....or "A Plea for Decency" from Robert Redford at the Sundance Film Festival.
As many of you know, Redford opened the Sundance Film Festival this year with a speech which castigated President Bush for his role in leading the nation into war in Iraq. He further demanded that the President do the "decent" thing and apologize to the nation.
Meanwhile, the list of films being presented to the public at the film festival as some of the best and most thought-provoking of the year are the two following jewels:
Hounddog
Zoo
"Hounddog" is another in a long-line of Hollywood films whose intent appears to breaking down the last taboo in American culture. In this film we witness a real 12-year-old (Dakota Fanning) portray a girl waking up as her naked father climbs into bed with her; "dancing" in her underwear while lying in bed; and getting raped by a teenage boy.
Fanning's parents fully support their daughter's decision to play the rape scene, noting that this could cinch an Oscar for the child star.
Only the actress' face is shown during the rape scene, which reportedly has been tastefully executed.
Nothing whet's a pedophiles appetite like a tasteful rape scene. But it's ART ...
"Zoo" is based on a real-life incident that took place in Washington state involving a man, a stud-horse, and a barn. Or several men, actually. Videotape of the events revealed that several men had found the charms of Mr. Ed to be more than they could resist.
In any event, one of these disturbed gentlemen died from internal injuries suffered during the intimate liaison with his equine companion.
Filmmaker Robinson Devor and THINKfilms distributor Mark Urman have emphasized the film's universalism. Urman says the film is "a universal look at what goes on behind the facade of everyday, quotidian, normal American middle-class life."
Devor admits that the protagonist "seems like an oddball at the outset of the movie", but the filmmaker is trying to reveal "the human capacity to do the most awful things, chart(ing) the journey of this unhappily married man who began to explore sexual alternatives, as so many do."
Ooo-kay. I suppose a lot of people secretly experiment with bestiality as a result of being locked into unhappy marriages. Makes sense to me.
Sounds more like some Hollywood types are taking another swipe at the "normality" of middle-class life...which they secretly hold in contempt.
Willllllbbbuurrrrrr! Whhheeerrreee arree Yyouu?
