Scarred for life...

Blergbot

I'm afraid to share this with anyone, because I don't want anyone to go off and try to watch it (or even a trailer for it), but has anyone ever been forced to watch Salò? I had to watch it for a graduate film class--we were given another option if you had moral issues with it, but I thought: how bad could it be? The answer is: bad. I decided to go into it totally cold and didn't even wacth a trailer. Big mistake. If you don't like rape /torture /human excrement / fascism or any combination thereof, don't watch it.

Vivandiere8

Wow, um.... Yes I will not be watching that one EVER now...

climbingsingle

Yikes. I will definitely not be watching that. 

doeydo

I couldn't even get through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (it might have not been 'Dragon Tattoo' one, it might have been the second or third but it was part of the series) when she went over to the account guy's house.  When I was in Parenting class in high school we watched Precious (great movie) but for the rape/flashback scene I had to leave the room.

flyingfoxes

I don't think I've heard of that one.  I've watched some crazy shit though - like A Serbian Film?  I don't think I made it through though - it was over the top too much and I lost interest.  There are some sick movies out there, for sure. 

pumpkinsandturkeys

Anything with rape or sexual violence nauseates and completely upsets me. I don't think that it ever, ever enhances the storyline or contributes anything to a movie. You can show that a person is violent and depraved through other acts -- anything that 'glorifies' rape, even in showing it as the worst way a person can be violated, is not okay in my books.

It also bothers me that it's very rare to see a man be sexually assaulted in a movie. They'll beat and torture male characters, but rarely sexually assault them. However, it's highly unusual to see a female character in a dangerous and compromised position and not have them at least insinuate that a sexual assault is possible -- and most of the time, carried out.

Maggie0829

So I just read the plot summary on Wikipedia.  What. The. Actual. Fuck.  Seriously, what is wrong with people?  What kind of sick demented mind is necessary to even think of such disgusting acts? And then to make a movie out of it?  I am sorry but that is not art, that is a group of fucked up people.

blabla89

Maggie0829 said:

So I just read the plot summary on Wikipedia.  What. The. Actual. Fuck.  Seriously, what is wrong with people?  What kind of sick demented mind is necessary to even think of such disgusting acts? And then to make a movie out of it?  I am sorry but that is not art, that is a group of fucked up people.

Everything that Maggie said. That is just horrific.

FiancB

So what's the purpose of watching it? I kind of appreciate fucked up movies when they have a point, but only if they have a point. Definitely will not be watching, but I'm curious as to what application it had for a film study class. 

Blergbot

My professor called it ”a horrifically brilliant film." I told her I will never forgive her for making me watch it and that I was so horrified that I failed to see anything brilliant about it. I mean, why was THIS film so important to watch? It didn't seem that visually groundbreaking. I'm sure we could have watched a different example of the style (which, again, she offered, but I would never encourage anyone to watch this film, even if I offered an alternative). I really hope this is the most disturbing movie ever made, because if there's anything worse out there, I don't want to know about it.

sarahufl

I am about 2 paragraphs into the plot summary and will not read the rest. This sounds terrible.

Maggie0829

There is absolutely nothing that sounds brilliant about that film.  Disturbed? Disgusting? Grotesque? Morally wrong?  Yes.  Brilliant?  No.

pumpkinsandturkeys

If it's that awful (I'm scared to read the summary) and you don't see any merit to having watched it, and actually found it traumatic, I would be inclined to say something to the head of the department about it. I know that another option was offered, but if it really is that bad, it shouldn't be touted as required viewing.

blabla89

pumpkinsandturkeys said:

If it's that awful (I'm scared to read the summary) and you don't see any merit to having watched it, and actually found it traumatic, I would be inclined to say something to the head of the department about it. I know that another option was offered, but if it really is that bad, it shouldn't be touted as required viewing.

I would too - and I would encourage my classmates to do the same.

ETA: Or, if there's another professor you feel more comfortable talking about it with who isn't the department chair, start by talking to them. Try to handle it anonymously or confidentially if you can so that whomever you talk with won't disclose your name to the professor who assigned the movie.

FiancB

Yeah, I know a lot of people are bothered by the rape scene in Girl with a Dragon Tattoo but it's a big part of the series and I think they did a good job of showing how horrifying it is, though hard to watch. Likewise a movie like Watchmen is pretty cynical and doesn't have nice characters, there's a lot of movies like that. They're really good movies with characters that do awful things. Same with shows like The Following- I stopped watching it when the violence got to be too much for me, but I do still think it's a really good show. 

This sounds kind of like the Human Centipede (which I haven't seen, but I get the idea). Just shock value, pure and simple and nothing brilliant about it. 

Blergbot

Yeah, the problem is that the professor is the chair of my committee and actually a friend of mine (she's invited to my wedding!) The film is actually anti-fascist. It depicts fascists as depraved people who do the most horrible, unthinkable acts to others, and--I think--the idea is to show how it creates new generations of fascists. But that doesn't mean I think anybody should ever watch this film. It wasn't just visually, but also psycologically very disturbing. I knew that it would be bad, but I didn't expect it to get to me like it did. I hate to seem like a prude in class, but I will definitely be letting her know that I don't think she should ever assign it again.

Blergbot

Please don't watch it! There is a ton of rape in the film--of both women and men. The really violent parts don't come until very late in the film, but YES, it's very violent. I'll admit, while I don't often have trouble with violence, depictions of torture do get to me, and I won't watch torture-core. But this film isn't just a campy horror movie. It combines the most psychologically disturbing film I've ever seen with the most visually disturbing images I've seen. I guess, for some people, since they know it's just a film, it doesn't bother them that much. I've never seen A Serbian Film, so I can't speak to that, but I've seen plenty of disturbing films and this one takes the cake.