It's not a biblical epic as the title might suggest but a sadistic drama of rape and revenge.
Daniel (Tom Long) is rehearsing some complicated dance moves under the direction of his choreographer Isobel (Greta Scacchi). It's a violent and sexy routine as he leaps air borne swinging through the air at the end of a rope. Isobel is not 100 per cent pleased as she feels he lacks the required deep inner feeling for the role..
With the rehearsal over, Daniel's partner wants a cigarette so Daniel dashes off to buy her a packet. He doesn't come back. Days and days pass, but still no Daniel. A private investigator is engaged to search for him.
I suppose the revelation is that he was kidnapped by three women heavily cloaked in monks' robes but further details are sadly missing. They pin him down to the floor of a disused warehouse, each wrist shackled to the floor, each ankle shackled in the same way so when stripped of his clothes he looks like a large letter X. The black cloaked women hover about his naked body like crows over a human carcase raping him orally and anally as he screams to be released. "He stinks" says one "wash him" And then we see the erotic bathing of his face and body. This is really strong stuff for public viewing. But there is more to come. His hands are released on the promise he will masturbate himself so that the lascivious women can watch with glee the changing expressions on his face.
After 12 days they are done with him and he is dumped blind-folded in a dusty field. Humiliated and disgusted he finds his way back to his partner. After the intensity of the earlier scenes. the film here begins to sag. Daniel clamps up and nobody else presses him for information about his recent absence.
The rest of the film is pretty much a lone search by Daniel to find the perpetrators of his ordeal. I found the scene at the police interview quite unconvincing. And where do you start when looking for a girl with a tattoo on her breast or a redhead with a glorious head of hair. And how do you know it's really the one you're after. No matter. He stalks and rapes them. In a way he's getting his own back.
Eventually he meets up with the policeman who has been searching for him. He seems to heed the policeman's advice "You've been starting at the end. You should start at the beginning". Rather odd advice if you ask me. But it does give you something to figure out as the film ends. As a matter of fact there are a lot of unanswered questions. All the same I'm glad I watched this Australian film. It's very different, though some might find it offensive.
Daniel (Tom Long) is rehearsing some complicated dance moves under the direction of his choreographer Isobel (Greta Scacchi). It's a violent and sexy routine as he leaps air borne swinging through the air at the end of a rope. Isobel is not 100 per cent pleased as she feels he lacks the required deep inner feeling for the role..
With the rehearsal over, Daniel's partner wants a cigarette so Daniel dashes off to buy her a packet. He doesn't come back. Days and days pass, but still no Daniel. A private investigator is engaged to search for him.
I suppose the revelation is that he was kidnapped by three women heavily cloaked in monks' robes but further details are sadly missing. They pin him down to the floor of a disused warehouse, each wrist shackled to the floor, each ankle shackled in the same way so when stripped of his clothes he looks like a large letter X. The black cloaked women hover about his naked body like crows over a human carcase raping him orally and anally as he screams to be released. "He stinks" says one "wash him" And then we see the erotic bathing of his face and body. This is really strong stuff for public viewing. But there is more to come. His hands are released on the promise he will masturbate himself so that the lascivious women can watch with glee the changing expressions on his face.
After 12 days they are done with him and he is dumped blind-folded in a dusty field. Humiliated and disgusted he finds his way back to his partner. After the intensity of the earlier scenes. the film here begins to sag. Daniel clamps up and nobody else presses him for information about his recent absence.
The rest of the film is pretty much a lone search by Daniel to find the perpetrators of his ordeal. I found the scene at the police interview quite unconvincing. And where do you start when looking for a girl with a tattoo on her breast or a redhead with a glorious head of hair. And how do you know it's really the one you're after. No matter. He stalks and rapes them. In a way he's getting his own back.
Eventually he meets up with the policeman who has been searching for him. He seems to heed the policeman's advice "You've been starting at the end. You should start at the beginning". Rather odd advice if you ask me. But it does give you something to figure out as the film ends. As a matter of fact there are a lot of unanswered questions. All the same I'm glad I watched this Australian film. It's very different, though some might find it offensive.