David Cronenberg films the unfilmable. Though almost nothing like the book the title get's it's name from it's nonetheless an excellent film about the life and works of author William S. Burroughs. Like "I'm Not There", "Naked Lunch" takes a fragment...(read more)ed persona and mixes autobiography into fiction, and cuts them together. So it helps to know a few things about William S. Burroughs before going on.
Things like he "accidentally", shot and killed his wife in Mexico while tryng drunkenly to perform this films William Tell Routine, an event which would start Burroughs in his writing career(William and "Tell" being a strange coincidence for a writer named William), he was addicted to various drugs until his death in his 80's, heroin longer than any, did once work as an exterminator, spent a good deal of time in Tangiers and North Africa, was monotone voiced and always sharply dressed, though the film shows him as more bi-sexual than gay(he did have children), but was overwhelmingly gay(read a few of his books and you will get the overwhelming part). Was also an expert marksman, a gun enthusiast, and afraid/obsessed of centipedes. His friends in the film(who help get his book published) are supposed to be young versions of beat writers Jack Kerouc and Alan Ginsberg. If you look closely you can see that several different places are built out of the same sets, as the protagonist Bill Lee, doesn't really go anywhere, but into his head. (Oh the murder aspect of the Burroughs story is also basis of another film from 2000 with Kiefer Southerland as Burroughs, called "Beat", but it's not so great.)
But does any of that really explain why the type writers are insects who speak out of their assholes? Well the asshole story in the car ride, is a "routine' he used to do at dinner parties, as well as the asshole in general being both for Burroughs as a gay man a place of desire(or desires not spoken) and a social symbol of everything in life we avoid or would rather not say. As for what the title "Naked Lunch" means, it's the point during a meal when one looks down their fork and realizes what it is they've been consuming and eating all this time, where the true nature of the meal is revealed(not that this get's discussed in the movie)
Without any of that information and before I started reading Burroughs, I had no idea what was going on, in this movie save something about drug addiction, sexual identity confusion, and paranoia (which it is too) afterwords though I was amazed at how much David Cronenberg was able to bring together. It's not really an adaptation of "Naled Lunch" the book, but a Burroughs inspired film about Burroughs, that uses the techniques, preoccupations, and ideas of the author and his life to tell a Burroughs story. Because any type of literal adaptation of the book would probably be banned in every country on Earth...well maybe not Japan where incidentally you can buy the insect/asshole type writer (Who can say Christmas wish?)
So yeah if you like "wierd movies" you'll like this, if you like William S. Burroughs or David Cronenberg you should like it, everyone else though, approach with caution, even for "drug" cinema, there really isn't anything like this
Things like he "accidentally", shot and killed his wife in Mexico while tryng drunkenly to perform this films William Tell Routine, an event which would start Burroughs in his writing career(William and "Tell" being a strange coincidence for a writer named William), he was addicted to various drugs until his death in his 80's, heroin longer than any, did once work as an exterminator, spent a good deal of time in Tangiers and North Africa, was monotone voiced and always sharply dressed, though the film shows him as more bi-sexual than gay(he did have children), but was overwhelmingly gay(read a few of his books and you will get the overwhelming part). Was also an expert marksman, a gun enthusiast, and afraid/obsessed of centipedes. His friends in the film(who help get his book published) are supposed to be young versions of beat writers Jack Kerouc and Alan Ginsberg. If you look closely you can see that several different places are built out of the same sets, as the protagonist Bill Lee, doesn't really go anywhere, but into his head. (Oh the murder aspect of the Burroughs story is also basis of another film from 2000 with Kiefer Southerland as Burroughs, called "Beat", but it's not so great.)
But does any of that really explain why the type writers are insects who speak out of their assholes? Well the asshole story in the car ride, is a "routine' he used to do at dinner parties, as well as the asshole in general being both for Burroughs as a gay man a place of desire(or desires not spoken) and a social symbol of everything in life we avoid or would rather not say. As for what the title "Naked Lunch" means, it's the point during a meal when one looks down their fork and realizes what it is they've been consuming and eating all this time, where the true nature of the meal is revealed(not that this get's discussed in the movie)
Without any of that information and before I started reading Burroughs, I had no idea what was going on, in this movie save something about drug addiction, sexual identity confusion, and paranoia (which it is too) afterwords though I was amazed at how much David Cronenberg was able to bring together. It's not really an adaptation of "Naled Lunch" the book, but a Burroughs inspired film about Burroughs, that uses the techniques, preoccupations, and ideas of the author and his life to tell a Burroughs story. Because any type of literal adaptation of the book would probably be banned in every country on Earth...well maybe not Japan where incidentally you can buy the insect/asshole type writer (Who can say Christmas wish?)
So yeah if you like "wierd movies" you'll like this, if you like William S. Burroughs or David Cronenberg you should like it, everyone else though, approach with caution, even for "drug" cinema, there really isn't anything like this