ZOO

[Ghoul]

piter grinavej ima (odličan!) film pod ovim naslovom, ali ovog puta, ipak - bestijalnost!

Zoo

(Documentary)
Directed by Robinson Devor. Written by Charles Mudede, Devor.

With: John Paulsen, Richard Carmen, CJ.


By SCOTT FOUNDAS

Robinson Devor's docu 'Zoo' examines the controversial subject of bestiality.


A horse is a horse, of course -- unless it's the one at the center of "Zoo," a breathtakingly original nonfiction work by Seattle-based filmmaker Robinson Devor (whose "Police Beat" was among the highlights of Sundance's 2005 dramatic competition). Based on the widely reported July 2005 incident in which a man died of a perforated colon after getting intimate with an Arabian stallion, pic will disappoint those seeking cheap, perverse thrills and likely baffle as many viewers as it intrigues. But enthusiastic reviews and sheer curiosity value should bring healthy specialized biz and strong festival interest to this ThinkFilm release.

The facts of the case are by now well-known: Kenneth Pinyan, a 45-year-old Boeing engineer, dies shortly after being anonymously dropped at an emergency room in rural Washington. The ensuing investigation leads police to a nearby farm, where they discover videotape of Pinyan and other men engaging in sexual acts with the equine residents. Because bestiality isn't illegal in Washington state, no charges are filed, but the story becomes a local scandal and eventually national news.

Given a premise that smacks of sensationalism, Devor and co-scenarist Charles Mudede have taken anything but an exploitative approach. They've crafted a subdued, mysterious and intensely beautiful film that presents bestiality not for the purpose of titillation (a la the 1970s porn films starring Bodil Joensen) or comic relief (as in last year's "Clerks II"), but as a way of investigating the subjective nature of morality.

In "Zoo," Devor and Mudede show considerably less interest in the events of that July night than in the circumstances that brought them about -- specifically, the online world of zoophiles, of which Pinyan and others at the scene were members.

Faced with the dilemma of having a dead protagonist and multiple anonymous sources who refused to appear on camera, they use extensive audio interviews as the soundtrack for a series of visual dramatizations in which professional actors star alongside those subjects who were willing to appear as themselves.

Front and center are conversations with three "zoo people," all of whom are referred to by their online handles: Coyote, who hails from a Baptist family in a small Virginia backwater and who moved to Washington at the behest of an Internet friend; the Happy Horseman, a truck-stop proprietor who talks of a global zoophile community; and H, a maintenance worker on the farm where the men had gathered many times before the night of the fatal incident.

The men speak with remarkable candor and lack of embarrassment, explaining their animal affinity as a natural desire. As Devor and Mudede weave their stories together with that of Pinyan (referred to in the film as Mr. Hands) -- a divorce who, on the weekend of his death, was being visited by his ex-wife and young son -- the result is like the lifting of a veil on a hidden America.

Despite the film's compassionate approach, the question of whether these men were right or wrong is one on which the filmmakers reserve judgment, instead turning their attention to the larger question of how human beings have revised and re-evaluated codes of acceptable behavior over the ages. The actions of Pinyan, et al., may seem reprehensible to most, but as even conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh suggests in a priceless audio clip heard late in the film, can it be disputed, given the evidence, that the horse was a willing participant?

The film's dramatic re-enactments, shot in lush 16mm by cinematographer Sean Kirby (previously responsible for the equally impressive 35mm widescreen lensing of "Police Beat") create a fascinating blurring of the line between narrative and documentary storytelling, reminiscent of the work of Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. They also offer further evidence of Devor's gifts as a visual storyteller: When he turns his camera on the world, it's as though he is seeing everything for the first time, whether it's the city lights of Seattle shining like diamonds under an evening sky or the unspoiled natural vistas of rural Washington.

Other tech credits are impressive, particularly the seamless editing of Joe Shapiro and original music by Paul Matthew Moore.

Jan. 20, 2007. Running time: 75 MIN.

NE ZNAM ZA VAS, ALI MENI OVO ZVUČI KAO 'MUST HAVE' PRVOG REDA!!!

