I just saw this film tonight and I must say that I am glad I did. This is the first of the Cremaster Cycle that I've seen, but I will certainly go see the rest. If you haven't yet seen this film, but have the opportunity to, you owe it to yourself to see the lush imagery and hear the rich sound work. I will not reveal much about the film in these comments. Suffice it to say, if you liked the Jarman film, The Garden or Greenaway's - Prospero's Books, you will probably appreciate this film too.
I think the mistake that many people have made, who commented negatively on this film, is that they expected some kind of traditional linear story line. From my perspective, this film was primarily a gallery with the narrative as a side bar. The film is packed with scenes that are all masterfully shot and incredibly captivating in their beauty and their ugliness. Much as you would walk through a museum looking at the various works and find them either gorgeous or hideous, each scene in this film should be weighed in the same way.
Another mistake is that the viewer absolutely must pay attention to detail. There are many recurring symbols throughout the film and just finding them in nearly every scene is as enjoyable as evaluating each scene. Be obsessive in your attention to these details as that is what it appears that Barney wants the viewer to be.
Much like the scenes in the film, the sound work can also be perceived as beautiful or ugly. This is what reminded me of Jarman's - The Garden. The music in Cremaster 3 is intensely intertwined with the visuals and at other times completely juxtaposed to great effect. Particularly captivating was the the an early scene where loud squeals in the music slowly and laboriously rising in pitch appear to mimic car sounds that you hear minutes later.
Finally, Barney appears to be refreshing when compared to most "art film" creators in that he has a great sense of humor. The inclusion of the two punk bands was definitely not an attempt to illustrate his cool affiliations as another reviewer commented. It appeared to be an honest sign of a sense of humor. Much like the bartender's "bagpipe playing" at an earlier point in the film. The bartender was quite hilarious and apparently intentionally so. He almost had a Shemp Howard quality about him.
The bottom line, if you haven't seen any of the other films and aren't privy to their plot lines, there really is nothing to "get" from this film. Instead there is a rich array of very well shot, framed and arranged scenes with a sound track that is simultaneously relaxing and tension inducing. Prepare to have you senses assaulted.
I think the mistake that many people have made, who commented negatively on this film, is that they expected some kind of traditional linear story line. From my perspective, this film was primarily a gallery with the narrative as a side bar. The film is packed with scenes that are all masterfully shot and incredibly captivating in their beauty and their ugliness. Much as you would walk through a museum looking at the various works and find them either gorgeous or hideous, each scene in this film should be weighed in the same way.
Another mistake is that the viewer absolutely must pay attention to detail. There are many recurring symbols throughout the film and just finding them in nearly every scene is as enjoyable as evaluating each scene. Be obsessive in your attention to these details as that is what it appears that Barney wants the viewer to be.
Much like the scenes in the film, the sound work can also be perceived as beautiful or ugly. This is what reminded me of Jarman's - The Garden. The music in Cremaster 3 is intensely intertwined with the visuals and at other times completely juxtaposed to great effect. Particularly captivating was the the an early scene where loud squeals in the music slowly and laboriously rising in pitch appear to mimic car sounds that you hear minutes later.
Finally, Barney appears to be refreshing when compared to most "art film" creators in that he has a great sense of humor. The inclusion of the two punk bands was definitely not an attempt to illustrate his cool affiliations as another reviewer commented. It appeared to be an honest sign of a sense of humor. Much like the bartender's "bagpipe playing" at an earlier point in the film. The bartender was quite hilarious and apparently intentionally so. He almost had a Shemp Howard quality about him.
The bottom line, if you haven't seen any of the other films and aren't privy to their plot lines, there really is nothing to "get" from this film. Instead there is a rich array of very well shot, framed and arranged scenes with a sound track that is simultaneously relaxing and tension inducing. Prepare to have you senses assaulted.