Mylo_Milk Review of The Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation (2006)

Interesting (and shocking) gender-reversal

[7/10 · 6 August 2006]

I saw this film at the Brisbane International Film Festival. The director, Ana Kokkinos ("Head On" 1998), was at the screening to introduce the film and for a brief Q&A afterwards. It is an adaptation of the novel by the same name by Arthur Thompson, which I have not yet read but will endeavour to do so some time in the near future. I was intrigued by the plot - a male dancer (Daniel) is abducted by three hooded women, raped and tortured for 12 days then dumped on the side of the road with no clue as to his attackers' identity (other than a couple of intimately located tattoos and birthmarks) - and looked forward to a gender reversal of the woman-as-victim man-as-perpetrator roles with regard to sexual assault. The film is very confronting, and certainly raises questions about sex and power - in the post-screening discussion, Ana Kokkinos said she wanted it to force us to look at abuse with "fresh eyes", as "human beings" instead of from either side of a gender divide. She particularly hoped the film provoked empathy in men, for the constant fear of violence and sexual abuse that women "know all too well". I certainly think the film forces you - shocks you, perhaps - into thinking about the issue of sexual violence, but rather than making men see it from a female point of view I think it highlights the difference between male and female sexuality. By this I mean that while Daniel is not a willing participant in the sexual acts which take place, they are of such a nature that he is physically capable of sexual arousal and orgasm (with the notable exception of one particularly brutal scene). This is certainly not the case for female victims of rape. Regardless, Daniel is severely traumatised by the experience and the film follows his attempts to find his attackers through his mental and emotional turmoil, culminating in a tragic and disturbing though understandable act. Quite beautifully shot, and definitely worth seeing, if you can handle the graphic depiction of sexual violence (which is certainly no more than you would encounter in any other R18+ rated film, but seems to be more unsettling because of the unconventional context).