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Before I say anything else, do not watch this movie if sexual violence is a PTSD trigger for you, or if it's simply something you really don't want to see. I'm not being ironic here. Belladonna of Sadness is a 1973 animated film made by Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Pro studio- their final film, in fact. It's the final part of a series they did known as "Animerama," which consisted of three pornographic anime made in an attempt to save the studio, which had been in dire financial straits at that point (if you're wondering whether it worked, the obscurity of this movie and its companions, Cleopatra: Queen of Sex and A Thousand and One Nights, should answer that question for you pretty handily). Given its backstory, you'd expect something safe, sane, conventional, et cetera. This is none of those things. (Trailer is  )https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WkcLMapo_Y The basic plot of the film is: a French peasant woman by the name of Jeanne marries her lover, (slightly confusingly) named Jean. The local baron sets a completely absurd marriage tax that Jean has no way of being able to pay, and uses it as a pretext to have Jeanne gang-raped. Jeanne runs back home in a shambles afterwards, and, to put it mildly, Jean is not the most supportive. Eventually, the Devil himself (voiced by Tatsuya Nakadai, most famous for playing Lord Ichimonji in Akira Kurosawa's Ran and Hanshiro in Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri) appears to her as a tiny imp and sweet-talks her into letting him in, and... to avoid spoilers (as much as this movie can truly be spoiled), things get good, and then they get really, really bad. The best way I can characterize the film is Polanski's Repulsion by way of Gerald Scarfe on a particularly big acid binge, done as a medieval period piece. There's really nothing quite like it, on the whole; there's other films that share elements with it, but as a total package, this movie is utterly unique. The animation is largely... not; large portions of the movie are pans over still images, done in the style of Gustav Klimt. However, when it does have actual animation, said animation is completely bugfuck insane and features such things as a man repeatedly making GBS threads out winged fish and another man with a giraffe for a cock during an orgy. (Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, I'm being literal.) The score is absolutely incredible jazzy prog-rock by Masahiko Sato. It's a psychedelic, crazy, and utterly loving ballsy movie that could not have come from any other country or any other time period. And if nothing I've said so far scares you off, watch the living gently caress out of this movie. It's not a pleasant watch, but I just about guarantee you that you've never seen anything like this, and that alone makes it worth a drat; the fact that it loving owns is just a cherry on top. It was given a limited theatrical release by Cinelicious Pictures over the last two months (which is how I saw this crazy goddamn thing) and is now currently on VOD, uncut, uncensored and restored in 4K. If you're interested, there's no excuse to not see it nowadays; previously, this was actually considered a lost film, as the only previously available version was missing about fifteen minutes and in horrible quality (especially comparatively). At any rate, I'm curious to see just what in the gently caress CineD makes of this movie. It feels like something made specifically for you guys. WeedlordGoku69 fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Jul 26, 2016 |
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Jul 26, 2016 10:46
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This sounds really interesting and I'll see if I can give it a watch soon. My favourite part of the OP Is that they made this as an attempt to bring in a lot of money? Like somehow they all believed what was in the trailer was the most profitable movie they could have made
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Jul 26, 2016 15:55
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This movie is good stuff as I saw it a few years ago (there was a full version up on youtube for a short while). The restoration looks amazing and yes, the fuzzed out 70s prog jazz music is the crown jewel. G-III fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Jul 26, 2016 |
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Jul 26, 2016 16:01
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Nemesis Of Moles posted:This sounds really interesting and I'll see if I can give it a watch soon. It would be more accurate to say that they made the first two movies in the Animerama series to bring in money. Cleopatra and A Thousand and One Nights are, to my knowledge, relatively conventional (though still somewhat trippy and experimental). Those both bombed, so this was, by all appearances, them essentially going "gently caress it, let's just go balls out and see if it takes." G-III posted:This movie is good stuff as I saw it a few years ago (there were full version up on youtube for a short while). The restoration looks amazing and yes, the fuzzed out 70s prog jazz music is the crown jewel. It's seriously a night-and-day quality difference between the old bootleg and the new restoration. It's about on the level of the Aliens restoration from a few years back. WeedlordGoku69 fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Jul 26, 2016 |
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Jul 26, 2016 20:53
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So, I want to watch this movie, but I fear I may be terrifically undereducated and underequipped; I don't have a Blu-Ray player, and a quick Google of "VOD movies" says it's probably Video On Demand. Isn't that like a Comcast exclusive thing?
