Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Title: Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise

Review:

Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut is a film that explores what happens when a relationship becomes stale. This is something that can happen when two people have been living together for so long, that the spark that was once there when the couple first met is gone. There is none of that thrill and excitement that the couple might have felt in the early stages of their relationship. So they start considering infidelity, they start looking outside of their established relationship for that thrill. The question that the film asks is: are you sure you want to do that?

On this film we meet a couple who has reached success in their lives. They each excel on their respective fields, they have a daughter, and they have an enviable apartment. This wealthy couple has wealthy friends who invite them to expensive parties where the rich and powerful mingle. But, even though this couple has everything they could hope for in terms of material things, their relationship is in shambles. The routine and hassle of their daily lives has destroyed a once fruitful relationship. So much so, that they both toy with the idea of betraying their matrimonial vows. They even have an extensive conversation about it while smoking a joint. Nicole Kidman’s character goes into this whole monologue about how she was mentally unfaithful to him years ago, how she desired this other man. One day Tom Cruise’s character meets up with an old college buddy of his who ends up giving him the address to a secret gathering. He doesn’t give him details as to what goes on in these gatherings, but Cruise is intrigued. What does this exclusive group of people get together to do? And should he even be considering going there?

On this film Kubrick was exploring various themes. One of them is how the rich and powerful can numb themselves with every possible sensation and experience money can buy. And then they get bored. They have it all, they’ve seen it all, so now they feel compelled to look for new thrilling experiences to entertain themselves with. This is a theme I saw played out in an old Hammer film called Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), a film in which four rich dudes are so bored with everything that they accept the invitation to participate in a black mass to resurrect Dracula himself. Of course, they end up regretting they ever accepted the invitation and end up paying dearly for their lust for excitement. On Eyes Wide Shut, the rich protagonist is looking for new ways to entertain himself as well. He is bored with his married life, so he is looking for outside entertainment; something new to liven up his sexual life. But instead of participating in Black Mass like the aforementioned Hammer film, Cruise decides to join a group of rich people who like to participate in all sorts of sexual escapades. By sexual escapades I mean of course orgies.

The group behaves in many ways like a religious cult. Their religion being sex. They gather in a secret temple, they perform ritualistic dances and ceremonies before indulging in their sexual acts. They wear ceremonial garments which include these awesome looking masks. By the way, whoever was responsible for making the beautiful masks in this movie deserve some sort of mask making award. But I don’t think Kubrick was necessarily trying to comment on the nature of cults and religion. He was talking more about sexual behavior. The question the film asks is, are you sure you want to venture out into the world in search of a more intense sexual experience? On the one hand, Cruise tries to have sex with a prostitute, in search of this new excitement, but the film shows us that that kind of search can lead to all sorts of dangers, of the venereal kind. So in this way Kubrick is saying: you go out looking for sex in the streets you might catch something you don’t want to catch! It is a dangerous game to play, with way too many risks.

The other comment Kubrick makes is on how much aberrant sexual behavior there is in the world. There is one moment in the film in which Cruise is walking down the street, he walks past a bunch of porn shops, a porn theater, and he walks by a group of teenagers which hurl sexual insults at him. This scene encapsulates how sexually charged the world is, in a way expressing what Freud said about humans being entirely sexual creatures. Sexual desires can lead one down dark paths, if you don’t think so then you should watch the first ten minutes of a film called Irreversible (2002), where a character walks into a night club for people who enjoy the truly twisted and downright sick part of sex. There are a couple of characters in Eyes Wide Shut that represent this type of behavior; Kubrick is obviously warning us with this film about the dangers of choosing to go down these perverted paths.

Visually and technically speaking, Eyes Wide Shut is flawless, as is the norm with a Kubrick film. But I noticed one thing was different with this movie: the colors. Kubrick is known for the use of whites and blacks in his films; white being the color that dominates most of his works. But on Eyes Wide Shut things were a little different. Warm colors dominate the films palette. I thought this was very adequate because of the films sexual themes. Another interesting aspect of this film is how it contrasts these warm colors (mostly different shades of yellow) with blue, a color that can be considered cold. Was Kubrick contrasting the warmth of sex with the coldness in the main couple’s relationship? I thought so.

