What's the most intense, mind-shaking film you've seen? (Aside from I am Curious: Beige, of course). I'm thinking here of films that leave you thinking about it afterwards - rather than those that merely shock, or épater le bourgeois, as the French would have it.
I'm sure there's several I could name if I thought about it (which I haven't): but let me instead cite two Ive seen recently.
The first is Punishment Park, an extraordinary film made by Peter Watkins in 1971, using amateur actors in a way that makes Ken Loach look like a Fabian. Its a dystopian drama set in Vietnam war era US, which is extremely effective at getting ordinary people to act out a 'side' in a very divisive time (essentially cops and officials v detainees suspected of radicalism). The involvement of the film crew late in the piece kinda blew my mind, actually - at certain points it looked as though the "cops" were going to biff the film crew.
The other is Hard Candy: an ultimate revenge fantasy film to do with creepy internet stalkers and grooming.
Yikes! What a gripper.
Got any recommendations for an old seaborne web diarist?
4 comments:
The Boys has to get another guernsey here.
I know it's almost quaint nowadays, but Lord Of The Flies was pretty confronting for me as a kid. I remember having dreams (good and bad) about it for months after first seeing it, aged ten or so.
good calls FDB. The Boys pretty much covers all categories.
I agree on LOTF, though in my case its book-related.
District 9. I couldn't stop thinking about it for ages after I saw it. It made me angry, sad, frustrated, and full of despair. Nothing changes - ever.
District 9 is a CRACKER Lynne - wholeheartedly agree. Gets under the skin, and somehting about the SOuth African setting makes it more intense.
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