the Duke, the Bishop, the Magistrate, and the President agree to marry each other's daughters as the first step in a debauched ritual. With the aid of several collaborating young men, they kidnap 9 young men and 9 women, and take them to a palace. Accompanying them are four middle-aged prostitutes, whose function in the debauchery will be to recount erotically arousing stories for the men of power, who, in turn, will sadistically exploit their victims. The story depicts some of the many days at the palace, during which the four men of power devise increasingly abhorrent tortures and humiliations for their own pleasure. In 120 days, the children experience sheer horror and never ending torture that you would never wish upon anyone.
So the question is: is this garbage or a masterpiece? I'm honestly not sure, the way the film is shot is just perfect. It really has this cold feeling to it and almost empty. The acting is also pretty good and your heart is in agony for these children as they are pit against these sadists. They are put through every kind of torture that you can imagine and never wish upon your worst enemy. They are forced into sexual acts, to eat human feces(which looks too real that you will be disturbed), get beaten, and don't know what will happen the next day if they will be let go or be put to execution. You could never imagine or at least want to imagine what they are going through and the terror they must have felt every day.
The bad about this film is that maybe it does go too far. I am all for freedom of speech and I totally get why the director wanted to show it, we wouldn't have as much sympathy for the teens. However, it makes you wonder how far he would go for the sake of art. No one ever said that art was safe, but this was really pushing on what your eyes could handle. Also the scenes where the prostitutes were talking about their childhood experiences all going into detail of every sexual moment did drag on quite a bit and while the subject was risky, the whole film plays up that you're waiting for the bad to happen. So there are times where it does feel a bit slow paced. Wither to recommend this film to you is a hard one I know that I'm going to have a hard tie if I ever watch it again, it's all in the eye of the beholder. But be warned, I can handle a lot of movies, this one definitely did get to me.
6/10
Four men of power, the Duke, the Bishop, the Magistrate, and the President agree to marry each other's daughters as the first step in a debauched ritual. With the aid of several collaborating young men, they kidnap 9 young men and 9 women, and take them to a palace. Accompanying them are four middle-aged prostitutes, whose function in the debauchery will be to recount erotically arousing stories for the men of power, who, in turn, will sadistically exploit their victims. The story depicts some of the many days at the palace, during which the four men of power devise increasingly abhorrent tortures and humiliations for their own pleasure. In 120 days, the children experience sheer horror and never ending torture that you would never wish upon anyone.
So the question is: is this garbage or a masterpiece? I'm honestly not sure, the way the film is shot is just perfect. It really has this cold feeling to it and almost empty. The acting is also pretty good and your heart is in agony for these children as they are pit against these sadists. They are put through every kind of torture that you can imagine and never wish upon your worst enemy. They are forced into sexual acts, to eat human feces(which looks too real that you will be disturbed), get beaten, and don't know what will happen the next day if they will be let go or be put to execution. You could never imagine or at least want to imagine what they are going through and the terror they must have felt every day.
The bad about this film is that maybe it does go too far. I am all for freedom of speech and I totally get why the director wanted to show it, we wouldn't have as much sympathy for the teens. However, it makes you wonder how far he would go for the sake of art. No one ever said that art was safe, but this was really pushing on what your eyes could handle. Also the scenes where the prostitutes were talking about their childhood experiences all going into detail of every sexual moment did drag on quite a bit and while the subject was risky, the whole film plays up that you're waiting for the bad to happen. So there are times where it does feel a bit slow paced. Wither to recommend this film to you is a hard one I know that I'm going to have a hard tie if I ever watch it again, it's all in the eye of the beholder. But be warned, I can handle a lot of movies, this one definitely did get to me.
6/10