A Serbian Film DVD Review

• 4th Jan 2011

Much talked about in the press last year, anyone who has heard of this film and is unaware of the type of content within or the trouble it had with the censor board has clearly been away on one big holiday.

Over four minutes were taken out of this film in some very key areas in order to bring it in line with what is deemed appropriate for us to watch. Censorship is always something that will be debated about.  It does even today though seem still a tad unfair that we are being told what we can and cannot watch in our entertainment. But, if they are forever releasing uncut nasties in today’s society it can surely only be a matter of time before this baby lands on shelves unscathed by scissors. In the meantime however, we have this cut UK version of the film.

Now I have been fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have seen the uncut version and it bothered me at the time. I only took on this review as the spot needed filling – I had no desire to return to this film again – but what aided me was the fact that it was a different version I would be watching and I could compare the two.

I can say without reservation that the UNCUT version should have stayed that way. The film has lost a part of its soul by losing what it has. It appears much more crude and even a bit confusing at times with the heavy censorship over it.  An example is the notorious “Newborn Porn” sequence which finds our protagonist, Milos, sat in front of a projector that is showing on the wall a woman giving birth in a rather dank room. The man before her then takes the newborn child and then… well we don’t know what?  In the UK version the film cuts to Milos expression as we hear the baby crying and he then promptly leaves the room.  An unaware audience could assume anything by that footage… The only thing that helps us along is the fact that the character showing him the footage uses the phrase “Newborn Porn.”

Now the uncut version the projected image stays on screen and you seen the figure carry the baby to the side and penetrate it, as a clearly drugged up mother watches on. It is probably the most unpleasant image I have even seen in a film and it pains me to admit that it worked. The message was clear, like in all the horrific scenes of rape, brutalisation and drug use throughout the film. The message about how governments can rape out minds, our bodies and make us do it to each other is crystal clear in the UNCUT version. In this cut version though it is lost in places. It would have been better to have removed those scenes altogether than hack away at them.

But to be clear – as much as I admire the ideas, I am not a fan of this film in the sense that I would watch it again. I have seen it, got it, wished I hadn’t seen it and was repulsed by it. More to the point it lingered for a very long time with me – which perhaps lured me back to watch it this second time. Again – I wish I hadn’t.

Now all this talk of cuts should not deter people from thinking that this is a bloodless film. If you are seeking gore and violence there is still a hefty amount in here that may leave you wondering what on earth was cut out as so much is left in. But it is mainly the violence and sexualisation towards children that has been cut from the film. So gore hounds will still get their pound of flesh. It is with caution that people should watch this. It isn’t a happy tale. It is a cult in the making but it is a viewing you are not likely to forget anytime soon, and not in a good way.

It is strange then that on its release last month that the film didn’t get very much critical praise.  If anything the film seemed to have been defused by the British press.  Obviously they reviewed the cut version but there was little to no argument about that. The choice of topic was more on the films topic not quite working so well and merely coming over as just quite crass.  I disagree with this – I think it does work if you look deep enough into the subtext of the film. It just isn’t pleasant to do so.

The disc comes with a short Q&A session hosted by Alan Jones (like we can’t mention his name enough on this site!) with the producer and the director. Beyond that it could have done with a decent chat track for the UK to back up the argument.

Steven Hurst