Some pasted notes on why this is an incredible film

I agree wholeheartedly.

This is a hugely uneven film. In the main, I agree with you, but I have to say there were a few scenes, primarily the one in the kitchen between the chef and his wife, that were simply awful. In fact that scene was so hammy I'm not sure whether it was a deliberate act to highlight the characters shallow fakeness. Maybe there is more than one version of the film going round, but in the one I saw there was definitely something wrong with the dubbing in this scene.

That said, there is a lot to commend the film for, and its notable that those dismiss the film as 'cliched' or 'obvious' all seem to miss the irony inherent in their appalled reactions to the rape - namely, as the film suggests, that we (western society) are all implicit in brutal acts, we just have the luxury of exporting it abroad.

I do feel that the direction is considerably lacking in subtly at times though - for example a cleverer director could simply use the presence of the sword in the final scene to make a link between war and this attack, instead we had the burst of archived world footage instead - ham-fisted, to say the least.

The other thing that really strikes me about the film and the reactions present here is how incredibly taboo sexual violence remains. No one has even mentioned that the chef was stabbed to death in cold blood immediately following the slaughter of his wife, you almost forget it after what is perpetrated against his wife. The fact that we can be so nonchalant about far more graphic violence present in other films, and yet feel physically sick at the act here highlights for me how as a society sex, despite (/because?) its ubiquity, remains a hugely contested issue.

i agree with everything you said above, but i still feel the ending let the film down as i have posted elsewhere

beautiful cinematography? amature micheal haneke wannbe camera movements and long shots which isist on themself

badly acted - mate, just dont even get me started, worst acting ive ever seen and anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron/orlando bloom

misogynistic? as misogynistic as it gets

the iraq thing is litrally hilarious. the rape scene mixed in with the news? lacks invention and is immature film making

THIS WRITER AND DIRECTOR WILL NEVER WORK AGAIN

an absolute sinful film.

No, I'm sorry, it's just a rubbish film I'm afraid. You can talk about Blue Rooms and all the famous people you know in the business but it's still rubbish. End of story. And I don't know who it was funded by, it was a complete waste of funds.

No film has been so relevant to a Blair/Iraq war Britain

Why is that because it has war/news footage mixed in with it's rape scenes? You are an idiot. That is one of the oldest tricks in the book and is something you'd expect a 16 year old film student to do.

It had no deep meaning it was just a way to try and justify the sexual violence & add some kind of political statement to make this dull little exploitation film seem deep & meaninful.

This has been done countless times before perhaps the best example is FORCED ENTRY(1973).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124596/

Which was a truly disturbing exploitation movie the kind of film T.G.E.O.R.C desperatly wanted to be. A truly sick sex movie that used the old war footage and rape combo to devastating effect. FORCED ENTRY makes this tasteles little film look late night hollyoaks and has a lot more to say for itself

Sex & the city makes me want to strangle hookers

I've worked with actors in the past and for what it's worth I found almost every performance flawless.

Ed Wood is that you?

Sex & the city makes me want to strangle hookers

I did like this film

however I did find the american woman and her chef husband to be really cringeworthy in their acting, especially in the kitchen scene.

Also the mother trying to gather people to look for the daughter, although a minor role to be fair.