MOEBIUS

(A.k.a. MOEBIUSEU)

Korea's Kim Ki-duk has carved one Hell of a directorial career over the last two decades. As stunning as his work often is, and as heaped in critical acclaim as films of his such as SPRING SUMMER AUTUMN WINTER ... AND SPRING and ADDRESS UNKNOWN have been, the terms that probably spring to mind most when contemplating this filmmaker are things like "extreme", " controversial" and "confrontational". He is, after all, the man who helmed the likes of THE ISLE, BAD GUY and PIETA.

MOEBIUS will do little to alter the director's reputation for uncompromising and challenging cinema.

For a start, there's no dialogue spoken in the film. Grunts, yes. Screams, most certainly. But no spoken words. Secondly, the plot gleefully trashes family values at every turn.

It all begins one sunny afternoon in the seemingly ordinary household of an unnamed family. The father (Cho Jae-Hyun) is sat at the breakfast table when his i-phone starts to vibrate. He frets; his wife (Eun-woo Jee) lunges for the 'phone. A grapple to answer the incoming call ensues, all overseen by their bewildered teenaged son (Seo Young-ju).

Evidently, the father is having an affair. This is confirmed later that evening when the son witnesses his dad dining with his shop-assistant mistress (also Jee) whilst on his walk home from school. He follows the couple and spies on them fucking in their car. Unfortunately, so does mom.

That night, the mother enters the marital bedroom and attempts to castrate the father. He manages to fight her off. So, she takes her knife and enters the son's bedroom - he's just finished masturbating over what he saw earlier that evening. Yep, she disturbs his slumber by slicing his cock clean off. And eating it.

And that's just the first 10 minutes of this totally fucking bonkers film.

From there, the dad takes his son to hospital and later searches online for ways to achieve orgasm without a penis. Now, that's one helpful parent. The mother, meanwhile, wanders the streets in search of enlightenment. Could Buddhism be the answer she's searching for?

Who knows, because before long things are getting barmy again. School troubles for the son ... the gang rape of the mistress (was she asking for it? Controversial question, but I've never seen a woman get her norks out so readily for a stranger - not even in a porno)... a mid-film segue into prison drama ... the dad's frankly unfathomable method of relieving his disfigured son ... very definite nods to Oedipus ... and a conclusion to events that ramps the insanity up to COLD FISH finale proportions. It's all here, and then some.

MOEBIUS is a very curious proposition. It looks cheap but benefits from great performances all round. There's no dialogue but the narrative is clear, concise and ceaselessly entertaining. It's violent in almost every scene but rarely as graphic as it sounds (editing and camerawork ensure we never see the worst atrocities - but are often made to THINK we've seen them). None of the characters are likeable and yet there is a warmth to the film's core - a suggestion that humanity still exists when people are being driven to commit the most heinous crimes against those they love.

At first, the 'no dialogue' approach may seem like a gimmick that's sure to get tired really quickly. However, Ki-duk is an accomplished filmmaker and he makes it work by way of adroitly edited set-pieces, an unrelenting pace and superb acting which relies as much on facial expression as it does meditative moments of suggestion.

Obviously such methodology is likely to endear this film to the arthouse brigade. And it is a very arty film, despite its handheld photography and lo-fi aesthetic. But the pace is so brisk and the content so sensational - in a manner befitting of the blackest of black comedies - that there's no doubting MOEBIUS is also going to attract a healthy cult following among fans of subversive cinema too.

Terracotta presents MOEBIUS, after something of a hiatus at the BBFC, fully uncut and uncensored on UK DVD. It's presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.

Colours are a lot warmer than I'd anticipated, a lot more so than is the norm when it comes to modern films from Asia. Images are reasonably sharp and blacks remain solid for the most part but do exhibit a greyish discolouration at times; occasional ghosting doesn't prove to be too distracting. Flesh tones appear to be accurate, while events feel filmic enough to rise above the apparent low budget.

The soundtrack is proffered in 2.0 and sounds clear throughout.

A static main menu page leads to a similarly static scene selection affording access to the film via 12 chapters.

Extras begin with a video introduction to the film from its director. Clocking in at 2 minutes, this was originally recorded for use during the film's screening at Terracotta's annual Far East Film Festival and sees the filmmaker highlighting MOEBIUS's themes (that is, how everyone is connected - personally, and in terms of society at large - by sex).

Next up is an interview with impressive young actor Seo Young-ju, an affable sort who exudes equal amounts of enthusiasm and intelligence while dissecting the film's concept over the course of 7 minutes.

A 45-minute Q&A session filmed at Terracotta's Far East Film Festival in London finds Seo in fine form once again, elaborating somewhat on the pleasures of working with Ki-duk and getting into the mindset of his character.

A link to text info on Terracotta and their fest is insubstantial.

Finally, we're treated to the main feature's original 75-second UK trailer.

The disc is defaulted to open with trailers for CROCODILE, BREATHLESS and ARIRANG.

By Stuart Willis