This has got to be one of the most pretentious movies of all time. Put all the low-grade "I'm-going-to-impress-the-world" student art films you have seen together and you still wouldn't come close to the level of pretentiousness the film reaches. This is somewhat expected from one of the founders of the "Panic" movement alongside Jodorowsky and Topor, but where the two latter had a certain balance and order in what they did, Arrabal just goes way over-the-top and loses his audience in the process.
One would like to establish metaphors and symbolisms to the film and it's characters, but the whole "nature versus civilization" story gets marred in the films sensationalism. The audience is constantly pushed away by the non-stop shock scenes and laughably pretentious dialogue (Love? What IS love?). No one cares for Marvel, the nature-boy midget who is the centerpiece in the film. He comes off as an annoying cartoonesque figure which no one really cares about. The inner logic of the film simply does NOT work (compare to Eraserhead for example, where feelings DO come out of the characters).
The film is an oddity and IS worth to see only for that reason (if you manage to sit through it). You'll wind up quoting the (I can't say it enough) pretentious dialogue with the other deranged people who have seen this. Those of you looking for shocking scenes will probably be pleased: rape, cannibalism, ejaculations, defecations, cruelty... Watch LA Grande Bouffe instead.
One would like to establish metaphors and symbolisms to the film and it's characters, but the whole "nature versus civilization" story gets marred in the films sensationalism. The audience is constantly pushed away by the non-stop shock scenes and laughably pretentious dialogue (Love? What IS love?). No one cares for Marvel, the nature-boy midget who is the centerpiece in the film. He comes off as an annoying cartoonesque figure which no one really cares about. The inner logic of the film simply does NOT work (compare to Eraserhead for example, where feelings DO come out of the characters).
The film is an oddity and IS worth to see only for that reason (if you manage to sit through it). You'll wind up quoting the (I can't say it enough) pretentious dialogue with the other deranged people who have seen this. Those of you looking for shocking scenes will probably be pleased: rape, cannibalism, ejaculations, defecations, cruelty... Watch LA Grande Bouffe instead.