354 - Clean, Shaven

[criterionmaster]

- DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Lodge Kerrigan
- Audio commentary featuring Steven Soderbergh interviewing Kerrigan
- A Subjective Assault: Lodge Kerrigan's "Clean, Shaven", a new video essay, written and narrated by critic Michael Atkinson
- The film's original soundtrack, composed by Hahn Rowe, and selections from the film's final audio mix (all downloadable as MP3 files)
- Trailer
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Plus: A new essay by film critic Dennis Lim

[captainofbeef]

This one looks interesting, I think I will give it a buy.

[mixed]

Brilliant

[criterionmaster]

Follows a schizophrenic, after his release from an institution, in search of his daughter. It is a very unique character study. I felt some parts were pretty far-fetched, mainly the detective asking someone being investigated in the case out on a date. But most of the rest of the film was very realistic and raw in its portrayal.

It was very creative in its use of sound. It really goes into the mental illness and fucks with you with its frenetic sound and visuals. I was amazed how much they could get across without really saying anything. Not much dialogue from the main character, his condition is mainly shown through voice over of things running through his head, flashbacks, etc. and not through words. The performances were very good, surprised by the little girl who gave a believable performance. That nail scene, anyone who has scene the film knows what I mean, will be planted in my head for so long. I was in pain watching that.

The whole first hour didn’t do much for me, but the last 20 minutes really made up for it. I just loved that ending, although some of the things may have been a little too vague for their own good. It’s still worth checking out, especially for its use of sound. Yet another cool release from Criterion.




8.5/10

Have you seen the film mixed?

[ie]

8.5 isn't your highest rating, but based on how you felt about it, I can understand why you rated it so.

I was fascinated by this movie when I first heard about it. The subject itself interests me, and the main reviewer at Amazon saying that it is the first movie to "authentically convey the subjective experience of schizophrenia. This all-too-common mental illness essentially serves as a substitute for plot," and then the reviewer goes on a bit, but basically he's saying that this movie does things a little differently, which is good.

So, I'm glad that my library was finally able to get a few copies, between the time it was released and now. It will be a while before I actually get to watch this movie myself, but I think I'll really enjoy it once I get around to seeing it.

[criterionmaster]

I hope you enjoy it, it definitely taught me many things about the power of sound in film, and I now watched the documentary on there, A Subjective Assault: Lodge Kerrigan's "Clean, Shaven", and it helped further my admiration for the soundtrack. Also as a bad-ass feature on here they included the soundtrack so you can listen to it on your TV, or put the disc in your computer and get it as MP3 files. I am half way through it and it is a very unsettling soundtrack, but an awesome feature. I also feel Julien Donkey-Boy took on the subject matter masterfully as well. In fact I think that is a more solid film in many ways.

[ie]

Well, when you're dealing with a product of schizophrenia, do you really want it to be solid? I mean, sure, it can be a dull subject, but the reason why the subject has been used so many times - in fact, I might even say that it's been exploited, even though not to the degree of other popular exploitation genres - is that you can get away with such crazy shit.

I'll also give Julien Donkey-Boy a try, even though I won't check it out right now. I just wrote it down to check out from the library when I get a chance to.

[ie]

Just finished the movie. 8/10.

I thought it was a decent character/psychological study and I could appreciate the "effects," but I expected more than what I got. I understand what you mean, Ceedeeohgee, there just wasn't a whole lot to go along with. I also, frankly, loathed the gore. It just seemed shocking for the sake of it, rather than attemtping to add any depth to what was going on. (I didn't care for the nail scene either.)

During the first third, I thought "this is a whole lot like the Woodsman," so if you liked this movie, you might like that one as well.


I do want to give Julien Donkey-Boy a try, though.

[criterionmaster]

ie said:

Just finished the movie. 8/10.

I thought it was a decent character/psychological study and I could appreciate the "effects," but I expected more than what I got. I understand what you mean, Ceedeeohgee, there just wasn't a whole lot to go along with. I also, frankly, loathed the gore. It just seemed shocking for the sake of it, rather than attemtping to add any depth to what was going on. (I didn't care for the nail scene either.)

During the first third, I thought "this is a whole lot like the Woodsman," so if you liked this movie, you might like that one as well.


I do want to give Julien Donkey-Boy a try, though.

Yeah, the whole use of sound and other things like that are the stand-outs, and not what is actually under the surface of the film. I agree, the extreme gore just seemed more to shock really, there are so many other ways you could have shown it, but they went the most extreme way to get a "gross" out of the audience.

Is The Woodsman better than this film?

[ie]

I gave both movies the same score, but I think the Woodsman is the better movie; there's more depth to it, and it just seems more complete. On the other hand, it isn't really as much of an "experience," which is what Clean, Shaven was going for.

You might want to give the Woodsman a shot, though. It won't be one of your favorite movies, and I'm not sure how you think of Kevin Bacon, but the movie has more to offer than just your typical "sympathize for this guy, k? thx" so I can respect that.

[criterionmaster]

ie said:

I gave both movies the same score, but I think the Woodsman is the better movie; there's more depth to it, and it just seems more complete. On the other hand, it isn't really as much of an "experience," which is what Clean, Shaven was going for.

You might want to give the Woodsman a shot, though. It won't be one of your favorite movies, and I'm not sure how you think of Kevin Bacon, but the movie has more to offer than just your typical "sympathize for this guy, k? thx" so I can respect that.

I kinda like Kevin Bacon actually, he was in Friday the 13th. I will give it a go someday, if it truly does have more depth than this film, then I will probably dig it more, just a guess though.

[ie]

It does have more depth, but I wouldn't strongly urge you to go out and find it.

What happened with me was I had heard about it before I got into movies, then a few years later (a few months ago) I saw it at a pawn shop as part of a three for $10. I figured, hey, it looked interesting at the time, but wasn't one of those movies I'd want to go out and see, a kind of passive curiousity, so I bought it. I didn't really have much expectation for it, and I didn't have to put all that much effort into getting it, so the disappointment level wasn't really that high.