The most disgusting, horrific, depraved and degrading film
Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 2:57 am
The Snowtown murders, if they read this Wiki page, I guarantee one line will have all the men crossing their legs and wincing.....RICHARD WILKINS called it ''the most disgusting, horrific, depraved and degrading film'' he had seen. It was ''as close to a snuff movie'' as he could bear to watch. At Cannes, however, endorsements and accolades for Australian independent film Snowtown continue to roll in. As Wilkins was unleashing his Thursday morning Today show rant, agents for the movie were negotiating a new distribution deal to the US through IFC Midnight.
The debut feature by director Justin Kurzel about the infamous 1990s bodies-in-barrels serial killings has proved confronting for more than just Wilkins. At Cannes, where it was awarded the President of the Jury Special Award in Critics Week, a small number of viewers walked out of one screening. From Paris, Kurzel conceded the movie was ''visceral'', but said Wilkins's comments about the film were ''absolutely ridiculous''. ''In regard to the claim that it's like a snuff film … well, I don't really want to dignify such a ridiculous comment by responding to it or starting a debate.
''Any violence in the film is completely linked to the characters and their journey. None of it is there for gratuitous reasons. None of it is mindless entertainment.'' Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds had more graphic violence, he said. Kurzel's film, set in Adelaide's northern suburbs, depicts the crimes of serial killer John Bunting and the 16-year-old he made his accomplice, Jamie Vlassakis. The director found support from an unlikely source yesterday. Snowtown's self-styled mayor
Paul McCormack said the film was ''probably as sensitive as it could have been for this subject. It was certainly much more sensitive than the docos that have been made about it. I found some of it pretty hard to watch, but on the whole I thought it was OK''. Snowtown residents were not offended by the decision to make a movie about the subject: ''They couldn't give a shit about it any more. They've moved on. They're just going about their daily lives.''
Agents have also negotiated a sale to Revolver Entertainment for distribution rights in Britain, and independent distribution company ARP Selection for rights in France. Kurzel said the film was inevitably polarising. But he felt its ''themes and the disaffected characters are universal. They're familiar to people in any country of the world, so I think the movie could work anywhere.''
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/mov ... z1N2uXUiIa