I’m going to wrap this review up now, sorry if I stretched things out too long, but when a film is this good, reviews just flow out of me and I can’t seem to stop typing! Eyes Wide Shut was made in 1999, yet the film felt timeless. In contrast with other Kubrick films which obviously reflect the times they were made in, when I re-watched Eyes Wide Shut the film felt like it could have been made yesterday. Another interesting aspect of Eyes Wide Shut is that it was made while Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were still married, which of course makes the intimacy between the characters that much more legitimate and genuine. But I’ll warn you, if you are expecting an explicit or graphic sex scene between Kidman and Cruise’s characters, you will be disappointed. This never really comes to be. Strange how a couple of years after this film -a film which tries to reinforce the importance of strengthening the marital bond- Cruise and Kidman split up. Maybe the themes they explored while making this film touched them in a deeper way than they expected? That being said, I think a great job was done by all. Kidman and Cruise gave stand out performances, and Kubrick delivered his last great film.

Rating: 5 out of 5

#1 of the Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown!

The Celluloid Highway's # 1 Bizarro Film: EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL (Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1970)

The films of Werner Herzog (both fiction and non-fiction) abound with strange and surreal imagery (usually involving animals) that it is hard to imagine any list of weird or bizarre movies without an entry for this very idiosyncratic Bavarian filmmaker. Although he remade the silent expressionistic horror classic Nosferatu in 1979, it is this his second feature film that most effectively approximates the disorder, anarchy and sense of unease of horror. That few films within the horror genre itself succeed in this is a testament to the difficulty of pulling off such a feat. Herzog partially succeeds through the casting - this is a film in which every part is played by those suffering from dwarfism. This immediately situates us in territory that is unusual - with the ever present spectre of possible exploitation making this a very unsafe and troubling viewing experience. Herzog’s first feature film Signs of Life (1968) had received much critical acclaim on the festival circuit (even managing to secure the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Awards) so few would have been prepared for this peculiar comedy of manners with the oppressive atmosphere of slowly encroaching horror. The film is set in an unnamed institution that has the feel of a correctional facility. No explanation is given as to why the inhabitants are there, and very little is offered as to why they suddenly decided to rebel against the authority of the institution. The important thing is that they do rebel - because this is an allegory of liberation, and easily one of the most overtly political statements Herzog has ever made. That there is no overpowering evidence that the inhabitants are oppressed only adds to the disturbing ways in which the rebellion manifests itself. Before long this particular act of insurgence is perverted and becomes depraved and chaotic. A crucified monkey offers a disconcerting image of religious symbolism toward the end, and the kneeling camel is equally disquieting. Herzog’s passion for circularity is in evidence as a car goes round and round in circles offering a bleak statement on the futility of the behaviour we are seeing. This is all married to weird ethnic and tribal music, black and white cinematography, and the desolate volcanic landscape of Lanzarote (it appears here long before this became a popular tourist destination). This film is very hard work indeed. Its weirdness is palpable from the outset, but should you persevere and reach the end credits you’ll have experienced a profound but challenging essay on prejudice, difference, tolerance and a gloomy fable about the various political rebellions in the world at the time.

The Film Connoisseur’s #1 Bizarro Film: GUMMO (Harmony Korine, U.S.A., 1997)

