Before blogging a single word, I must ask myself this question: Would I have the same opinion of Martyrs had I not heard so many other opinions before viewing?The answer is no. Had I randomly happened upon this film, I would have loved it. I would have drank in every aspect of it, from camera work to plot. Unfortunately for me, I went into it expecting to be blown away. I wasn't.
If you are super spoiler sensitive, I'd say avoid this.
I am not squeamish unless you are a torturing a sea turtle. I don't know why I expected Martyrs to show me something so life altering that I would want to shut the film off. I didn't find it particularly mean spirited or "brutal" or "heavy". It was a good story, so I can't write it off as simple "torture porn". It most surely was more than that. The torturous acts added to the overall plot. It drove the story rather than controlled it. The films ending successfully caused me think and ponder (the obvious questions raised that I won't full-on spoil here). The acting was strong and the characters were sympathetic to the max. But, at the end of the 90 some odd minutes, I hadn't felt like I had gone on a journey.
This may be because of my own personal circumstances. The fact that I expected to go on a journey may have a lot to do with it. I, apparently, am also jaded and soulless, as Inside and I Spit On Your Grave don't make me squirmy. I also had the luxury of hitting pause and eating popcorn. As much as I appreciated the effort being taken to make me live through the cinematic torture of this poor girl, I just didn't.
Don't go thinking you can throw this film on at your 14 year old niece's sleepover. It's not tame by any stretch. There's blood and gore and cruelty coming at you in all forms. Taking that into consideration, this is also quite a lovely film to look at. I think it was going for beautiful poignancy highlighted by disgusting savagery. On that level alone, 2 thumbs up!
At the end of the day, I enjoyed it. It was well put together and executed. It was well acted and shot. It was everything I expected it to be, therefore, it lacked any and all punch.
2 comments:
I've been hearing little snippets about this quite a lot recently. I feel i must see it! Alas, the only cinema in Belfast that would show something like this (ie a foreign/art-house film) doesn't look like its going to be screening it anytime soon. damn it all to hell. still, there is always DVD. :)
I have a really strong cinematic stomach as well. In the end, however, I felt myself less grossed out by Martyrs and more just disgusted by how dumb it was. The transcendence through pain idea is interesting, but I don't think those last 10 minutes justify the rest of the movie's cruelty. If it had been a half-hour short I'd feel differently.
I defend Hostel, I defend Devil's Rejects, etc. But I would call Martyrs torture-porn, albeit torture-porn in the disguise of an intellectual thriller. Honestly (SPOILER FOLLOWS), I laughed out loud when they showed Anna skinless. Just D-U-M-B dumbuh!
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