thenovafiends

I can understand why people may have issue with this film. There is very little concessions to structure, plot or character development. Judging it by the standards of Hollywood entertainment, this movie is a total failure. It is the definition of a Love it or Hate it kind of film.

With that said, this movie is a surrealist masterpiece. It follows the tradition of El Topo by using a familiar genre as an anchor for profound exploration of metaphysics, religious/mythic archetypes and the human condition. It is also very entertaining. If the viewer can refrain from the labels "pretensions" or "self indulgent" and approach it on its own terms, they will be thoroughly rewarded with a film that pushes the boundaries of the median to places that are all to rarely visited.

I love this piece. It plays out like a prophetic hallucination, and it is centered around the real transcription of Dutch Schultz's dying words. What may uncharitably be called the ramblings of a dying gangster is transformed into an existential vision through the creative use of rotoscope and visual juxtaposition. Writers such as Burroughs and Robert Anton Wilson, among others, saw the poetry behind Schultz's last words, and this film is a brilliant translation of that poetry. It deserves to be seen. Every aspect of it is fabulous.

Just wanted to give a shoutout to the review titled; "Lowlife outsiders and their wannabe acolytes". Cannot tell if satire or serious, but it hardly matters either way. Writing off everyone involved with the documentary as "perverted communist junkies" is not only hilarious, but it borders on the kinda genius you tend to see in a Dr Strangelove or Monty Python (or Hubert Selby) character.