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Jul 26, 2016 21:05
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John Lee posted:So, I want to watch this movie, but I fear I may be terrifically undereducated and underequipped; I don't have a Blu-Ray player, and a quick Google of "VOD movies" says it's probably Video On Demand. Isn't that like a Comcast exclusive thing? VOD, in common parlance, means that, but also online streaming like iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, VUDU, etc. I'm actually not sure if this is gonna be on your cable box, but it's most certainly on Amazon and iTunes.
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Jul 26, 2016 21:45
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psh like I have CABLE I live in the first-world equivalent of poverty (so I have a refrigerator and AC and I spent like 10% of my yearly income on this computer), but I know a guy who has Amazon Prime, so i might be able to watch it on his account. Thanks, guy.
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Jul 27, 2016 00:11
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John Lee posted:psh like I have CABLE It's not on Prime, you're gonna have to drop 5 bucks on a rental.
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Jul 27, 2016 01:21
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There's a theater here in LA that's been screening this the past month. I keep meaning to go, but work or something or another keeps getting in the way.
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Jul 27, 2016 04:06
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ruddiger posted:There's a theater here in LA that's been screening this the past month. I keep meaning to go, but work or something or another keeps getting in the way. I caught it at Cinefamily. It was exactly as surreal and experimental as the OP says. It's basically beyond criticism, on that point...it's such an unusual approach to narrative and is so visually unique, I don't know what you'd compare it to or what framework you'd use to evaluate it. In general, it amazes me what the creative atmosphere was in the 70's. Belladonna can't have been that expensive, but it's still a feature-length animated film that got made. And it makes Coonskin or Wizards or what-have-you look like Dreamworks.
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Jul 27, 2016 21:02
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Really enjoyed this movie. I don't really care for the insane psychedelics, otherwise great visually. I still can't really place my finger on whether this was horribly misogynist or the opposite, though.
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Jul 27, 2016 23:53
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Xealot posted:It's basically beyond criticism, on that point...it's such an unusual approach to narrative and is so visually unique, I don't know what you'd compare it to or what framework you'd use to evaluate it. That's kind of how I feel about it, yeah. Like, it's been nearly three months since I've seen it and I still frankly don't know what to make of it. eats-almonds posted:I still can't really place my finger on whether this was horribly misogynist or the opposite, though. While I just said I don't really know what to make of this movie, I'm gonna take a stab, pretty much just based on my gut reactions when I watched it. Spoiler-tagged in its entirety because pretty much the only part you can really spoil (the plot) is what I'm focusing on. The thing is, at the end of the day, Jeanne is the heroine. We're meant to be rooting for her, not jeering at her. Hell, the entire reason the Baron has her burned at the stake is because she's helping too many people and making him look like a jackass. While Satan, frankly, treats her like poo poo... I mean, it's Satan. That kind of comes with the territory, really. Jeanne submitting to him is treated less as an outright good thing and more of a desperation-fueled grasp at any sort of agency, and ironically, giving her sexual agency up to Satan gives her immense personal, political and social agency elsewhere. I do, ultimately, think it's going for a feminist message in this regard; it's essentially saying, even bluntly so in the final shot, that women being allowed agency in their lives is the key to a happy society. While the rape is more than a little over-the-top, I chalk that up to it being a Japanese grindhouse movie from the 70s; like with Satan being kind of an rear end in a top hat, comes with the territory.
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Jul 28, 2016 08:11
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LORD OF BOOTY posted:While I just said I don't really know what to make of this movie, I'm gonna take a stab, pretty much just based on my gut reactions when I watched it. Spoiler-tagged in its entirety because pretty much the only part you can really spoil (the plot) is what I'm focusing on. I felt similarly, in terms of its argument or themes. This will sound totally non-sequitur, but this movie reminded me of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me in that sense. Two stories of brutalized women, and the tension between sexual objectification and sexual empowerment in their respective societies. There's even an element of demonic figures taunting them and manipulating them into submitting to evil power. And there's an aspect of self-sacrifice. They both semi-willingly accept their own deaths; Laura opts to be murdered by BOB rather than become his vessel and Jeanne becomes a sort of martyr for all women. I make the comparison only because Fire Walk with Me did very well in Japan, particularly among women viewers. It's a depressing thought, that these stories where young women are expected to perform docile femininity amidst horrifying sexual abuse are stories that particularly resonate there. I mean, I imagine they resonate with all women, everywhere...but clearly there's something particularly true about this in Japan.
