Milos, a retired porn star, leads a normal family life with his wife Maria and six-year old son Petar in tumultuous Serbia, trying to make ends meet. A sudden call from his former colleague Layla will change everything. Aware of his financial problems, Layla introduces Milos to Vukmir – a mysterious, menacing and politically powerful figure in the pornographic business. A leading role in Vukmir’s production will provide financial support to Milos and his family for the rest of their lives. A contract insists on his absolute unawareness of a script they will shoot. From then on, Milos is drawn into a maelstrom of unbelievable cruelty and mayhem devised by his employer, “the director” of his destiny. Vukmir and his cohorts will stop at nothing to complete his vision. In order to escape the living cinematic hell he’s put into, and save his family’s life, Milos will have to sacrifice everything – his pride, his morality, his sanity, and maybe even his own life.
A Serbian Film is not a typical film, and thus it shall not receive a typical review. To try to properly harness all of the genuine feelings I have about this film would be a genuinely taxing effort that would benefit next to no one. Perhaps you have heard the lore of A Serbian Film. Upon its debut at the SXSW Film Festival in 2010, the film quickly became a hushed phenomenon in certain pockets of the internet as legend of its sheer brutality and morality-crushing actions flourished. You may have even found a torrent of the film so you could see if the hype matched the reality. Well, the days of needing a torrent are long gone as Unearthed Films has brought this notorious film to Blu-Ray with a stunning 4K master so you can see the visceral carnage in unsparing high definition. To answer the question of if the film is as bleak and upsetting as legend would have it, the answer is a definite yes.
Is there any artistic merit in A Serbian Film? My gut reaction would say yes, but I cannot honestly say I can answer what that may entail. The director of the film has posited that the basic idea behind the film is that Serbia “fucks you when you are born, fucks you when you are alive, and fucks you when you are dead.” He takes these ideas to the literal extreme as one man embarks on an odyssey that will crush any ounce of spirit he once had within himself. Those who have seen a film such as Hostel may feel like they are ready for what this film has in store for them, but the brutality of A Serbian Film is much different than that film. It is not just that you are seeing some brain-scarring gore and violence, but it is the psychological elements that accompany it that make the experience something truly disturbing. One thing that can be said in this film’s favor is that very few moments of exploitation are done for titillation. There may be copious amounts of nudity throughout, but you are supposed to be disgusted by what is going on. Even so, the brutality, especially against women, is hard to take even when positioned as part of a larger artistic statement.
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of A Serbian Film – I mean, outside of the decapitations, necrophilia, pedophilia, incest, rape, etc – is that the film is presented with a truly gorgeous visual aesthetic. This is not some lowdown, grungy affair that was shot on a handheld camcorder. This is a sleek and well put together piece of filmmaking. The editing is a thing of beauty, and the careful implementation of reveals throughout the runtime keep this as one propulsive journey. You may dismiss the film for its content, but you cannot say its downfall is a lack of professionalism behind the camera. The same could be said of the performers, who are putting on genuinely great performances under the most extreme circumstances. I did not enjoy the experience of watching A Serbian Film, but I cannot say that I regret watching it. The film has stuck with me in a way that few films have, and there is a masochistic part of me that wonders if there may be an encore viewing at some point in my future.
If you are going to attempt to watch this film, do yourself a favor and know exactly what you have in store. You may feel that this is a cinematic oddity that you need to check off the list, but this is not a film you enter into casually. We will not be held responsible for any therapy bills!
Video Quality
This new Blu-Ray from Unearthed Films gives A Serbian Film an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1 derived from an excellent 4K master. As grotesque as the content of the film may be, the production value and cinematography are out of this world. The visual aesthetic leans more into the warmer side of the color spectrum. Colors pop off the screen quite nicely, especially in the deep red of the copious amounts of blood. Black levels hold up pretty well with some admirable depth to the image. The detail level here is pretty insane, as the audience gets a perfect view of the grisly carnage on display. This transfer provides a great amount of texture to the clothing and production design that makes the film more immersive. There is some minor banding on display in a few instances, but Unearthed Films has done quite a nice job with this release overall.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a dandy of a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original Serbian. Subtitles are formatted clearly in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Dialogue comes through nice and clear mostly focused on the center channel. The mix does a good job of balancing this information with the score and sound effects so that nothing ever gets clipped. The film employs a very active score that really brings a ferocity to the proceedings. There are also some interesting sound effects that accentuate the carnage on film. The track has some interesting activity in the rear channels that properly conveys the claustrophobic setting of where some of the misdeeds occur. There is some intense activity in the low end from all the various forms of violence taking place on screen. This track does everything it needs to do for the film, if not more.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary #1: Director Srdjan Spasojevic and President of Unearthed Films Stephen Biro give a very informative commentary track in which Biro tries to coax interesting facts out of Spasojevic. It is wild to hear such a straightforward and even-keeled track being delivered against such a wild film.
- Audio Commentary #2: Joe Lynch and Adam Green of The Movie Crypt deliver a very entertaining commentary track in which one of them has seen the film before and the other is seeing it fresh. There are a lot of fun facts as well as interesting reactions to some of the stuff happening on screen. Needless to say, one of them cannot quite handle what happens on screen. Perhaps even more entertaining than the actual film.
- A Serbian Film Exhibition: A three-minute piece which shows an installation from 2018 of props and special effects work from the film that is a grotesque site.
- Behind The Scenes of NBP: A six-minute piece which shows behind the scenes footage of the birthing scene including the mold of the baby and how the special effects were pulled off.
- Brussels Film Fest Q&A: A 47-minute vintage Q&A in which the creative team are interviewed on the themes of the film, the controversy around the film, the world premiere at SXSW and more.
- Photo Gallery: A collection of behind-the-scenes photos from the production of the film are provided here.
- A Serbian Documentary Preview: A four-minute look at a documentary that will be released chronicling the making of the film as well as new interviews reflecting on the legacy of the film.
- Q&A with Srdjan & Jelena: A 28-minute Q&A conducted in 2018 with director Srdjan Spasojevic and actress Jelena Gavrilović in which they discuss the impact of the film on their careers among other topics including casting and initial impressions upon reading the script. Perhaps the most interesting fact gleaned from this is that Jelena is the voice of Serbian Elsa from Frozen. This one is quite a bit of fun if you are a fan of the film.
- Trailers: A trailer for A Serbian Film is provided. There are also trailers for Untold Story, The Song of Solomon, Torched, Unnamable, Nightwish and Snuff Porn Holocaust.
Final Thoughts
A Serbian Film is not a film that should be entered upon lightly. The anticipation of seeing what all the fuss is about may not live up to the reality of seeing all of these events depicted on screen. The film should in no way be thrown into the garbage, but its artistic merit will vary from person to person. Even I am not sure if all of the points it is trying to make are valid, but there is a degree of technical competency in the execution that should not be dismissed. Unearthed Films has given the film a Blu-Ray that looks and sounds incredible and features a nice assortment of special features. If you know EXACTLY what you are getting into and still want to proceed with a purchase, this disc will more than please fans.
A Serbian Film is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Unearthed Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
