Moebius

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.