Customer Reviews

Of Freaks and Men

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OF FREAKS AND MEN is a constantly interesting story and film-------very well photographed---------about a strange, psychopathic pornographer who makes movies of women being whipped by a "nanny" for the underground market at the turn of the century. The film is shot in a sepia tone to give a nice authenticity to the proceedings. If you've seen photographs from the fin-de-siecle, you realize what marvelous recreations of those romantic-------though risqué--------photographs the filmmakers have achieved. Many of them look very much like the photographs of Julia Margaret Cameron----------one of the finest photographers working after the Civil War, who specialized in photographing women in dream like, highly romantic, almost spiritual scenes. She never did photos like this, of course, but the same care was taken in the art direction of this film.

But most interesting of all is the psychological workings of the minds of the very respectable middle class characters who find themselves drawn to this seedy business against their wills, but are quite willing to pursue their newfound inner freedom after the pornographer has left. This is one of Image Entertainment's most artistic releases for 2001. More please.

Jay F.

Of Freaks and men is a an astonsihing and powerful film. The first time i saw it, i thought the location and the way it was filmed was just mesmorising. The camera techniques the director performs really mix well with the emotional parts, and the comedic parts. The fact that it was filmed in one distinct colour really puts the cherry on the cake for this film. Each cast member gives a powerful, but realistic performance in this fantastic story. Of Freaks And Men is really a tale to engage into.

Indeed - very well-done. The action takes place in Saint-Petersburg in the beginning of the XX century - to attract viewers attention to the time depicting, the director films it in yellowish colours - not in black and white, and taking into consideration the plot of the movie, this colour scheme brings the feeling of something which is not normal, crazy and strange. Sergey Makovetskiy (leading part) acts brilliantly - as good as in no other of his movies.

No matter how disgusted one is with what you see in this film, if you watch it till the end, you are an accomplice. You have no choice but to be uttely fascinated by its bizzare beauty and stylish atmosphere. Amazing cinematography combined with melancholic music. You will never find this film at your local ...video [store] so buy it now and join the darker side of human beings.

Filmed in the golden-sepia color of an early talkie-movie, Of Freaks and Men, a 1998 movie, has a measured pace, angelic music, and a story line that assaults every sensitivity before offering reprieve.
Basically, this is a cyclic bourgeoisie/neo-bourgeoisie tale. The principal characters on the bourgeoisie side are the charming innocents: Leeza, the Freaks (Siamese-twin boys with angelic voices and personalities), and their adopting mother, the blind Yekaterina. These people are humiliatingly defiled and commercially exploited by the murderous Johann and his kin/cohorts Grunya and Viktor.
An emphasis on camera and phonograph (commercial tools) and the money exchanged between accomplices-in-crime i.e. cameraman and director (and paying audiences!) allows Of Freaks and Men to be viewed as a critique of the divisive/exploitative dehumanization that monopolistic capitalism can sickeningly produce. Yet, there's greater ambiguity and depth to this movie than that.
Most rewarding, arguably,(when considering how individuals move in this tale from closed/protected family/societal status to the opening-out vulnerable-and-being-hurt but self-developing status) is to view this drama as an innocence-to-experience tale which then moves forward to dramatize the even more mysterious and more demanding phase of life when a person rationally chooses to re-experience abuses until forgiveness offers understanding, deliverance, redemption, and, eventually, full and compassionate personal freedom. There are many views to consider though ... that's the joy of true cinematic art!
The DVD has no extras other than on/off subtitles and scene selection. There's no information about the director, cast or additional movies! Nevertheless, disappointments aside, this fearlessly profane morality/redemption tale still merits 5 stars!

Bold, experimental film with overtones of David Lynch, Peter
Greenaway and others, but on first viewing at least seemed
to have more style than substance.

Photographed on scratchy black and white and sepia toned films,
and using titles like a silent film even though there is dialogue,
there's a fascinating sense of being dislocated in time by this story
of exploiters and pornographers in turn of the 20th century Russia.

Thematically it explores all sorts of exploitive relationships, particularly
sexual, and the idea that all cinema, is in it's own way, porn.

But somehow the ideas don't seem all that deep. I felt like I got the
films message long before it was over. Still, the visuals kept me
hooked, and I'd definitely give it another look to see if it grew deeper
on a second viewing. It's one of those films that demands at least
that much respect.

On the outside, Of Freaks and Men is about the Mafia and Spanking Porn. Yet the Message is deeper than found in many hollywood movies.

Of Freaks and Men is telling you something where it is not telling you something. It doesn't say what the relationship between Johan and "nanny" is. Why does Johan cry so much when she dies? She is unawares of her surroundings except when she is beating someone. In tsarist russia, these beatings were common until the Bolshevik Revolution outlawed beatings in 1917. Schools ended all forms of punishment. This film is easier to understand for Russians who commonly see erotica on TV, than for Americans for whom erotica signifies a porno flick.
For aristocratic cultures, like Britain, the "english nanny" plays the twisted role portrayed in the film. They are not parents. An erotic element usually underlies relationships. Lisa's nanny is Johan's sister who was probably raised by the same nanny in turn. Grunya does not react any more than Johan does when she sees Lisa beaten. How does Lisa get a fascination with beatings? The film raises these questions but does not answer them. Despite all the pornography, the song of the cab-driver in the movie has a meaning deeper than found in American movies, and one that is not understood in the US. School beatings are a "way of life" in the South, says a Texas youth. Corporal punishment causes crime and sexual problems because it is both.

On the outside, Of freaks and Men is about the mafia and spanking porn. It starts and ends with photos taken by the mobsters. Yet the film's meaning is deeper than in most hollywood movies. American audiences also need to understand that sex is much more explicit in Northern European movies.

Of Freaks and Men is telling you something where it is not telling you something. It doesn't say what the relationship between Johan and "nanny" is. Why does Johan cry so much when she dies? She is unawares of her surroundings except when she is beating someone.
The film will be easier to understand for Russians. In tsarist Russia, these beatings were common until the Bolshevik Revolution outlawed beatings in 1917 and schools ended all forms of punishment.
For aristocratic cultures, like Britain, the "english nanny" plays the twisted role portrayed in the film. They are not parents. An erotic element usually underlies relationships. Lisa's nanny is Johan's sister who was probably raised by the same nanny in turn. Grunya does not react any more than Johan does when she sees Lisa beaten. How does Lisa get a fascination with beatings? The film raises these questions but does not answer them. Despite all the pornography, the song of the cab-driver in the movie has a meaning deeper than found in American movies, and one that is not understood in the US. School beatings are a "way of life" in the South, says a Texas youth. Corporal punishment causes crime and sexual problems because it is both.