It’s interesting that a lot of the films we’ve mentioned on this countdown have had some similarities in them. One of them is that films of this nature almost never subscribe to the tired and true linear way telling a film. These filmmaker’s are rebellious in nature, rejecting the common way in which things are done. This is partially the reason why I love these kinds of films. They break the norm, go against the rules and do things in an entirely different way. Gummo, my #1 Bizarro film is this kind of film. It’s episodic in nature, and feels so real that you don’t feel like you are watching actors or a traditional movie at all. You feel like you are watching, ugly, real life. Harmony Korine’s Gummo is about young kids trying to survive in a suburban white thrash nightmare. People on this film are living in the most poverty stricken conditions you can imagine! Korine’s film garnered a lot of criticism because it showed these characters doing truly insane things under the nastiest, ugliest most inhuman conditions. Yet, this is precisely the reason why I admire this film so much. I mean, why hide this type of thing from the world? These kinds of people exist in the U.S.A. These kinds of neighborhoods are out there in Middle America. Some might choose to ignore this fact, like an ugly family secret, but me, I’m all about exposing the truth about things, making people wake up! The interesting part about this movie is that director Harmony Korine opted to film in a real poor neighborhood in Nashville Tennessee; and he chose real people to appear in the film. Only three real actors were used in the making of the film (Including Korines then girlfriend Chloe Sevigny) , the rest are real people from his home town. As a result of this most of the situations you see in Gummo are not scripted or even rehearsed, so they feel more genuine. This is the kind of film that makes you wonder if what you are seeing was scripted or if it really happened on camera. The answer is that it’s a mix of both. Sometimes Korine would just let the cameras role and let the magic happen right in front of them. I admire Korine for this because when you watch Gummo, you never wonder off or get bored, you remain glued to the screen for its whole duration. You know what they say: “sometimes truth is stranger than fiction” and this is precisely the case with Gummo. A lot (and I do mean a lot) of what you see on screen is improvised. These are real people, talking real things. Korine wanted to capture poverty and mental instability in its purest form, and I honestly think he succeeded. The characters in Gummo live under such dire conditions that they end up doing the strangest things, like hunting cats to sell them to a local restaurant, spending their money on sniffing glue. These characters are not characters with clear cut moral values, these are individuals with problems, individuals willing to do anything to survive. This is the kind of film that people actually walked out of during its presentation on the Telluride Film Festival. Apparently, people can’t take the truth! It is a sad world we live in when a film that is sincere and truthful, is rejected. Yes the film touches some very strong themes, but hey, that’s life, and life isn’t always pretty. Aside from all these ugly truths that the film exposes, the film is so visually interesting! There is beauty amongst all the filth and violence. The colors, the look of the characters, the dialog, you can tell a talented filmmaker is behind the camera orchestrating everything. It is that kind of movie that is both repulsive and beautiful to look at. It will most likely get an immediate response out of you. It isn’t concerned with pleasing anybody, it simply wants to show life the way it is. Gummo defies you to accept that. It is shocking, it is ugly, but it’s honest at heart.

Well, thats it boys and girls. I hope you have enjoyed this countdown. It wasnt easy coming up with top five bizarre movies, and a lot of films were left out, but rest assured, another blog post on "bizarre films" will appear soon that speaks about all the other films that were left out. Films were left out not because they werent bizarre or good, but just because there are so many good ones! So look out for that future post. 

This countdown was done in collaboration with Shaun Aunderson's excellent film review blog The Celluloid Highway, dont forget to visit his blog and check it out, its worth it! Also, I want to thank Shaun for participating on these countdowns which I personally find extremely fun and informative. Thanks Shaun! And thanks to all those who commented on our choices and offered up some suggestions of their own.

For part 2 of the Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown CLICK HERE!

#2 of the Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown!

The Film Connoisseur’s #2 Bizarro Film: GOZU (Takashi Miike, Japan, 2003) 

The Celluloid Highway's # 2 Bizarro Film: FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES (Toshio Matsumoto, Japan, 1969)