[Meho Krljic]

I meni. So, nisam shvatio je li već out, ima li ga na torentima?

[Ghoul]

I meni. So, nisam shvatio je li već out, ima li ga na torentima?

YOU TELL *ME*!!!

rivju je, kao što se vidi, od 20. januara; razumno je očekivati da je za ova 2 meseca neko to možda i nekako, odnegde, ripovao...

jebe ga taj naslov, koji će na 'search' da da MILION rezultata, ali najuporniji će biti nagrađeni.
ili barem nagrđeni...

[Meho Krljic]

Daćemo sve od sebe

[lilit]

Imam ja DVD...heheeheh.

(ali grinevejev...)

[Джон Рейнольдс]

Nisam uspeo da nađem. Vidim da film još uvek ima festivalski život, pretpostavljam da će veoma brzo osvanuti ripovan.

[Ghoul]

Imam ja DVD...heheeheh.

(ali grinevejev...)

oho, iznenađen sam! prijatno!  

[lilit]

oho, iznenađen sam! prijatno!  

blago meni.
nesto mi se javlja da ces jos vise da se iznenadis ako ti kazem da je beba iz mekona dugo vremena bila jedan od mojih omiljenih filmova.

[Milosh]

Vern is sympathetic to those in ZOO - the yearnings, the love... the bestiality.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33985

[Tex Murphy]

Ah taj Vern... Da ga nema, trebalo bi ga izmisliti    Izvanredan rivju (osim onog ničim izazvanog dijela o hormosesualcima).

[crippled_avenger]

Pogledao sam ZOO Robinson Devora, courtesy of Ginger i moram reći da sam se razočarao.

Ova igrano-dokumentarna pretenciozna pseudo-rekonstruckija sudbina i stanja svesti koji će dovesti do smrti jedno zoofila i do kriminalizacije zoofilije u drđavi Washington, nažalost ne uspoeva da bude ništa više od filma eseja koji nema nikakvu umetničku ni dokumentarnu vrednost.

Devor je pokušao da nam predstavi zoofile kao nežne, krhke ljude koji su ubeđeni da voloe životinje do te mere da su spremni i da seksualno opšte sa njima, i to bi bio zanimljiv koncept kada snimljeni verbalni iskazi tih ljudi ne bi bili podvučeni ispod serije asepričnih pokretnih slika koje po svojoj strukturi podsećaju na neme rekonstrukcije iz boljih Discoveryjevih emisija a po fakturi deluju kao neki pretenciozan art, dakle izgledaju kao pretenciozan arty tretman jedne trivijalne forme kao što je dokuemntarna rekonstrukcija iz TV emisije.

Nažalost, na Discoveryju i sličnim kanalima ima mnogo boljih rekonstrukcija veće umetničke vrednosti tako da se za ZOO čak ne može reći ni da je u toj formi vrhunsko delo.

Ono što ZOO jeste bi se moglo defnisati kao jedno gusvansantovsko žestoko promašivanje teme, u kome uljuljkivanje i hipnotičkim prizorima i uživanje u delikatnosti detalja potpuno odvlači pažnju reditelja od bazične razložnosti.

Otud u ovom filmu ne razlikujemo čak ni kada koji sagovornik govori, i sve do same završnice u kojoj imamo upliv dokuemntarnog materijala ne znamo o čemu ovaj film uopšte govori. Konačno, čitav autorov pokušaj da sagleda slučaj iz vizure zoofila biva potpuno izvitoperene njegovim tretmanom njihovih reči pošto je film toliko distanciran i toliko su stvari oneobičene da kroz sam postupak vidimo da Devor želi da smesti njihove priče u neku vrstu patološkog konteksta. Nažalost, ni sama zoofilska priča nije naročit big deal. Seks sa životinjama je jedna od ustaljenih praksi, i Devor greši što primenjuje tako pretenciozan postupak na jednu temu koja vapi za racionalnim, ali nepretencioznim postupkom.

Uostalom, kako besmrtni Slobodan Stanković kaže, za zoofilski pornić je teže našao konja nego devojku.

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