524. W.R.: Misterije organizma/W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (1971)

Running Time: 84 minutes
Directed By: Dusan Makavejev
Written By: Dusan Makavejev
Main Cast: Milena Dravic, Ivica Vidovic, Jagoda Kaloper, Tuli Kupferberg, Zoran Radmilovic

0 FOR 2

I'm gonna' try and save some of the bigger name movies for the big finale (I'm talking The Deer Hunter, Lawrence of Arabia, American Graffiti, Blade Runner, etc.) so I figured I'd better start plowing through the ones where my expectations are really low. W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism falls under the extremely low expectations category and actually, I still set my sights too high.

How do you even sum this one up in a paragraph? I think THE BOOK puts it best: "W.R.: may be the only avant-garde slapstick cimmunist documentary sex romp ever made and that alone makes it a must see". The whole thing starts out as a somewhat interesting documentary about Wilhelm Reich, an Austrian psycho analyst who studied human sexuality. This takes about thirty or so minutes of screen time, before a fictional story is then introduced, which deals with two sexually heightened females, one of whom falls in love with and seduces a Soviet ice skater. There's also clips peppered in between of a heavily bearded, weirdo in an orange jumpsuit and Army helmet, running through city streets, pretending to masturbate his gun. Speaking of masturbation, there's lots of talk about that, as we hear from an artist who invited subjects to her apartment, so that they could masturbate and she could paint them in the act and a woman who makes a mold of a man's penis, presumably to make a more accurate sex toy. There's also some interspersed scenes of patients in a hospital getting electro shock therapy and shots of a transgender male as he discusses the first time having sex with a man. It's a mixed bag of WTF and if you intend to complete watching of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I'm sorry to say, you have to watch it.

Let's not delay the inevitable here, folks, I was never going to like this. I began work on watching the 1001 movies contained in this text so that I could broaden my horizons and become a more versatile, more patient and more accepting movie goer. However, my horizons aren't that broad, I'm not that versatile an audience member and no matter how many films I watch, I'll never be that patient when it comes to a hunk of tripe like this. Scratch that, scratch that...I won't call it tripe. I'll agree that it's unique and maybe there's something there that can appeal to someone, but even if you're this film's biggest supporter, I think you'll have to agree that "W.R." isn't for everyone and that, I think, most are going to detest it. I'll give it a notch or two for what I called a somewhat interesting documentary portion at the beginning and for a few of the interspersed scenes that held my interest, even if only for a minute (I have to admit, a painter sketching pictures of people in the act of masturbation is somewhat fascinating and I kind of wonder if that's all that went down. Was it a quick "go ahead and do it" and then get out or did the sexual tensions get the best of both or even one of the parties. Who knows). Not much else to say here, kids. I didn't care for this and if you did, more power to you. Although, again I'm thinking that any audience for this one must not be very dense.

RATING: 2/10  Well we're off to a rocky start, but if all goes as planned The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II will be the next two I watch and I have high hopes for both of them. Save me Coppola, Pacino!

MOVIES WATCHED: 903
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 98

January 23, 2014  10:47pm