A Serbian Film (2010)

You can add Norway to that list.

A nightmarish journey to the bowels of hell…

In May 2011 A Serbian Film was released in Norwegian stores. Having read about all the controversy I was naturally curious. After getting a confirmation from the distributor that it was uncut I picked it up fearing it would be pulled from stores. Norway bans A Serbian Film two short months later, making it the first one since Ichi the Killer in 2008. There were two paragraphs coming into play in this decision, first being sexual abuse and portrayals that sexualize children. The other paragraph concerns distribution of films with extreme violence made for entertainment purposes. So how gruesome is A Serbian Film and is it really worth banning?

A Serbian Film tells the story of porn actor Milos. He’s tired of the business and one day sees the opportunity to retire for good when he’s offered the lead in a new film. Milos accepts the deal unknowing about just what kind of a project he’s signed onto. The nightmare begins.

We’re given time to get familiar with Milos, his wife and son. They live a decent life. Early on their young son is caught watching one of dad’s porn films. As he goes to bed the kid remarks about a funny feeling he got downstairs when watching the film. Milos and his wife smile at their young innocent offspring. Both this scene and one later on portray child sexuality with skill and care. It is a part of them without knowing fully what it is yet. Building relationships also serves well for what is to follow.

On a technical level A Serbian Film is a surprisingly well-made film. The cinematography is professional, the lighting excellent and editing sensitive. The score works well with gentle piano tracks for the more quiet moments, while a brutal bass is ready to pound you on other occasions. That works particularly well over the ending credits when you feel exhausted and slightly violated.

Simple, but effective. Love that mise-en-scène.

The movie spends time building up and lets you believe Milos’ LSD infused journey into madness. There are a few potholes along the way you might question though. The prime example being when Milos is confronted with footage from something his mad director Vukmir has shot. It is the rape of a new born, or “new-born-porn” as Vukmir enthusiastically hails it. Milos’ eyes begin to wander away from the screen and so do mine at this point. You would think this would be Milos’ exit from the project, but that is not the case. Vukmir considers this horrific child abuse to be art that people just don’t understand, not yet anyway. According to Oxford dictionary art is; “the expression of human creative talent, especially in a visual form.” That is a quite broad definition and I highly doubt any normal sane person would agree that what Vukmir is doing is art. But that is a film within the film. A Serbian Film poses the question; what is art? Can a film that includes rape, incest, necrophilia and murder be art? I would certainly say yes. There is much beauty in A Serbian Film even if it can be in some rather dark corners. It reminds me of Cronenberg commenting on the beauty of a tumor. It is a living organism just trying to evolve. The tumor is a destructive force on the host, but has a beauty in its own right. One might disagree, but “art” and “beauty” are both ideas and challenging them, like in A Serbian Film is certainly meaningful and relevant in my humble opinion.

In regards to Norway’s reasoning for banning it, what we see involving child abuse, with the exception of footage of a young girl eating a lollipop, nothing here is portrayed in a manner to entice. And even that scene feels more like comment on the subject matter with some very dark humorous undertones. With that said, I certainly wouldn’t let a child of mine act in this movie. When it comes to A Serbian Film showing what they consider “extreme violence for entertainment purposes” I really have to disagree. Extreme violence as entertainment can readily be seen in modern movies like Saw and Hostel. Why is Hostel okay? Is Hostel okay if we say it’s a movie that plays on people’s xenophobia? A Serbian Film is actually a lot less interested in showing us brutality like these films. It shows restraint, believe it or not. Yes, it doesn’t shy away either, but it’s not as gratuitous as you might expect.

Becoming the beast.

A Serbian film is an unpleasant film as it should be. Dismissing it as cheap, exploitative trash is way too easy. It goes a long way to offend you, but does so in intelligent fashion. For those depraved enough there is the blackest kind of humor here, perhaps most evident at the very end. There is no escape, not even death. Banning it has only made it more sought after here in Norway and I encourage curious people to seek it out at their own risk. We are all responsible for making a better world. A Serbian Film only makes me want to try harder. In that light it certainly has value.

8.5/10