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Jul 29, 2016 19:42
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I'm really glad you made this thread
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Jul 30, 2016 00:50
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There's also a companion book (which I thought it was an art book) to the movie https://www.amazon.com/Belladonna-S...onna+of+sadness
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Jul 30, 2016 02:20
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Vincent posted:There's also a companion book (which I thought it was an art book) to the movie https://www.amazon.com/Belladonna-S...onna+of+sadness I really want this book but it's expensive as balls. 
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Jul 31, 2016 22:27
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This movie is on Amazon Prime now, for anyone who was interested but balking at renting it.
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Sep 14, 2016 17:46
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It was playing at my local theater here in Toronto over the summer. At one point (and if you've seen it you'll know what I mean) I just wanted to stand up and yell, "And then the acid kicked in!" I didn't particularly like it but I'm glad I saw such a rare and bizarre film. The sound was super tinny when I saw it, and the soundtrack deserved a better presentation. But eh what do you want from the 70s?
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Sep 15, 2016 03:37
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Chris Knight posted:I just wanted to stand up and yell, "And then the acid kicked in!" Please never do this or anything like this.
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Sep 15, 2016 13:55
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Bumping this thread again because this movie's going up on Shudder next month. If you're still sleeping on it, maybe don't do that, because this movie is indescribable.Chris Knight posted:It was playing at my local theater here in Toronto over the summer. At one point (and if you've seen it you'll know what I mean) I just wanted to stand up and yell, "And then the acid kicked in!" Let me guess, the orgy sequence?  quote:I didn't particularly like it but I'm glad I saw such a rare and bizarre film. The sound was super tinny when I saw it, and the soundtrack deserved a better presentation. But eh what do you want from the 70s? Wait, really? When I saw it at an Alamo Drafthouse here in Houston, "tinny" would not have been the word I'd have used, so much as "absolutely loving deafening." Were you seeing the restored version, or was it one of the older bootleg prints? Because I'll give you that those were total rear end. WeedlordGoku69 fucked around with this message at 05:12 on Sep 29, 2016 |
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Sep 29, 2016 05:10
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This is being released on Shudder in October so I am super looking forward to seeing it.
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Sep 29, 2016 05:28
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Unmature posted:Please never do this or anything like this.
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Sep 29, 2016 06:01
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Hollismason posted:This is being released on Shudder in October so I am super looking forward to seeing it. LORD OF BOOTY posted:Bumping this thread again because this movie's going up on Shudder next month. Good to know I'm actually getting people's attention a little, because jesus gently caress, this movie.
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Sep 29, 2016 06:08
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LORD OF BOOTY posted:Let me guess, the orgy sequence? quote:Wait, really? When I saw it at an Alamo Drafthouse here in Houston, "tinny" would not have been the word I'd have used, so much as "absolutely loving deafening." Were you seeing the restored version, or was it one of the older bootleg prints? Because I'll give you that those were total rear end. It was the restored one. Maybe too trebley is a better way of putting it.
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Oct 4, 2016 05:03
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Unmature posted:Please never do this or anything like this. Yeah no poo poo.
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Oct 4, 2016 05:03
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I had preordered the blu ray remaster months and months ago on Amazon. It kept getting delayed and not shipping and I got so frustrated I cancelled the preorder. I'd still love to see it since I'm a bit of an animation buff but it was put off for like three months.
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Oct 8, 2016 03:17
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54 40 or gently caress posted:I had preordered the blu ray remaster months and months ago on Amazon. It kept getting delayed and not shipping and I got so frustrated I cancelled the preorder. I'd still love to see it since I'm a bit of an animation buff but it was put off for like three months. If you have Amazon Prime it's available for streaming.
