The Super Network

Dir: Srdjan Todorovic
Starring: Srdjan Todorovic, Sergej Trifunovic and Jelena Gavrilovic

The Film
*This review is for the CUT version of A Serbian Film – approx 5 scenes have been cut to ensure an Australian release*

Chances are unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you would have heard about A Serbian Film. It is the big controversial film that has caused nothing but a huge stir since it first began screening. Trouble, trouble and more trouble have followed the film. Accent Film have since (around November of last year), been trying to get this film released in Australia. After much struggle it is finally here, on DVD and screening as part of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. So what exactly is all the fuss about? Is it as controversial as the media have made it out to be?

A Serbian Film is on the surface, is a story about retired porn actor Milos (Srdjan Todorovic), he now lives the quiet life with his wife and son. The ghosts of his past still haunt him, as is shown when his young son finds and watches one of his films. The family is struggling financially, which leads Milos on a path to filmmaker Vukmir (Sergej Trifunovic), who wants Milos in on an ‘artistic statement’ of cinema. Unbeknown to Milos, this project is not at all what he was expecting, as it pushes all of the moral boundaries.

By that synopsis, you can probably already understand the controversy. It does start off with a child watching a porno movie that stars his father. This is just the beginning of the disturbing elements, as it gets progressively worse and uncomfortable. The first third, aside from that one scene, is fairly standard. It gives us an introduction to the characters and the predicament that Milos gets himself into. We are constantly reminded of his former porn star status, as we keep getting shown clips of his films. Once the filming of this ‘artistic statement’ starts, the real grit of this film begins to creep in. It tackles all sorts of very taboo subjects, including sexual violence and depravity, which also includes children. Yes, you read that correctly.

It is hard to determine whether or not A Serbian Film is shocking simply to be shocking, or whether writer/director Srdjan Todorovic made it that way to really get his statements across. For the most part (at least in this cut), there is a lot of stuff that is implied, or we don’t get a clear shot of it. The violence is right up there with the films of the ‘Splat Pack’, but the really disturbing parts involve children. Now it hasn’t been done in an exploitative sort of way, as I said it is more implied. But just because we don’t get to see it, doesn’t mean the impact isn’t there. It really is, and it is quite frankly something I don’t need to experience. Yes I am well aware that violence of all sorts happens to children, it disturbs me. In this case, it doesn’t give any kind of actual message and there is no redemption.

It has been said (by Todorovic) that A Serbian Film is a metaphor towards Serbia, and that certain scenes represent the way the country has been treated. For example, in a scene that is basically left out of this CUT version (it plays out incredibly stupid in the UNCUT version), Milos is shown a rape. This is meant to imply the ‘rape’ of the country. Now I am pretty sure, that this wasn’t necessary, as he could have shown anything else to represent what he wanted to. But he didn’t, and this really makes me think that the extremes in this film were made that way so it would get talked about, so it would get noticed. Nothing wrong with adding in something to a film, to try and get it attention, but this really is ridiculous. I find it difficult to really get on-board with the whole metaphorical merits of this film, there are many ways to tell a story about what Todorovic’s real apparent subject matter was, and I don’t think this is it. On the plus side, this film had a decent budget behind it and it definitely didn’t look cheap. It had real production values, it was shot well, very well put together sets and design, and a very hard hitting sound design. I have no doubt that Todorovic knows how to make a film, bring in important elements and get for the most part strong performances. By the end, the film is a complete mess, the performances are campy and over the top, the way it is film is again so over the top. It really took me out of it, and it just didn’t fit in with what had been established. It is the subject matter that I think Todorovic needs to work on, and really sell it to me as to why I need to sit through this.

Should this film be seen? I guess if you feel you need to, perhaps you’ll get more out of it than I did. Should it be CUT? Absolutely not, while I think certain elements in this film benefited from being CUT; the reasoning behind those CUTs does not sit well with me. This film is rated R, meaning no one under the age of 18 is legally allowed to watch it. I am an adult, and I should be free to make my own decisions on what I watch. I want the freedom to be able to see films in the way that they were intended. Sticking these restrictions on films, is implementing more restrictions towards society, and this in turn gives the ruling bodies much more power than they should have. I am not a fan of this film, however I still deserve the right to see it, and see it as the director intended. I am thankful that this is not banned, and despite the CUTs it is going to be available in this country. A semi-win against censorship in this country, and I applaud Accent for their efforts to bring the film here. That said, A Serbian Film is not the worst film I have seen, nor is it the most disturbing or controversial. I think this ‘style’ of film was much better realised with Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (aka the worst enemy of the Australian Censorship Board).

The Australian DVD 
The copy I reviewed is a screener, so there are no extra features. I cannot comment on the audio/video.

Rating

DVD details here.

Thanks to Bill at Gryphon Entertainment care of Accent Film for the copy.