This is a very challenging film both formally and at the level of narrative content from writer/director Toshio Matsumoto. It charts in a unique fashion the difficulties, prejudices, and challenges faced by a sub-cultural community of transvestites in Japan. The structure is episodic, and the editing strategy owes more to the montage approach than to the linearity of cause and effect - the result, as is the norm for many cult films, is that the challenge to the viewer is trying to make sense of the story amid a whirlwind of formal experimentation. Of course this isn’t helped one jot by the fact that this is a product of Japan which always provides just the right amount of cultural distinction to give films of this type an unknowable and alien quality. The major influence within Matsumoto’s splintered vision is the unregimented approach of European art cinema, and the variety of new wave movements within that. As a result the film has a formal sensibility that allies it with western avant-garde experimentation. That’s fine for those well versed in the conventions of those forms, but to anyone else this will provide a very difficult challenge. An oedipal element at least gives the fragmented narrative something recognisable to clutch onto - but the mixing of narrative and documentary style techniques only adds to the unreliability of the world we see. This is a very uncertain vision of Tokyo in flux, and the order of the day is chaos amid a desperate attempt for acceptance and understanding. Within this sub-culture we also get to explore the drugs scene and to his credit Matsumoto avoids sermonising. Instead he prefers to allow the characters and the situations to speak for themselves. The profusion of flashbacks, flash forward, repetition of images, and speeded up footage gives the whole thing a spaced out, drug induced, and elliptical hallucinatory quality that is not alleviated by an unforgettably violent finale. The visual experimentation certainly dates it, but the beautiful black and white cinematography gives grandeur to the subtle and brilliant performances within. A definite obscurity, but one worth seeking out for those who enjoy a less passive viewing experience.

Takashi Miike is the kind of director that has tackled all kinds of films in his career. In a way, he is like Ridley Scott who has made all kinds of different films from all kinds of different genres. Miike has done ultra violent gangster films like Ichi The Killer (2001), he has done science fiction/action films like Full Metal Yakuza (1997). Miike has even done a fantasy western film called Sukiyaki Wester Django. Hell, there’s even a children’s film in his repertoire, if you don’t believe me check out The Great Yokai War (2005), one of the most bizarre children’s film you will ever see. I think its interesting how a lot of the directors we have mentioned on this count down have been influenced in one way or another by David Lynch. In my opinion Takashi Miike can be included in this list of directors who’ve obviously seen a David Lynch film or two. Gozu is a film that exists in a universe similar to a Lynch film. It’s about this gangster whose days are numbered. His boss has decided he knows too much, and has to be eliminated. So, they send him out on a false mission in a far away town. In reality, they just want to send him to a lonely spot to kill him. He manages to elude his assassin, and ends up in a strange town where everything is just a little off. The thing you need to remember about this film is that it’s that kind of film where the characters suddenly find themselves in this alternate dimension where everything is strange, everything is weird. Kind of like stepping into the Twilight Zone. In this way, Gozu reminded me of John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1994), where suddenly the characters find themselves in this alternate dimension in which everyone seems to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. This film is similar to David Lynch’s Lost Highway (1997). A weird town, stranger inhabitants, surreal imagery, characters that seem to morph into other people. Body switching and the such. There’s all sorts of strange people here, including a guy who can only get sexual satisfaction by shoving spoons up his ass! Like I said, bizarre. Don’t think that’s bizarre enough? How about a guy who has a human body and a cows head? Will our main guy ever escape this strange town? For this post I was divided between choosing this film or The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001), another incredibly bizarre Miike film. In the end, Gozu won the battle because it is that much crazier. Stay tuned till the shocking finale which offers up one of the most bizarre situations/images I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. Just when you think you seen it all, Miike proves you that you aint seen a thing.

This Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown  is being done in collaboration with Shaun Anderson from the excellent movie review blog The Celluloid Highway, check it out if you haven't done so already, its a very well written and informative blog I know many of you will enjoy! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the #1 choices for most bizarre films, where we will reveal the two weirdest movies you will have ever heard of. The countdown will only get weirder and weirder! See you tomorrow!

For part 3 of the Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown CLICK HERE!

#3 of the Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown!