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Oct 8, 2016 03:21
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Just watched this last night, and I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. There are spoilers to the story in this post, but only to explore themes and ideas. This isn't a movie full of twists, but it's still best to go in blind. You are warned. The movie doesn't really work with the audience, and just expects them to hang on, which is such a daring leap of faith. The art style is beautiful and the animation, when it wants to be, is impressive and fluid and wonderful. The story doesn't start, the animation doesn't really begin, until the rape, which has a horrific animation, but it's also one of the best stylishly done sex scenes, consensual or not. I wanted to think the movie is pornographic, but it really isn't. The sexuality is graphic, but not titillating. Also, despite the constant threat/execution of rape, the movie's story is surprisingly pro-women and feminist. From the start: Jeanne is based in a boring, "safe" status quo of having found a respectable (and honorably poor) man who loves her (when there are zero stakes, mind you) complete to her society's requirements. Her reward for this is the Establishment itself (in the form of a skeletal demonic leader and his wife and his followers, most notably a priest who looks like a Western-inspired Jesus Christ) punishing her with rape, despite her being a virgin. It's strange that they might use the idea of ritual defloration as a it's introductory plot device, despite it's heavy presence in history. Her husband does not fight, he only pleads and then walks away when he is denied. He is physically, mentally and emotionally impotent, ready to be make a cuckold by any powers that be. He is not a character that understands personal morality being distinct from societal morality or spiritual morality. Let's talk about religion. The bad guy is a Baron. His right hand man (besides his wife), his main moral companion, is a catholic priest that looks like a Western white Jesus. Most of Jeanne's suffering is by the Baron's orders, but they are inspired by his followers. Jeanne's initial rape comes at the baron's wife's orders, as a mockery/disdain for Jeanne's purity. The baron's wife attacks Jeanne several times, out of jealousy for at first purity, but then beauty, status and power. The baron's wife's Page hurts Jean out of misplaced love/lust/frustration towards the baron's wife. The Catholic priest, being a "conduit of God", manages to come up with arguably more torturous means for Jeanne, to please the Baron and his wife. It is only when the Baron, having lost his wife and Page and followers, exhausted by a pointless war, his credibility as a leader and is hearing mumbles of a possibly mutiny, asks for Jeanne's death. The Christianity in this movie is the basic vein for all of the xenophobia towards Jeanne and claims of her being a witch. There is actually zero positive comments for Christianity, which is more ironic, since Jeanne is a deconstructed Christ figure herself. Let's talk about the Devil. Satan, by this movie's standards, is a pretty good guy. Hilariously good, despite the pretenses. He is also an anthropomorphic penis (but can also turn into ghostly sperm). Jeanna is raped and immediately abandoned, emotionally, by her husband. For a movie that uses sex as a plot and theme vehicle, there is nary a mention of their sex life. Who, in Jeanne's time of need, of violently entering adulthood and learning of the world's cruelty? The Devil. Not only that, but he is cute, seductive, and playful. He makes Jeanna feel good. This is repeated throughout. Jeanne is abandoned by her husband, ostracized by her village, abused by her peers, tortured by her government, and each time is rescued by the Devil, who is bigger every time, more seductive but also more threatening. It is important to note that the Devil never rapes Jeanne. He comes to her when she is needed most, he is forceful, for sure, but each time Jeanne is given a glimpse of hope and happiness (sometimes orgasmically). One of the most important parts of the story comes when Jeanne having escaped being captured by the royal family, finds herself in a valley (of shadow and death?). Satan admits that he is the cause of suffering (not because he actually causes it, mind you, but because he doesn't stop it). He always grants Jeanne the power of individuality, of self-confidence, of liberation. It is the xenophobic peers that cause Jeanne's suffering. It is important that they call Jeanne a witch before she even makes a deal with the devil, which she does for her husband's well-being. It is in the valley, when Jeanne has been punished by everyone that she has helped, that is victimized for being good for society, that she turns to the only savior she has, the Devil. And her reward? Ecstasy. There are only two positive sex scenes in the movie: Jeanne's ultimate union with Satan, which is so ecstatically orgasmic, that is transcends space, time, logic, and gives us the most visually intriguing moment of the movie (the sex scene is almost like a collage of images that begin in the meta-realm of the movie's production, the early 1970's and quickly digresses all the way back to the movie's present, continuing into prehistoric ages, and eventually the world's beginning). It is a moment that shows that sex is also the birth of the world, that it will exist throughout time, as has sin, pain, society, and the devil. The sex scene with the devil is arguably the most human moment, as it addresses at a break-neck speed, human accomplishment, the drive for life, and that pleasure can be found. During this scene, Jeanne also swells up, notably in the breasts, hips, buttocks, as if she's grown pregnant with the world. Also important to note is that most of the symbolism of this scene is based on Western ideas, heavily emphasizing the counterculture movement in America during the 60's. Anyway, Jeanne and