"Blutgeil" (aka. "Keen for Blood") is a grotesque Swiss Amateur Gore Comedy that is probably more (in)famous for causing controversy and discussion about censorship than for the film itself. The film as such is not at all meant to be taken seriously, but a very gory and delightfully amateurish 24-minute short which looks as it was made simply for fun - and grants the viewer great fun in exactly that manner.
***SPOLERS!*** The film begins delightfully absurd when a news anchor declares that crowds are joyously celebrating an event in which twenty-one drug investigators were torn into pieces by an explosion. In order to avenge their colleagues, two surviving cops raid the Zurich drug scene and, on the spot, execute drug-addicts whom they deem responsible for the bombing. When they raid a house occupied by drug-addicts and alcoholics the cops are butchered, torn into pieces and finally eaten. The film culminates when a bunch of junkies gather at a table to eat the roasted buttocks of a cop.***End of SPOILERS!*** The plot is incredibly silly, of course, but that's exactly what it is meant to be. If one finds nothing funny in extremely absurd and grotesque black humor, then this is a film that should be avoided. It is therefore beyond my understanding that anyone, including the simple minds of film censors, could take this film seriously or deem it 'dangerous'. "Blutgeil" is certainly no brilliant work of art or must-see of any kind, however, the film and its makers have to be applauded for raising controversy on censorship. As ridiculous as it may seem, the authorities in many European Democracies actually seem to believe that it is the state's business which films their adult citizens are watching. When this film was made 1993, a Swiss court ordered all copies to be destroyed and fined some of the bunch of friends that made it. Luckily, a master copy survived. One of the film's producers, who goes by the pseudonym "Seelenlos" ("Soulless") refused to pay the fine and was subsequently jailed for a short period.
For someone who believes in tolerance, democracy and freedom of the arts it may be unbelievable that European Democracies would employ censorship, but it is a fact that some did until the 90s, and some still do. "Blutgeil" has, in the meantime, ceased from being a banned underground film to being legal and has obtained somewhat of a cult-status. Back in 1993, this film was banned due to its "Shocking" content. What really is shocking, however, is not the film's content, but the fact that people would go to jail for making a movie - in Europe of the 1990s. Nobody was hurt when this film was produced, and suggesting that the film might cause people to commit violent acts is unbelievably absurd, given the fact that no one could even possibly take the film seriously as such. The mere reason for ordering the destruction of "Blutgeil" copies was that some people of legal authority found it to be morally objectionable and therefore decided to ban it. What really is morally condemnable, of course, is that censors think of their fellow adult citizens as unfit to decide for themselves which films they would like to watch, and therefore find it right to patronize them.
As far as I know, films aren't being censored in Switzerland any more. There still is a form of censorship in some other European Democracies, however: DVDs are regularly taken off the market in Germany, and the list of concerned films even includes such classics as "Dawn of the Dead" (1978). This may make online DVD-distributors in my home country Austria flourish (thank god, there's no censorship here). However, it clearly is an attack on the personal freedom of every adult citizen to be patronized by the state in the choice of entertainment.
The film as such is fun to watch, though in no way essential. The film is spoken in thick Swiss-German dialect, which increases the fun a lot and makes subtitles recommendable even to non-Swiss native German speakers. All the characters have absurd, vulgar names, and the actors have ridiculous pseudonyms. At some points in the edited version that I saw, the film stops at the goriest moments and a funny voice reads out passages from the lawsuit that once banned the film - thus ridiculing censorship and providing the film's funniest moments. As a film, it may well be missed, but guarantees great fun to any lover of absurd dark humor who decides to watch it. What the film and its makers have to be saluted for, however, is their contribution to ending the semi-fascist practice of censorship once and for all. Thanks, Swiss weirdo-filmmakers!
***SPOLERS!*** The film begins delightfully absurd when a news anchor declares that crowds are joyously celebrating an event in which twenty-one drug investigators were torn into pieces by an explosion. In order to avenge their colleagues, two surviving cops raid the Zurich drug scene and, on the spot, execute drug-addicts whom they deem responsible for the bombing. When they raid a house occupied by drug-addicts and alcoholics the cops are butchered, torn into pieces and finally eaten. The film culminates when a bunch of junkies gather at a table to eat the roasted buttocks of a cop.***End of SPOILERS!*** The plot is incredibly silly, of course, but that's exactly what it is meant to be. If one finds nothing funny in extremely absurd and grotesque black humor, then this is a film that should be avoided. It is therefore beyond my understanding that anyone, including the simple minds of film censors, could take this film seriously or deem it 'dangerous'. "Blutgeil" is certainly no brilliant work of art or must-see of any kind, however, the film and its makers have to be applauded for raising controversy on censorship. As ridiculous as it may seem, the authorities in many European Democracies actually seem to believe that it is the state's business which films their adult citizens are watching. When this film was made 1993, a Swiss court ordered all copies to be destroyed and fined some of the bunch of friends that made it. Luckily, a master copy survived. One of the film's producers, who goes by the pseudonym "Seelenlos" ("Soulless") refused to pay the fine and was subsequently jailed for a short period.
For someone who believes in tolerance, democracy and freedom of the arts it may be unbelievable that European Democracies would employ censorship, but it is a fact that some did until the 90s, and some still do. "Blutgeil" has, in the meantime, ceased from being a banned underground film to being legal and has obtained somewhat of a cult-status. Back in 1993, this film was banned due to its "Shocking" content. What really is shocking, however, is not the film's content, but the fact that people would go to jail for making a movie - in Europe of the 1990s. Nobody was hurt when this film was produced, and suggesting that the film might cause people to commit violent acts is unbelievably absurd, given the fact that no one could even possibly take the film seriously as such. The mere reason for ordering the destruction of "Blutgeil" copies was that some people of legal authority found it to be morally objectionable and therefore decided to ban it. What really is morally condemnable, of course, is that censors think of their fellow adult citizens as unfit to decide for themselves which films they would like to watch, and therefore find it right to patronize them.
As far as I know, films aren't being censored in Switzerland any more. There still is a form of censorship in some other European Democracies, however: DVDs are regularly taken off the market in Germany, and the list of concerned films even includes such classics as "Dawn of the Dead" (1978). This may make online DVD-distributors in my home country Austria flourish (thank god, there's no censorship here). However, it clearly is an attack on the personal freedom of every adult citizen to be patronized by the state in the choice of entertainment.
The film as such is fun to watch, though in no way essential. The film is spoken in thick Swiss-German dialect, which increases the fun a lot and makes subtitles recommendable even to non-Swiss native German speakers. All the characters have absurd, vulgar names, and the actors have ridiculous pseudonyms. At some points in the edited version that I saw, the film stops at the goriest moments and a funny voice reads out passages from the lawsuit that once banned the film - thus ridiculing censorship and providing the film's funniest moments. As a film, it may well be missed, but guarantees great fun to any lover of absurd dark humor who decides to watch it. What the film and its makers have to be saluted for, however, is their contribution to ending the semi-fascist practice of censorship once and for all. Thanks, Swiss weirdo-filmmakers!