The Film Connoisseur’s #3 Bizarro Film: ERASERHEAD (David Lynch, United States, 1977) 

When talking about Bizarre films, it goes without saying that David Lynch has to pop up in the conversation at some point. The man is known for making films that mess with your head. But it all started with a little film called Eraserhead. Eraserhead was David Lynch’s first film. He made it while attending film school during the span of six long years. He would film a little bit every now and then until the masterpiece of bizarre cinema known as Eraserhead was born. At first glance, one might look at this movie and think that it’s just a weird movie for weird’s sake. But it isn’t. When we look deeper into it, at its core, Eraserhead is a film about the horrors of living with someone you don’t love, and worse yet, having a child with said person. The main character in the film -a working class hero called Henry- ends up getting a girl he has absolutely no feelings for, pregnant. Suddenly, he has to live with this girl and the baby they brought into this world. Problem is, the baby they end up having is deformed! The film focuses on how uncomfortable a situation it is to live with someone you don’t love, or don’t have any sexual desire for. And also how awful it is to be forced into parenthood when you are obviously not ready for it, or have no desire to be a parent. The film is made that much more bizarre simply because David Lynch is the one who is directing. He manages to harness truly awkward and uncomfortable situations on this film, the vibe felt in many of the scenes in the film is the complete opposite of happy or normal. True uneasiness is felt through out the performances and situations. These are characters who are not happy at all with their lives. In a way Lynch is saying: don’t let yourself turn into this! You should know a couple of things before seeing this film: its black and white, it’s very symbolic and surreal, and it won’t make you feel all happy and shiny inside. It’s grim, dark and depressive. And shocking! I showed this movie one time to a friend of mine and midway through the movie he simply turned his back on the film and said “Im not watching any more of this! I refuse!” The movie is that bizarre! If you feel like exploring more of David Lynch's extremely bizarre filmology, then check out Lost Highway or Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me two films that I also considered putting on this countdown.

Outstanding Bizarre Sequence: A dream sequence has Henry meet this lady who is singing a song from a stage. Her cheeks are bloated for some reason, and she sings a song called “In Heaven Everything is Alright” As she sings, these giant spermatozoa starts falling from the sky! She avoids them, the giant sperm hit the floor and then she proceeds to crushes them with her shoes. 

The Celluloid Highway's # 3 Bizarro Film: TETSUO (Shinya Tsukamoto, Japan, 1989)

Tetsuo is a frenzied and insane cinematic experience and one which has to be seen to be believed. It was the product of Japanese auteur Shinya Tsukamoto (a man whose bizarre passion for odd imagery has remained undiluted over the years - see Tokyo Fist (1995) and A Snake of June (2002)) who acted as writer, director, producer, cinematographer, editor and art director on this sixty minute mind bender. Shot in arty black and white, the film manages to address urban and environmental anxieties in the Tokyo of 1989 as well as having an appeal to western audiences through its recycling of the ‘body horror’ themes of David Cronenberg and the industrialised nightmare imagery of early David Lynch. The films elliptical and fragmented editorial strategy means any attempt to construct narrative sense is very difficult. Instead one must give in to the sheer audaciousness and savagery of this unique metallic nightmare. Tsukamoto contrasts the dour and depressing existence of a salaryman with the masochistic ecstasies of a metal fetishist, but when there mutually opposed worlds collide it is the life of the salaryman that is most radically altered. His discovery that bits of scrap metal are growing from his body is a shock, but nothing compared to the monster he becomes at the end - a vengeful creature in which the flesh has been totally corrupted and lies subjugated beneath the rusty detritus of modern industrial endeavour. The film is a metaphor for the relentless march of industrial progress, a journey that Tsukamoto pushes to an extreme, one in which man and the products of industrial enterprise have merged into one tortured being. From a formal perspective this is a fascinating film, but one which does have to defend charges of being a little too self-consciously arty. Tsukamoto utilises a rapid fire cutting style, weird camera angles, stop motion techniques, and virtually excises all dialogue - instead the soundtrack is filled with a thumping industrial score that never allows the audience a moments peace. The result feels like a visual and aural assault. Tsukamoto followed this film with a sequel Tetsuo II: Body Hammer in 1992 and a third film Tetsuo: The Bullet Man in 2009, but none of his films since have achieved the energy and bizarreness of this startling debut.

This Top Five Countdown of Bizarro films is being done in collaboration with Shaun Anderson from the excellent movie review blog The Celluloid Highway, check it out if you haven't done so already, its a very well written and informative blog I know many of you will enjoy! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the #2 choices for most bizarre films. The countdown will only get weirder and weirder! See you tomorrow!