the devil have sex, and Jeanne is fully liberated. By creating a union with the devil, she is fully liberated from the pain of her world. She is more beautiful than ever, in every way (aesthetically, emotionally, mentally, etc.) So much so that she feels it is a punishment, when arguably it's the best thing that happens to her, because the society begins to bend around this change, they too want liberation (which comes in another hallucinatory orgy). It is only after Jeanne has become an actual Witch that society accepts her, or more appropriately, attempt to be like her. It is only after she is a Witch that she has sex with her husband, who she forgives in the movie's second positive sex scene, and the only mention of Jeanne and Jean having sex. Jeanne effectively becomes a symbol of feminism. She overcomes the brutality of the men in her society. The Page comes to her help to seduce the Baron's wife, which she does by having the Baron's wife embrace her humanity and sexuality, leading to their death. She and her husband share the same name, they are dualities of the same character, but Jeanne, despite receiving everything worse than her husband, manages to push forward and become a better person, where her husband foolishly never makes a decision for himself, becomes obsessed with his failure and suffering despite his wife clearly suffering more than him, becomes a drunk, loses a hand, allows himself to be victimized, and stands up for his rights when it's clearly too late: his moment of realization is after Jeanne's already been set aflame on her cross of martyrdom, and he is, again, rendered impotent by more phallic objects, this time a series of spears that penetrate him. She liberates her village from oppression countless times, and eventually they get it, they're inspired to live for themselves, even if it means dying. The movie ends on a strange message of The French Revolution as well, with an illustration of a woman, breasts bared from a torn shirt, waving the French flag in battle (a famous painting I don't know). There's a strange mix of spirituality. As mentioned, there are many moments where Jeanne is made into a Christ figure, or that idea is taken differently. Jeanne, like Jesus, confronts the devil before their death in a valley, but instead of denying the devil, Jeanne embraces it. She performs miracles, but they come from the earth's vegetation. She promotes freedom, but it's a freedom from the establishment, a liberation of sexuality and personal freedom and expression. She dies on a cross, but also as a Witch, also with forgiveness to her captors. She inspires the multitude that sees her die, she is reborn through them. Jeanne is arguably the only Christian in the entire movie, despite her deals with the Devil. She is, in every way, doing what's right for the people and herself, understanding that happiness isn't really the goal, but a side-effect for doing what's right. Society hates her for basically wanting human rights. There's also a strange sense of Buddhism, as well: karma plays a role in the story, and the world we are shown is ambivalently cruel, that everyone suffers, and that the only redeemable path is a personal journey for a personal truth. Jeanne forgives everyone that hurts her. This is probably my biggest complaint: Rape isn't great, even if it's served with the intent and purpose of expressing important themes and ideas of humanism; it's not fun to be confronted with it, especially in our entertainment. And Belladonna does not shy away from this story component, and arguably manages to make artistic strides in this violent storytelling. There are some wonderfully animated moments that I would love to share with friends, but I'm not going to be That Guy and insist on how great the rape cartoon is, despite the context and intention of the piece.That said, this movie is still insanely relevant, beautiful, heartbreaking, but also spiritual, human, and ultimately optimistic in it's message. Similar titles: The VVitch, The Vegetarian by Han Kang
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Dec 27, 2016 15:44
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I finally got around to watching this on Shudder. I adored it. This style of animation - this lurid, abstract, unpredictable, beautiful style - is right up my alley. Just when I thought the film was finished wowing me, it wowed me again. And again. And again. I was absolutely dazzled. This is a bold, unique piece of art, and one of the most fascinating and gorgeous animated films I've seen.
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Dec 28, 2016 04:24
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Spatulater bro! posted:I finally got around to watching this on Shudder. I adored it. This style of animation - this lurid, abstract, unpredictable, beautiful style - is right up my alley. Just when I thought the film was finished wowing me, it wowed me again. And again. And again. I was absolutely dazzled. This is a bold, unique piece of art, and one of the most fascinating and gorgeous animated films I've seen. I was pretty much sold on the animation during the beginning, when the rape was first symbolized by her being ripped in half. There's graphic, there's pornographic, but that moment, despite it's horror and disturbing content, is animated so well, and the symbolism is simple, effective, and great.
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Dec 28, 2016 14:36
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Forgive the thread necroing but TCM is showing this in a few hours in case anyone cares. It seems like a fairly odd broadcasting choice for the network.
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Mar 5, 2017 05:46
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poo poo thanks for the heads up! Tcm owns, they showed Miami Connection sometime last year. And Hausu.
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Mar 5, 2017 06:24
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