Review of A Serbian Film (2010) by Jon P — 23 Jul 2015

Shrouded in controversy and brimming with taboo, Srdjan Spasojevic's high-concept horror is a cruel picture with questionable allegorical intentions.

If you're looking for shock-horror, A Serbian Film won't be what you're expecting. There ARE graphic depictions of rape, paedophilia and necrophilia, but underneath the hype and desperation, Spasojevic's film is ultimately quite silly. Right down to its lead character and his plastic penis.

It's even sillier once you take into account that the director sees it as "a diary of our [Serbia's] own molestation by the Serbian government ... about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don't want to do." - an idea certainly visible in the film but again, sincerely rather stupid in the way it's expressed; and, faint heart or no faint heart, that's exactly how the movie is best approached.

A Serbian Film is more Hostel-bandwagon exploitation than protest against "the cinematic fascism of political correctness". It doesn't really work as either, but hey, Spasojevic's shock tactics have indeed put Serbian cinema on the map. As the nation that made a slightly comic movie with a dude who, at one point, rapes a newborn baby. A national accomplishment? An art film? You decide.