For part 4 of the Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown CLICK HERE!

#4 of the Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown!

The Celluloid Highway's # 4 Bizarro Film: EL TOPO (Alejandro Jodorowsky, Mexico, 1970)

No list of weird cinema would be complete without the presence of experimental Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. The question for me was whether my choice for this Top 5 would be El Topo or The Holy Mountain (1973). El Topo won out mostly because of the way in which Jodorowsky fuses his weird existential vision of human nature within the iconography and form of the spaghetti western. This might be a bizarre film, but it is still a genre film, and Jodorowsky ably ticks all the boxes when it comes to the grandiose, highly stylised and operatic violence one associates with Italian westerns. The Holy Mountain right from the off is more difficult to grasp, but El Topo benefits from the signifiers of genre which act as a familiar conduit into what turns out to be a very unfamiliar narrative world. Jodorowsky’s personality is so dominant in this film it almost feels like a vanity piece - in addition to directing his credits also include writing, acting (he plays the lead character), music (the haunting main theme is superb), production design and costume design. He gets a great deal of visual mileage out of the sun bleached desolation of Mexican desert landscapes, into which he thrusts downright surreal imagery. After eliminating a ruthless gang of bandits (the leader of which is castrated) El Topo begins his quest to defeat a series of legendary masters who all represent a different facet of human understanding. The strangest of which is one who is surrounded by hundreds of rabbits, who die at the same time he does. Jodorowsky pulls out his first major plot twist by having his expert gunslinger gunned down half way through. But this ‘death’ only leads El Topo on to greater things. Clean shaven and bald El Topo awakes in a mountain cave where he is surrounded by deformed outcasts, and is immediately acclaimed as a messianic character by the assembled group of disabled people. Things take an even greater turn for the weird when El Topo visit’s the town from which the cripples have been banished. A perverted town in which the local peasantry are treated as slaves and murdered for the pleasure of the wealthy few, and in which the local religion involves games of Russian roulette. Somewhere within the surrealism and savagery (because this is an incredibly violent film) is a three pronged allegory. The treatment of the Mexican peasants is surely a reference to the civil unrest in the country, the religious overtones and symbolism offer a critique of the blindness of religious orthodoxy, and thirdly this is an allegory about acceptance and tolerance, and self sacrifice. Does it work? - not at all, this is an incoherent mess of movie that leaves anyone searching for a linear plot tearing their hair out. But is it fun? - oh yes it certainly is, but it is only fun if you enjoy the images for what they and don’t take the whole thing too seriously.

The Film Connoisseur's #4 Bizarro Film: Fantastic Planet (Rene Laloux, France/Czechoslovakia, 1973)

This animated film has a couple of interesting things going for it. Number one, it was a film that had many production woes because it was such a subversive film, because of this, the film ended its production in a different country than where its production began. The film actually took five years to complete! It speaks about a race of aliens on another planet who rebel against their masters and want to break free from their hold. The Omms are little creatures that look like miniature humans. The Draags are their would be masters. This movie touches upon many interesting themes like politics, religion, and personal freedom. Should men rule over other less educated less fortunate humans? Cant we all just learn to get along? Should the less fortunate revolt? Yes they should if you ask me! But aside from these heavy themes, the film also has something really great going for it. Its visual flare! On this movie you will see some really strange and bizarre imagery. The Draags for example are gigantic blue beings with these bulging red hypnotic eyes! They go into a trance where they change shape and form and become something else altogether! The planet they inhabit is filled with strange and interesting creatures, including one giant predator which actually sniffs its victims through its nose, devours them and spits them out! This movie is a masterpiece of old school animation and should be seen for that alone, but if you like heavy thematic elements with your animation, look no further than this awesome piece of French animation. It will prove to be a unique experience even without the use of hallucinogenic drugs. The film won the Grand Jury Prize that year at the Cannes Film Festival, and was later distributed in the U.S. by Roger Corman.

For part 5 of the Top Five Bizarro Films Countdown CLICK HERE!