Thursday, June 22, 2017
BELLADONNA OF SADNESS ONE MORE TIME
Last night, I watched Belladonna of Sadness at the Art Theater. It turns out that watching it on the big screen is quite a different experience than watching it on Youtube. The disturbing scenes are a lot more disturbing, and the erotic scenes (which are more prominent than I'd remembered)[1] are a lot more in-your-face. In fact, in the erotic scenes and elsewhere, the style itself is disturbingly grotesque: it somehow taps deeply into primal anxieties about bodies. And I have to admit the film's treatment of the heroine's body is exploitative at times. Still, and despite the apparently predominantly negative reaction of the audience, I maintain that the film is brilliant.
Another reason to watch the film is its psychedelic soundtrack by Masahiko Satoh, a major figure in Japanese underground psychedelic rock.
Incidentally, one of the trailers before the film was, to my astonishment, Funeral Parade of Roses. Has somebody been reading this blog? It's not on the schedule yet, but if you're a fan of the 1960s New Wave, don't miss it.
[1] As I was leaving the theater, I heard someone remark that the film was "all sex, sex, sex." He had a point.
Last night, I watched Belladonna of Sadness at the Art Theater. It turns out that watching it on the big screen is quite a different experience than watching it on Youtube. The disturbing scenes are a lot more disturbing, and the erotic scenes (which are more prominent than I'd remembered)[1] are a lot more in-your-face. In fact, in the erotic scenes and elsewhere, the style itself is disturbingly grotesque: it somehow taps deeply into primal anxieties about bodies. And I have to admit the film's treatment of the heroine's body is exploitative at times. Still, and despite the apparently predominantly negative reaction of the audience, I maintain that the film is brilliant.
Another reason to watch the film is its psychedelic soundtrack by Masahiko Satoh, a major figure in Japanese underground psychedelic rock.
Incidentally, one of the trailers before the film was, to my astonishment, Funeral Parade of Roses. Has somebody been reading this blog? It's not on the schedule yet, but if you're a fan of the 1960s New Wave, don't miss it.
[1] As I was leaving the theater, I heard someone remark that the film was "all sex, sex, sex." He had a point.
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