I read an article about it a while back, saying it was the most disgusting film ever made, but was worth seeing, and I have heard praise about it, but also lots of warnings that you will most likely regret seeing it.
So when I found a torrent, I figured that I as a movie lover had to see it, to see what all the hype was about, and figured "hell, it can't be that bad".
So I saw it last night, and my immediate reaction after seeing it was that I regretted seeing it, and that I sincerely wished that I had not seen it, and that noone else would, ever!
But now that I have spend a day thinking about the movie, I'm actually impressed with it. The acting is very very impressive. The main character is absolutely amazing as a man getting way out of his depth, the guy playing the mystery man with the once in a lifetime offer is a mix of sleazy, mad, and fascinating.
The cinematography is excellent, pacing is great, and the directors anger at the serbian government is shining though the entire movie, making the social commentary part really shine, even if you dont get all the cultural references, and haven't experienced the horrors of the wars and unrest.
I will go so far as to call this movie a brilliant piece of art, and I will most likely buy it on DVD/blu ray, and watch it with director commentary, to find out about the cultural references and social commentary parts that I probably missed due to not being serbian.
That being said, the movie it horrible, the pictured depravities (and even worse, the ones NOT pictured, but you make up in your own mind) are pushing bounderies that should not have been pushed, and most people will not see the end of this movie because of this, turning it off in disgust.
Even a hardcore Hostel fan that think Hostel should have gotten an Oscar will (hopefully) be disgusted out by some of the scenes in this movie.
I am not a fan of the "torture porn" kinda movies like Saw, Hostel, and that kind of new genre movies that have appeared in the last 5 years or so, and thus it is a really strange experience for me to see a movie so utterly depraved and insane that it made me wish I had never seen it, and in the span of under 24 hours change my mind totally about the movie, and find it a masterpiece.
I will NOT recommend anyone to see this movie to get an enjoyable evening, because you will NOT enjoy this movie.
I will recommend sensitive people to never even go near it.
I will dare say that watching this movie will make you disgusted with yourself for seeing it, and if you understand what the movie was really about, make you sick of a society that breeds this kind of desperation and corruption.
But I WILL recommend you to see this movie to get a unique experience, and get a rare look at an uncompromising movie that will go into cinematic history along with "Caligula" and "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom"
You can find a trailer on youtube, and lots of spoilers (wikipedia for example spoils the entire plot, do NOT read that if you wish to see the movie), but I will recommend you not reading much more than this about it, to get the "real" experience of the movie, by not knowing what you got into. Dont read spoilers, dont read reviews, decide if you wish to see this movie badly enough to subject yourself to things best left unseen.
So if anyone apart from me in here were stupid/brave/intrigued enough to see this, I would love to hear your comments on this movie, preferably in spoilers tags, both for spoilers sake, and because the comments will most likely not be for the faint of heart
I'll end this with a few quotes:
Fangoria Magazine (who ended up not rating the movie):
I came away from it disgusted on some levels but impressed on others, appreciating having seen it even though I’m pretty sure I never want to see it again. You can’t slap a rating on that kind of reaction, so I’ll end instead with this: If, after reading this review, you believe A SERBIAN FILM is your kind of cinematic experience, by all means proceed—but don’t say you weren’t warned.
Brutalashell.com:
This film is not for everyone. But if you find that you can sit through it, you’ll walk away appreciative. Even if you are repulsed by the content and disagree with the delivery of the message, you will still find Serbian Film to be ultimately important – as a piece of cinema, and as a platform. Another thing I think everyone can agree on is that the film is beautifully made. Shot on RED, it’s executed perfectly and absolutely gorgeous. The music, sound editing, and actors all combine with the cinematography in one of those rarely seen but highly coveted and impeccable end results. Love it or hate it, Serbian Film is well-executed and well-played.
Harry Knowles (Aint It Cool News):
I really do hope you good folks get to see this movie. It is tremendous. One of the best “EXTREME” films to come along in the history of this site. Think of films like OLDBOY, SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE, IRREVERSIBLE, etc. You know the titles. They’re the films that if you have it, you’ve shown to others – introducing the titles because no studio really did.
