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jamesledesma
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Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975)
In a world jaded on shock, Salo provokes thought.
Interesting that the majority of negative reviews concerning "Salo" feel the need to point out that it wasn't shocking. Obviously these people were looking for something shocking, along the lines of "Faces Of Death" or something that wouldn't have been out of place on Rotten.com. Instead, they got an intense film with something to say about the world around us, and felt gypped because it was't shocking enough.
Ironically, that's the point-of-view of the four aristocrats in this motion picture, and it's also the point-of-view of Marquis de Sade, whose "120 Days Of Sodom" this movie is based upon: nothing is shocking, so do what you want... especially if you have the authority to do so and no one can stop you. Jaded beyond their conscience, the four monsters in this movie spend the last remaining days of WWII indulging in the worst fantasies they could conjure, possibly because they know that at any moment the war will be over and their dream of Italian fascist victory will be wiped out.
Incidentally, this movie isn't about fascism; it's about power, what Pasolini described as the purest form of anarchy because the powerful can do whatever they please. It reminded me a lot of Burroughs' "Naked Lunch" and if there ever was a film that came closest to depicting the events of that controversial novel, it is "Salo". (The Cronenberg adaptation of "Naked Lunch" is great, but could not be a literal adaptation because of the subject matter)
Burroughs' novel was also preoccupied with the pyramids of power, between the oppressors and the oppressed. Both used repulsive imagery to convey their message. There is even a touch of black humor in both works. Ultimately, neither the Burroughs novel nor the movie "Salo" are for the squeamish... or the weak-minded, for that matter.
It is not for everyone, but it is not trash either. "Salo" has meaning and depth, if people could get past the horror at the surface and see that the real horror of the movie is that those in positions to affect change-- for example, the armed thugs or the piano player --do nothing, and allow these unspeakable acts to continue. After a while, even the victims themselves turn on each other, ratting each other out and identifying with their tormentors.
This movie is about the wretched human condition, and if you weren't shocked or disgusted by it... then maybe it's because your world view was depicted in the movie and you couldn't take the mirror being held up to your face. "Salo" is not an easy movie to take, but it is valuable as a work of art.
I also want to add one last note: The source material for this film was also referenced in Luis Bunuel's "L'Age d'Or" and caused just as much of a sensation as "Salo" did but with none of the violence or sex. Bunuel made the same point about power and religion by referencing Sade in his movie, and it's a valid point as well. Being Spanish and affected by fascism in his homeland, the finale to Bunuel's movie is similar to Pasolini's feelings about Mussolini throughout "Salo". Perhaps this was intentional on Pasolini's part... who knows? Its meaning was not lost on me, that's for sure.
Dark Horse (2011)
I can't believe no one "gets" this movie... not even its fans!
"Dark Horse" is the best movie Todd Solondz has done since "Happiness". It took me two viewings to "get" it, but once I "got" it I have to say the movie has stayed with me.
I now conclude that "Dark Horse" is a surrealist film in the tradition of late-era Bunuel and recent David Lynch. It has more in common with Solondz' "Palindromes" than any of his other work. It isn't meant to be taken literally. Like "Life During Wartime", which was a both a sequel and a re-imagining of "Happiness", the perspective is skewed and left unexplained until the very end. Unfortunately, the explanation isn't clear to those expecting a movie closer in spirit to "Welcome To The Dollhouse".
Almost no one reviewing the movie here on IMDb goes into much detail over (here come the spoilers) Donna Murphy's character. It is, in fact, the crux of the movie: The film is mostly told through Marie's eyes. Abe's perspective is shown here and there (especially in the coma vision he has at Toys R Us) but if you see the majority of the film as Marie's fantasy of Abe-- her dark horse --navigating his fruitless life, then it makes much more poignant sense.
Also, it's clear (to me at least) that, as obnoxious as Abe is, he is also the most un-self-conscious character in the movie, and therefore a relief to Marie and Miranda. At one point Miranda even asks him if he is for real; she wonders if his demeanor is a put-on, some sort of ironic act he is performing for her. When we meet Mahmoud for the first time, we understand why she asked: Mahmoud is as affected as Abe is unaffected.
It is this unaffected poise that compels Marie to root for him, and also causes Miranda to realize that maybe she might care about things after all-- just not to Abe's liking, which is the tragedy of the movie. After infecting him with the disease that kills him, she cannot even bear to tell him what he wants to hear, and he dies shortly after.
It all boils down to the last shot of Marie, daydreaming at work, perhaps dancing with her dark horse, the wrong horse to bet on, the one she was sure was going to break out and win. The revelation that Abe's dad also thought of him as a dark horse (in a scene that may or may not be from beyond the grave) ties it all together as well.
I hope anyone who saw this movie and reviewed it here goes back and watches it again, because it is amazing. Even if you liked it, I think you might have missed something about it the first time around. Never has the phrase "rewards repeat viewings" actually meant something than with this dark horse of a movie.