" Beat " Films...

The authors of " Beat Generation " , widely known for their unique style not only in writing but also in life, have inspired many subsequent creators . Dissipation , hallucinogens and knowledge . Three things that rarely stay together in the same "community " .

I will mention three films . " Naked Lunch " by David Cronenberg , of 1991. " Howl " by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman in 2010. And " On the Road " by Walter Salles in 2011.

" Naked Lunch " and " Howl " immediately shift away " On the Road " . There 's something that doesn’t convince me about this movie . Like this film gives too much importance some transitional moments in the book and not focus on the core , which left really deep traces in Jack Kerouac’s creativity . But it has some good moments . I’m referring  to those musical fragments that occasionally erupt among the general monotony of the film .

" Howl " is unique in its kind . Experimental , because it includes several cinematic techniques . And it suits best Ginsberg himself. Rambling . Multicolor . With drawings . Deeply felt . Profound ( Yes, it is so ) . I have a certain impression that even Allen Ginsberg himself would have liked it ( if he was alive today, of course) .

" Naked Lunch " ... ah , " Naked Lunch " . Horror seeming . ( WTF ? ? ? ! ! ! ) . If the cinematic techniques gave " Howl "  that prettiness, in the case of " Naked Lunch " all film composition is wonderfully strange .

David Cronenberg

Based on the novel of the same name of William S. Burroughs , it is more a kind of a unique creation of Cronenberg for William S. Burroughs . For the man known as Old Bull Lee in Kerouac’s  novel . That all these others sat at his feet . Who dragged his long thin body around the entire US and most of Europe and North Africa, only to see what was going on. Who had tasted all sorts of drugs . Who had read everything readable . Who spent all his time talking and teaching others . Who made all these stuff ​​not only out of necessity , but because he wanted to. And that goes almost unnoticed in that Salles film ( the strongest reason why I am not convinced of that film ) .

A formidable design that beautifully combines excerpts from the novel with fragments by William S. Burroughs’ real life and monsters drawn directly from the rich imagination of David Cronenberg . Accompanied by an excellent performance of Peter Weller .

According to me " Naked Lunch " is on the top . But it can share anytime its first prize with " Howl " .  As for " On the Road " ... Just No. By L.K

A Serbian Film...WTF?!

I just saw it. I will try to be as objective as I can ( mission almost impossible for a persona , but anyway ). About a month ago I read something on the internet about this movie. Seeking some additional  information for "Salo", this film came as a google recommendation , among several others . All horror ( genre is almost never the right one ). Shocking , brutal, and other epithets like these. But to be as objective as I can, keeping the word i gave to you above , the same adjectives are given to all "horror" films that have blood or bugaboos scenes.

Now to get in the topic...if there is a film that fully deserves these epithets, voila, this is it . Almost every scene is so shocking, and if there is a kind of philosophy beyond what it seems to be, you have to squeeze your brains...again and again without success, cause the images are that shocking that will not let you think clear.

When we all think that in art is experimented and  proved almost everything, here comes “the Srdjan Spasojevic” proving the opposite and staying triumphant in front of everybody .

The film was released in June 2010. In many countries it was banned because it appeared to violate some very important norms of  law, especially children’s rights. Another explanation given by critics to justify their anti-serbian-film mien was that all that violence remains unwarranted in any case. That could be overcome if hiding any major noble idea behind. Like "Salo" eg ( I say this ) .

Director himself stated that this film embodies the postwar situation in Serbia, especially the cinema situation. Where people are not free as stated  but the Serbian government is acting as a " Vukmir " for its citizens . And various investors from the West are willing to pay hefty sums for movies with no artistic value at all, but with some significant sick political messages .

More or less, so spoke Spasojevic for his film. But Dragan Bjelogrlic ( a great Serbian director ) deems  that Spasojevic is just another “rich daddy’s boy”  which in his free time makes movies like "A Serbian Film", without having any special connection avec filmmaking. And we all know " who " has become rich in the early 90s in the Balkans , goes on Bjelogrlic .

Well , nobody’s wrong. I'm trying to summarize in a few lines the conclusion I drew from the above film and criticism .

According to me, Spasojevic just wanted to be noticed by audiences and critics, aiming even world fame. Then he invented all these theories of  "pressure" from politics and those Serbian cinema’s problems...which are all true, but simply...he had not this stuff inside his mind during the filming. Even the title "A Serbian Film" has no specific meaning. It is just a general title that attracts the crowd’s attention .

I do not know why even after being convinced of all above, still feeling an inside need to applaud this guy . A sapling director from the bitter sweet Balkans ( where I live myself ) makes the whole world talking about him in a very  little time. And it should be said that the film has some breath-taking plans.

Srdjan Spasojevic

As for that Dragan Bjelogrlic theory, that in the Balkans anyone who has moneys can not only make a movie ( a metaphor made by me basing in Bjelogrlic’s words ) but he can also sign a brand-new Constitution for the Republic, well ... so is exactly the situation. But Srdjan Spasojevic does not seem the typical case. This guy may be not a philosopher, nor the typical artist who comes from the east telling random tales about his  people (sort of soap operas) and then the West finds them so exotic and the unknown automatically is confused avec art .

But let us give Caesar what’s his... Does " Pulp Fiction " seems to you deeper than " A Serbian Film "? ... Nah. And if we’re talking about imagination "A Serbian Film" passes 100 - fold .

If you have not seen it yet , go on. At least you will see a film that fully deserves shocking and brutal epithets , obtained illegally from other quite normal films.

Suggestion: Watch it alone! Sotto voce...if there are people around....shshsh...by Led Kasapi