Les 9 Vies de Tomas Katz

The techniques of silent, avantgarde and music-video filmmaking in the service of an eclectic apocalyptic parable with bold satirical undertones. The film’s form was apparently shaped in a long brainstorming session attended by David Lynch, Fritz Lang, Derek Jarman, former members of Monty Python (living and dead) and filmmakers known especially to those viewers who like to dive to the depths of cinema (Martin Arnold, Stan Brakhage). It’s as dark as the thought of death for a moment and then immediately brightened with a joke for which the word “absurd” exists. Completely unpredictable throughout. There aren’t many utterly non-experimental films (this one is half-experimental) with the ability to surprise (truly a lot) and most of the them are probably made by people who have a vagina in formaldehyde on a shelf at home instead of old porcelain, but occasionally one emerges from the depths and crawls out in front of the disbelieving eyes of mainstream-oriented ignoramuses like me. Cinemax deserves thanks. 80% (22/12/2011)