When I saw 'In the Realm of the Senses' in the otherwise respectable
BFI, the scene - you know the one - where a hardboiled egg is lovingly inserted
into a vagina and then eaten didn't half make me feel a bit awkward,
particularly when sat in a near-full screening. The fact that a man's penis
were later cut off only added to this - in the film, of course, not the
BFI.
Many film reviews will describe films as 'this' or 'that' and how it
will be an emotional journey, that will make you 'this,' 'that' and 'throw up.'
But actually, do we ever experience these things when watching films in public
spaces? I don't, but then I'm a cynical bastard. Kim Ki-duk's latest offering -
controversial as ever - is a film, however, that actually does stir a bit of
emotion in the audience. There may not be any hardboiled eggs involved, but
there is certainly some of the other.
To summarise the plotline would be to give a huge spoiler alert, and to
detract from the impact of the film when watching, so I won't bother - and not
just because I'm lazy. But essentially, this is a film about a modern family in
a similar vein to Kurosawa Kiyoshi's 'Tokyo Sonata' or Miike Takashi's 'Visitor
Q'.
With all of Kim's films, there has to be a layer of controversy and
possible religious undertones. There's less on the religious here, and much
more on the controversy. Banned in Korea initially, the film comes with notoriety
on its sleeve.
But all that nonsense aside, 'Moebius' is an interesting and creative
film. There is no dialogue in the whole film, bar the occasional screams of
anguish, and as such the film is constantly in a state of flux to push the
story along, as opposed to being a string of long, languid, art house shots.
The pace is frenetic and comes across as a constant stream of consciousness.
Kim doesn't leave you too much time to reflect on anything you've seen as things
have already moved on. In a film without dialogue this works well to tell the
story, showing (almost) everything and explaining nothing. This also shines a
light of comedy among the darkness for the viewer, as the constant changes
create a sense of disbelief at what you may, or may not, have just seen.
I watched this feeling, at times, quite uncomfortable, but surprisingly
not at the scenes I may have thought - Oshima obviously desensitised me to
certain things. I never thought the typing of 'orgasm without a penis' into
Google would leave me quite so weak at the knees. 'Moebius' certainly isn't an
easy viewing, with a 'silent' film provoking the audience to spurt out words in
reaction. 'Oh, he's not...'
Kim's films may be varied in quality, but they are always thought provoking and definitely create talking points, ironically so for 'Moebius'. His films will never be the best you have seen, though they will certainly stick in the mind. Thankfully, there's enough good about this film to alleviate the controversy and make some decent enough thoughts stay in your mind, if not uncomfortable ones under your skin.
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