Review of Womb (2010) by Khaled M — 09 Nov 2015

Let's not mix words this is an uncomfortable movie to watch and therefore not commercial (spoiler alert for the rest of this review). However this is no reason to write it off. Yes, it is slow paced. BUT for me this an important part of this brilliant film. The subtlety is in the palate....the moments of change are few, sudden, and profound. The acting is top notch. The moral dilemmas are extended to further conclusion in this tale, not spoon fed to you either which is nice. I think it is a worthy addition to the archives.

This isn't a straight forward moral dilemma but layered. I think it is exquisite and delicate. Anyone who sees only one plot line is missing a number of points (or maybe I am reading too much into it but I don't think so).

I am not surprised it didn't rate well but I don't think that is because it isn't well put together (on the contrary I think it is well put together) - it just isn't commercial, it is also controversial and it is quiet.

Controversial in a traditional Oedipal sense - but it does take the concept a bit further culminating in an ultimate rejection, implying that the first true love can never be recreated and that technology doesn't solve that. I very much think this adds to the tale using the implications our technology is presenting to us.

There are other layers here about Tommy's (the original Tommy) mother who does not necessarily want Tommy to be cloned? How does she feel about seeing him again? The reactions are mixed but the implications are clear enough.

The landscape is so very devoid, friendships are few, and the concepts are left to populate the space in a surrealist's impression of a cloned lost love. I don't think the content appeals to many (including myself) but comments by others about script and pace seem harsh given the point that is being made about the timelessness of love (and clearly the weirdness of love in this case) and loss.

I don't know how else to get across the eternal nature of love without the pace of this film (perhaps some are suggesting it could be dealt with in a 30 minute short film). I don't know how else to point out the completeness of the loss without the desolate environment and the pace. By the end there is so much invested in it, when Tommy leaves for the second and final time due to moral conflict Rebecca is left once again but perhaps this time without hope.

I thought the point was that love and loss were eternal....technology gives us (perhaps) false hope but it really is fleeting.

Again, I think it is a brilliant movie well executed but it is not commercial (not for comfortable viewing by couples, families, pensioners, etc). I think it is definitely worth seeing (I was spellbound like some others - maybe it should be classified horror - if you don't agree with me).... just don't go with your mother or son.