- Film Review
- Reviewed By Sloan Freer
-
3 out of 5
The grotesqueries of the flesh are celebrated in all their stomach-churning glory in this outrageous black comedy horror. An explicit tale of three generations of men, each with their own bodily obsession, it's a sensory assault that's definitely not for the squeamish. Hungarian director/co-writer Gyorgy Palfi seems to revel in pressing viewers' shock buttons, as he introduces us briefly to a sexually frustrated military orderly (Csaba Czene) during the Second World War, before focusing on his son (Gergo Trocsanyi), an obese speed-eating champion. Thanks to his vomit-inducing talents, he becomes a 1960s Soviet Bloc hero, and ends up finding romance with another corpulent contestant. He subsequently fathers a skinny taxidermist (Marc Bischoff), who's the protagonist of the third part of the film that's set in the present day. At times the baroque visuals and surreal scenarios play like a warped version of Monty Python, skilfully diverting attention from the uneven plot. But it's in the Grand Guignol excesses that Palfi really excels, though his imaginative vision remains a seriously acquired taste.
Plot Summary
Black comedy horror drama. A sexually frustrated hospital orderly fathers a child who grows up to be one of the Soviet Bloc's most accomplished speed-eating champions. He attracts the romantic attention of another, equally corpulent contestant and the pair have a child. However, their offspring grows up to be the opposite of his parents - a skinny, morose taxidermist.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Vendel Morosgovanyi
- Csaba Czene
- Kalman Balatony
- Gergo Trocsanyi
- Lajoska Balatony
- Marc Bischoff
- Gizella "Gizi" Aczel
- Adel Stanczel
- Lieutenant
- Istvan Gyuricza
- Lieutenant's wife
- Piroska Molnar
- Older Kalman
- Gabor Mate
- Dr Andor Regoczy
- Geza D Hegedus
- Uncle Jeno
- Istvan Hunyadkurti
- Bela Miszlenyi
- Zoltan Koppany
Crew
- Director
- Gyorgy Palfi
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