I have nonetheless given this piece an 8, if only to raise its profile. Many have compared this to Lynch's feature-length debut Eraserhead (which Vase De Noces predates by three years). Although I see some similarities - how males deal with childbirth, the heaving black and white cinematography, the eclectic soundtrack - I am loath to compare the two myself. Whereas Eraserhead is renowned for being the archetypal "midnight movie", it is umpteen times more accessible than Vase De Noces.
What drove me to watch this film? As with everyone else, curiosity. I had heard about the infamous moments in the film and thought that nobody would dare commit them to celluloid. When Wikipedia advertised it as a "lost film", a trigger flipped in my head and I had to find it. That the only copy available is a shaky nth-generation VHS lends the film the appropriate integrity for its infamy. While even the original may have been tough to sit through, the constant crackling and pitch-bending of the soundtrack makes it infinitely harder to watch, and the picture quality is so inconsistent that it can take a minute to work out what is being shown on screen (of course, once you have worked it out, you'll wish you hadn't).
On to the "plot". A Belgian farmer falls for a sow and engages in several sex acts with her. As a result, she falls pregnant and bears a litter of pig-children (supposedly mutants - it isn't instantly clear). When the pig-children favour their mother for affection, the farmer is devastated and hangs them all. The sow, on discovering this, drowns herself in mud. Remorseful, the farmer hangs himself, feeling he has nothing to live for. The end. No, really.
Many suggest that this is set in the future and that our protagonist is the last remaining human on Earth. While this could be true, I personally believe that it is a timeless piece, with very little to imply the time period (when were jars invented?). What matters is that this man is incredibly isolated and is, perhaps as a result, chronically depressed (this may explain his romance with the pig, and the coprophagia). Throughout the film, we see clips of him forcing dolls' heads on pigeons and arranging various foul substances in jars, maybe to pass the time, maybe as an obsessive mania, nothing is for certain. What is certain is that this man is a sad case (the actor too if some of the more unsavoury moments are played out for real), and we as viewers have a disturbing experience intruding on his life. In conclusion, this is a thoroughly difficult film to watch and, although I have a weakness for such experiences, you will need a strong stomach and a lot of patience. In no way is this film rewarding or enjoyable; nonetheless it stays with you and I will defend it on the basis that it is not exclusively exploitative and that there will never have to be another film like it.
What drove me to watch this film? As with everyone else, curiosity. I had heard about the infamous moments in the film and thought that nobody would dare commit them to celluloid. When Wikipedia advertised it as a "lost film", a trigger flipped in my head and I had to find it. That the only copy available is a shaky nth-generation VHS lends the film the appropriate integrity for its infamy. While even the original may have been tough to sit through, the constant crackling and pitch-bending of the soundtrack makes it infinitely harder to watch, and the picture quality is so inconsistent that it can take a minute to work out what is being shown on screen (of course, once you have worked it out, you'll wish you hadn't).
On to the "plot". A Belgian farmer falls for a sow and engages in several sex acts with her. As a result, she falls pregnant and bears a litter of pig-children (supposedly mutants - it isn't instantly clear). When the pig-children favour their mother for affection, the farmer is devastated and hangs them all. The sow, on discovering this, drowns herself in mud. Remorseful, the farmer hangs himself, feeling he has nothing to live for. The end. No, really.
Many suggest that this is set in the future and that our protagonist is the last remaining human on Earth. While this could be true, I personally believe that it is a timeless piece, with very little to imply the time period (when were jars invented?). What matters is that this man is incredibly isolated and is, perhaps as a result, chronically depressed (this may explain his romance with the pig, and the coprophagia). Throughout the film, we see clips of him forcing dolls' heads on pigeons and arranging various foul substances in jars, maybe to pass the time, maybe as an obsessive mania, nothing is for certain. What is certain is that this man is a sad case (the actor too if some of the more unsavoury moments are played out for real), and we as viewers have a disturbing experience intruding on his life. In conclusion, this is a thoroughly difficult film to watch and, although I have a weakness for such experiences, you will need a strong stomach and a lot of patience. In no way is this film rewarding or enjoyable; nonetheless it stays with you and I will defend it on the basis that it is not exclusively exploitative and that there will never have to be another film like it.