Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Begotten

Begotten is a 1991 horror film directed by E. Elias Merhige. This is not my thing at all. I'd suggest reading the plot summary at the Wikipedia entry and then deciding if you want to watch the experimentation for its own sake. That part was interesting -but like I said, not my thing. It's just over 80 minutes long.



The New York Times calls it "considerably less intoxicating in effect than it is in theory" and says, "The experience of watching "Begotten" can best be characterized as intense." The Spinning Image concludes, "You have to admire Merhige for sticking to his guns and giving up nothing that would be seen as accomodating, but my goodness, it's tedious." Rotten Tomatoes links to reviews both pro and con.

Weird Wild Realm has an article on one of Merhige's later films that says,
Director E. Elias Merhige's tedious experimental film Begotten (1991) has horrific images & some symbolic crap conveying the brutality of creation, in the main a very lame film with more pretentions than art, though it does show the extremes Merhige might be willing to go for imagery.
366 Weird Movies says,
WHAT MAKES IT WEIRD: A minimalist, mythic narrative of grotesque, ritualized suffering enshrouded in astonishing abstract avant-garde visuals and a hypnotic ambient soundtrack. Love it, hate it, or admire the technique while criticizing the intent—everyone admits there is nothing else quite like it in our cinematic universe.



1 comment:

  1. Anonymous11:44 AM

    begotten is a work of genius. And only a select few understand the transcendental realms that begotten boldly presents.

    Begotten changed my life. Isn't that what a great work of art is supposed to do?

    The most spiritual and original film ever made...

    ReplyDelete