A Serbian Film (Srpski film)

A Serbian Film. The film that has been banned in the UK, Spain, Australia, Norway, and temporarily in Brazil.  So much has been said about this movie. "It's so depraved." "It's the most disgusting film EVER" "Oh my god, how can you watch that?!"

Is it deserving of all these descriptions? Yes, to a degree. Does that detract from the movie? No.

A Serbian Film is about Milos, a retired porn star. In his day, he was the Ron Jeremy of Serbia, porking his way to fame. But he's settled down now with his lovely wife and son. He has a brother who is a corrupt police officer and makes no qualms about the fact that he wants to bone Milos's wife. Times are tough financially and he's starting to miss the money he was making.

Along comes a friend/former co-star, Lejla, with an offer for a starring role in some independant, artsy porn. Milos agrees and meets with the director, Vukmir. After meeting Vukmir, everything descends into chaos. Milos refuses to do certain things, Vukmir drugs him, and insanity ensues.

Any and all forms of depravity are on display in graphic detail. Rape? Check. Incest? Check. Pedophilia? Necrophilia? Snuff? Check, check, check. There's even depravity you've never seen or imagined, and for those who haven't seen it, I won't spoil the surprise.

This film gets a lot of flack for being "shock for shock's sake". I would almost agree if it weren't for one glaring reason. This movie is ridiculously well-made. The acting is good, the camerawork is crisp. This is no low-budget shlock, this is grade A degradation at its finest. Every sickening moment is well done. Vukmir is a sadist to the nth degree, and the guy who plays him does an excellent job at being one amazingly sick and crazy bastard.

The director has stated on various occasions that the movie is a parody of the current politically correct climate in Serbian cinema. I don't know how much of that is true, but he's succeeded in making a name for himself.  This movie is extremely graphic, perverse and holds nothing back. All in all, I loved it. There are a lot of movies that claim to be "disturbing" and "shocking" but none of them hold a candle to the rollercoaster of depravity that is A Serbian Film.