Human Centipede (First Sequence)

First off, I did not think this concept was that awful. Maybe I've seen too many weird and outlandish movies at this point but this was not shocking to me really at all. Every time this movie came up in conversation it was always prefaced with "Oh my God have you heard about Human Centipede?!" or ended with "Eww thats so disgusting and fucked up". Newsflash guys, thats the point. This film was not made to be mainstream, it was not made to make you scared of bumps in the night, it was made for you to say "whoa that was fucked up!" at the end. The acting is not amazing and nor is the dialogue yet again, not the point. It got people talking and generated its own buzz without doing anything, hell it was only showing at our tiny IFC in the west village with few showings, but most of my friends (most of which are not into movies like I am) heard about it at the least.


Human Centipede is a Dutch horror film that takes place in Germany where three tourists are kidnapped by a psychotic Dr.Heiter who has devised a plan to create a new "pet", which consists of sewing three humans together "mouth to rectum" and redirecting their digestive tracks to work as one, thus dubbing it the human centipede. Does it sound a little gross? Sure ok yeah by traditional squeamish standards. Did I personally find it that disgusting and horrifying? No, not really. Maybe it is because this concept is somewhat so outlandish that it's hard putting myself in these characters shoes or on their hand and knees to be more accurate. I think in most horror movies we imagine ourselves in the positions of the characters or at least are seeing situations we know could potentially effect us, for me this just isn't one of them and trust me I am well aware of the insane people there are in this world that are fully capable of making this plot a reality. The surgical scenes and dreaded "someone is going to have to go to the bathroom eventually" scene weren't that graphic to me and I feel that other human torture movies like Hostel or I Spit On Your Grave cause more of an uncomfortable feeling than this movie did. It's all really about shock value and one of those things you feel you just have to see to see and if you're interested there is a sequel coming titled "Human Centipede (Full Sequence) aka "The Human Millipede".

Human Centipede
Released 2010
Directed by Tom Six

Sauna

I had wanted to see Sauna a while back and since it is Finnish it took a little for it to show up on DVD. To be completely honest. I didnt get it. I really dont know what happened in this movie but I wish I did. As a photographer, the cinematography is awesome in every way, the colors and vividness of it all reminds me of "Defiance" and "The Village".Sauna takes place in 1595 at the end of the Russian/Swedish war, two Swedish brothers are traveling and plotting the new country borders on a map. The oldest brother has endured this 25 year war and its brutality, the youngest has not and is studying to be a geography professor when he returns. At some point they lock away a young girl and leave her to die, as they get further away from her and happen upon a small undocumented town, the youngest brother is haunted by this girl. In the town they find a big concrete "Sauna", where it is said one can "Wash Your Sins". According to the official site (www.washyoursins.com) the movie is about "sins and repentance".

It is marketed as a horror movie, and some scenes are a bit scary/startling as well as tension filled. Unfortunately there is a lot lost in translation between the Finnish and English subtitles I believe, because when things start getting underway in the film things just stop making sense to me all together. Overall, the movie was beautifully shot and the scary things look awesome and are creepy but there might as well have been no subtitles because I cant even figure out the last half of the movie. Would have made a great photo exhibit of still images though.

Das Weiße Band (The White Ribbon)

Michael Haneke has been directing films and causing audiences to squirm for years. His most famous works being Cache, The Piano Teacher and Funny Games (the original and the remake).

*Note: If you could handle Funny Games, checkout his other earlier film Bennys Video

His movies are not for the faint and are often slow moving and hard to watch, but if you can stick with them you have the opportunity to see boundaries pushed and human nature displayed in ways unseen before. His newest film, "The White Ribbon" recently won the 2009 Palm D'Or at Cannes and is also an official entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2010 Academy Awards. I have been waiting to see it for quite some time so I am glad to see that it will finally be arriving to select theaters December 30th.

10 years in the making, The White Ribbon is shot entirely in black and white, reminiscent of "Schindlers List" in some ways and the look of the characters reminds me of other holocaust films as well. Set in a small Protestant village in Germany right on the heels of WWI in 1913-1914. The story is narrated and follows children apart of the church choir that is ran by the local schoolteacher, Pastor and their families. "Strange" occurrences start to happen and startle the village, the question is who is behind it all. From what I have read the last few months, the film seems to be about repression mostly, if you raise children and people of a town to be strict and obedient, there is bound to be consequences of such strict upbringing. The film clearly serves as foreshadowing to the breakout of WWI and eventually the rise of the Third Reich and WWII.

"In a climate of everyday repression and parental brutality, passed from generation to generation, any political evil is possible," writes Richard Corliss for Time. "Nazism can bloom in Germany, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the slaughtering armies in Rwanda and Sudan. Is man's humanity to man inherent? Or does it just have to be carefully taught? That is the central question of this fascinating film, which demands much of viewers and offers ample rewards for their involvement.... Haneke is not a perpetrator of cruelty but a prosecutor of it; and 'The White Ribbon,' constructed step by meticulous step, scene by forbidding, foreboding scene, is his grandest indictment of intolerance."