THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A PORNO GANG

(A.k.a. ZIVOT I SMRT PORNO BANDE)

Marko (Mihajlo Jovanovic) is looking for a purpose, and a way to make some kind of a living, in the debris that’s been left of his Serbian homeland following the Balkan wars in the late 90s.

He’s young, naïve and led as much by his cock as he is his desire to enlighten the rest of the world to his country’s impossible politics. He starts making dodgy student art films, which means amusing references to ERASERHEAD etc. This gets him nowhere.

But then he attracts the attention of Cane (Srdjan Miletic), a shady fat fucker who offers Marko a break directing porno videos. Marko seizes the opportunity but has aspirations above his station, wanting to merge hardcore content with genre synopses and political messages. His films require budgets, and pretty soon he finds himself in debt to the rather unsavoury Cane.

With the arrogance of youth on his side and a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude borne of the fact that his country is in financial and emotional destitution following the violence of the preceding few years, Marko decides to avoid a further beating from Cane by taking his troupe of porno players on the road and offering live sex shows on tour.

This is fun for a time, with Marko filming events now and again in the hope that he can still become a documentarian some day. But, in-between directing the on-stage fucking and getting kicks from upsetting local morale wherever he goes, Marko still has a burning desire to do something more meaningful.

His merry performers, however, are quite happy to party, play guitar, fuck, and get high while sleeping rough between shows. But, guess what? He loves them, it would seem – none more so than Una (Ana Acimovic), who he quickly forms a special bond with.

But then Ruggero Deodato-lookalike Franz turns up at their camp one night and professes to be a great fan of their work. Singling out Marko, he takes him to his place and talks more about wanting to offer shitloads of cash for something a little more extreme. Marko is shown some live execution footage on Franz’s TV, as his new acquaintance asserts a business need for snuff films.

Marko is, of course, initially opposed to the idea. But, the money is good and everyone he knows is existing in poverty in their war-ravaged homeland: people would literally die if it meant securing financial security for those they leave behind.

With this in mind and, having discussed it with his friends, Marko accepts Franz’s dark offer. And so, the descent into Hell begins …

Convincingly squalid in a similar manner to the showier Euro offering EX DRUMMER, writer-director Mladen Djordjevic’s film wallows in the lowlife griminess of poverty and desperation. Despite the title, puke and blood are the most prominent bodily functions on display (pissing features briefly – onto a granny’s face, no less; sweat permeates from every frame). The troupe includes AIDS-ridden homosexuals and over-the-hill drug addicts: everyone is doomed from the moment they first appear. The only question is, can they hit the bottom even quicker by following Jovanovic’s lead?

Expositional segments are briskly staged and play heavily on Serbia’s political unrest (the action begins in 1998 and is signposted by onscreen time-lining throughout). References to bombings in Belgrade and torture executed in The Balkans are heavy-handed, threatening to bog the film down in a litany of allegory. But once the porno show is on the road, the mix of handheld outdoor footage and naturalistic (largely non-professional) performances, peppered with twisted humour and casual outbursts of sex and violence, bring to mind Lars von Trier’s The Idiots (1998). The second hour, leading to an inevitably nihilistic climax, is perhaps marginally less interesting than the first. However, it still crams in brutal slayings, rampant (soft-core) fucking, and people so broken by the aftermath of conflict that they are prepared to die on screen in return for money in their family’s pocket.

Overshadowed by the controversy courted by the same country’s A SERBIAN FILM, GANG is no less angry but more authentically concerned with the indigence of a nation torn apart by the Kosovo War. In fact, SERBIAN is more like a Jason Statham film that swaps car chases for sexual sadism; this is far less slick but much more emotionally involving. It’s also wildly inventive and almost serrupticiously upsetting.

It is in fact, after several viewings, a lo-fi masterpiece. Each performance is disconcertingly convincing; each death so squalid, gory and unsettling; even though the escalating world of shit Marko finds himself in does seem quite farcical. This is the blackest comedy; the most angry and haunting of allegorical tales.

The climax devastates; the ride there is at equal turns funny, surprising, insightful and downright harrowing. Each time I see this film it gets better.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A PORNO GANG comes to blu-ray courtesy of the fine folk at Synapse. It’s uncut (pissing, anal sex, horse sex, throat slashings etc – all there) and the disc is region free.

The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and 16x9 in a respectable 1080p HD transfer. It’s worth noting there’s a disclaimer on the blu-ray’s back cover explaining that the film was shot on digital and Synapse have had to work with the materials that were provided to them. So don’t go looking for something that will blow you away: this is rough, raw and quite indicative of its low budget origins.

Having said that, it looks fine to these eyes, with sharp images, plenty of detail and strong colours. There’s certainly nothing transfer-wise to take you out of the action as Marko’s world – and principles – slowly collapse around him. Anyway, such is the convincing squalor of the film, that an AVATAR-type glossiness would rob it of its strength.

The film’s original Serbian 2.0 audio track gets an impressively clean and balanced Master DTS-HD mix, while the optional English subtitles are well-written and easy to read.

Synapse’s disc opens with an animated main menu page. From there, pop-up menus include a scene-selection menu allowing access to the film via 12 chapters.

Extras begin with the film’s original 2-minute theatrical trailer, which is good enough but doesn’t do it justice. You need to watch the film as a whole to get the kick in the guts it’s got in store for you.

A window-boxed 28-minute Making Of documentary is insightful and entertaining. It also shows how the cast and crew enjoyed a light-hearted shoot, despite the production’s oppressive subject matter and content. Still, there is some weird humour that gets them through things …

4 deleted scenes make for excellent viewing, although they are in truth extended versions of scenes that made the film. No matter, we get more nudity and violence – and more of the genuinely amusing fake short films that Marko makes in GANG’s earlier moments. In-between puking, that is.

Finally, and most significantly, we get treated to Djordojevic’s pre-GANG documentary MADE IN SERBIA. This starts lightly, re-enacting a filmmaker’s wish to gain access to the world of the Serbian "adult entertainment" industry. But then it gets impressively candid and grim. As in the main feature, there are moments of hardcore footage here – but don’t expect any titillation!

MADE IN SERBIA runs for 101 minutes and is window-boxed in standard definition. It looks like crap, but again we get a disclaimer advising that this is the best we can expect. Because it’s Synapse we’re dealing with, there’s no reason to doubt this.

The blu-ray also comes with double-sided cover art. The reverse is billed as an "explicit" alternative: it’s actually the same design (the porno gang’s tour bus in the urinal) but with more obscene graffiti on it.

Some will find this film too cheap for their liking, others may moan that it’s too talky and that nothing happens for too long. But those who are prepared to stay the distance will find that THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A PORNO GANG – brilliant soundtrack and all - is an amazingly powerful, thought-provoking and heartfelt film. I didn’t think they made films like this anymore; it’s excellent. Invest in the characters, and enjoy.

Synapse’s release is the best way to do just that. It looks good (as good as the film can) and has the most amazing extras.

Also available on DVD. But never, ever in the UK. Well, not uncut!

Review by Stuart Willis