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A Serbian Film is a 2010 arthouse film shot, set, and allegorical of life in Serbia, directed by Srđan Spasojević. It is about Miloš, a porn star who is hired for a new film project and kept in the dark about its true nature... because he wouldn't have agreed otherwise.
The plot follows family-man Miloš trying to retire from the porn industry, only to be promised a vast sum of money to appear in a high concept "art" film, directed by a seemingly eccentric former child-psychologist named Vukmir who will not provide Miloš with a script, only an earpiece through which Vukmir will direct him as he is filmed.
Entering the film with misgivings, It only gets worse for Miloš, as it soon becomes apparent that he is involved in a very questionable film which will end up being a snuff film. After a particularly unsettling series of violent pornographic shoots, Miloš tries to quit, only to be kidnapped, drugged and forced back into the production. He wakes up three days after the kidnapping, with only a video camera and some tapes in his possession. Miloš watches the tapes to regain his memory, and discovers the horrors that he has witnessed.
WARNING: The contents of the film are widely considered to be extremely disturbing, so check the examples below at your own risk. Bring the Brain Bleach if necessary.
- A Date with Rosie Palms: After being rebuffed by his sister in-law, Marko goes to the washroom to jerk off, something made even creepier when it starts randomly cutting to Miloš's son eating an ice cream cone.
- Ambiguously Gay: Vukmir.
- Asshole Victim: Well... Let's just cut to the chase and say "asshole" is too kind a term to describe Vukmir.
- Bigger is Better in Bed: Miloš is able to get and maintain an erection without any emotional or physical stimulus, making him a perfect pornstar, but also enabling him to be a participant in Vukmir's film.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Miloš.
- Crapsack World: The film's setting, and according to itself, Serbia as a whole.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Oh, God. See I Love the Dead and Impaled with Extreme Prejudice.
- Despair Event Horizon: Miloš crosses this after viewing the tapes of what he was forced to do, and it leads him to killing his wife, son and himself.
- Downer Ending: Miloš is Driven to Suicide after the crap he's gone through, killing his wife and son as well. Then a group of film makers, completely different from the ones Miloš had to take on, film a porn star raping their corpses. Starting with their son.
- Eye Scream: From a giant penis, no less.
- Famous Last Words:
Vukmir: "That's it, Miloš. That's the cinema. That's film!" |
- Fan Disservice: It speaks volumes when even the sexual content in the film is traumatic and scary.
- Fille Fatale: Jeca.
- Gorn: Given the subject matter, it's depicted in nauseating and brutal fashion.
- Gratuitous English: While the movie is almost entirely in Serbian, there is one line inexplicably in English corresponding to one of the most disturbing scenes.
"NEWBORN PORN. NEWBORN!" |
- Hell Is That Noise: The soundtrack's song Pazi Sta Radis invokes this trope. Pazi Sta Radis, when translated into English, means 'watch out' or 'be cautious' in Serbian, and the music is a low, heavily distorted dark techno riff. The song was also for the trailer, although the red band version alternates between this and [[Soundtrack Dissonance|a children's song.* * Humiliation Conga: Poor ol' Miloš...
- I Love the Dead: A woman is decapitated mid-rape, not that that stops the sexual assault.
- In-Universe Camera: How Miloš retrieves the memories of his horrible actions
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: See Eye Scream.
- It Got Worse: After Miloš has raped, and killed, witnessed the most atrocious acts of humanity, including raping his own son and witnessing his brother willingly rape his wife, he kills himself and his family. Only to then have his house invaded by another set of sadistic filmmakers, who tell their porn actor to "start with the little one" and have the film end with the actor unzipping.
- Kick the Son of a Bitch: Milos' Roaring Rampage of Revenge is pretty brutal, but given how depraved Vukmir and his men are, it's somewhat justified.
- Machete Mayhem: What the necrophilia victim has her head chopped off with.
- Mad Artist: Vukmir.
- Malevolent Masked Men: The snuff film crew.
- Mind Screw: The plot. Especially in the UK cut, where several important scenes are removed.
- Moral Event Horizon: Miloš considers Vukmir to have crossed it after the latter shows the former a particularly disturbing film whose scenes include a newborn baby being raped immediately following its birth.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: How Miloš deals with Vukmir.
- Off with His Head!
- Parental Incest: Miloš is manipulated into raping his own son.
- Pater Familicide Milos kills his entire family including himself
- Repetitive Name: Vukmir Vukmir.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Miloš undertakes one against the snuff film ring.
- Rule of Symbolism
- Ruritania: How the film treats Serbia as a whole. And it is not Played For Laughs at all.
- Shower of Angst
- Snuff Film: What Vukmir is making.
- The Sociopath: Vukmir Vukmir, a self-proclaimed film director who makes the most obscene of snuff films under the pretense of being quote unquote "art".
- The Tooth Hurts: A woman has her teeth ripped out, and is forced to perform fellatio until she asphyxiates.
- This Is Your Premise on Drugs: The film can be described as a very, very dark telling of The Aristocrats with added political commentary.
- Torture Porn: Though like Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, the creator insists that it's an artistic political commentary.
- Training Montage: Miloš engages in one to prepare for the film.
- True Art Is Angsty: The movie makes it very clear that it has axes to grind on the Serbian state of mind.
- Violence is the Only Option: For Miloš anyway.
- White Mask of Doom: Marko.
- Would Hurt a Child: Pretty much Vukmir and the people behind the snuff film operation.