I love this film, I think it's interesting and clever. But why is is categorised as a comedy? One reviewer called it 'hilarious'. There was nothing funny about this film, it's a drama, a sad one. Right?
shareI'd call it a very black comedy because it's absurd if you think about it.
shareHow can you not laugh at the absurdity of parents teaching wrong definitions of words to their children?
"Mom, can you pass me the phone please?"
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Should have been funnier - as it stands, "funny" is merely an undertaste to "unpleasent", "ugly" and "repellent". Although, yeah, the bits about a real fast cat with a hammer were certainly hilarious as was re-identifying Frank Sinatra as a Greek grandpa singing strange lyrics... and some other day-to-day absurdities around the house. On one level, I'm pretty much capable of appreciating the craftsmanship - that is, the static patience and the appropriately off-kilter way the movie was shot - and the f-cked up nature of it all, but an easy film to watch it ain't. 1,5 hours with these retards and psychoterrorists (the father here certainly qualifies as one of the most revolting villains in film history)... that takes stamina. Especially as for the first half of the thing I had no idea where the hell I'd landed; definitely no place nice. And it's REAL hard to rate, too, this one. In hindsight and for its sheer perverse originality, it feels sinful not to go up to 7 at the very least... but the enjoyment factor, but the enjoyment factor...
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
In his address to the 1988 Republican National Convention, Ronald Reagan introduced a section of his speech with the words:
"Before we came to Washington, Americans had just suffered the two worst back-to-back years of inflation in 60 years. Those are the facts, and as John Adams said, ‘Facts are stubborn things.’"
This paragraph, and the following four paragraphs, finished with Adams’s words. However, at the end of the third paragraph, Reagan made a verbal slip, which he immediately corrected. A transcript of the speech reads,
"Facts are stupid things – stubborn things, should I say. [Laughter]."
However, despite its origin as a slip of the tongue, "Facts are stupid things" has taken on a life of its own in the world of quotations by those ignorant of... the facts.
Well said, that's exactly how I feel. I rated it a 7 for sheer artistic value and originality, but I didn't enjoy it as much as many other movies I rated a 7. An unnerving, uncomfortable watch that made me feel slightly queasy.
shareI recently recorded this on TV because I recognised the title - and yes it was bizarrely described as a comedy. I agree that I found no comedy in the film. Anything that the 'children' did that seemed funny was really just depressing because it showed how messed up they were. Good film - very disturbing.
shareIt's a very, very black comedy. This movie disturbed me, but it also had a couple of odd funny moments.
shareI agree with you, it's shocking and sad. But honestly, in this absurd you might find something 'funny'. Like the scene when the whole family is being taught how to bark in case of danger :-)
shareThis film is a very darkly humorous satire, and I think it's hilarious at times but, I think you have to be a fan of dead pan, absurdist humor to connect with it fully. It's definitely not meant to be straight drama, or comedy, but a satirical mix of the two. I think how you relates to this film can change a lot depending on your perspective, the mood you're in, and how you perceive the bizarre absurdity of the film's world (I have watched films that I didn't laugh at, then watched again in a different mood and laughed all the way through). I don't think this film is meant to be a disturbing downer though(I certainly don't see it that way), I think it's meant to dissect a number of aspects of society, human nature, social development and interaction, etc, in a amusing, satirical, dead pan style (I'll stop now, since I seem to be repeating myself).
shareJust saw it and I really didn't think that at all. Fargo is a black comedy. This isn't. I just think it's a foreign film from a land where their idea of movie entertainment is very different from Hollywood's. (Different and weird.)
If you think it's a satire, what is it a satire of?
I just wasn't made for these times. (Brian Wilson)
These are some of the directors own words...
"I wanted the contrast of parents trying to create a very beautiful environment where the kids were beautiful, where everything’s beautiful. And next to all of that, these things that they’re doing are horrible and tragic—they’re destroying and deforming their kids in many ways. This thin line of going from tragedy to humor to ridiculousness is something we really wanted to keep"
"The one thing I’m most proud of is people laughing within a situation but also being shocked. It stimulates your brain more than just violence or just laughter, because your mind is on edge all of the time"
"Some people find the film very funny; some don’t, because they get into the theme of the movie so deeply that they can’t really see how funny these things are. I really like that. I like the film to be open—for people to interact with it. I’m not satisfied with one type of feeling from the audience. I’m satisfied if people are experiencing it in different ways"
So it's understandable if you just found the film dark and disturbing, but it's definitely meant to be darkly humorous as well.
It's definitely not "hilarious". It has a creepy, disturbing tone to it most of the way, but there are some darkly humourous moments.
Unusual film, to say the least, but glad I watched it.
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