Begotten 
(1991)
review by Bill P.

I often wondered exactly what I would tell someone when asked about this film. Not that the film would come up in "normal" conversation on the subject, but just how would I articulate what I saw on screen. Truth is, I still do not know what to say to describe the directorial debut of E. Elias Merhige and his contraversial movie, "Begotten".

This is true Avante Garde or Art House cinema to be sure and while I am not a fan of either, there is something about this film that grabs you and never lets you forget. The images that tumble accross the screen become seared in your mind, particularly the almost unwatchable first 12 minutes. I first viewed this film on the DVD we are talking about several months ago and as foretold, it required another viewing. Not so much to try and figure out what I was seeing(I still am not completely sure) but also just to witness the astonishing images Merhige throws at you. As you can probably tell by now, Merhige had his hand in almost every facet of the film. The plot? Well, that's a tough one. I know I will not have to give spoiler warnings here because it's simply a movie that doesn't require any. Apparently a God-like figure(Salzberg) in a leatherface-type mask mutilates himself with a straight razor, this is part of the films near unbareable first 12 minutes. Though filmed in black and white(more on this later), the images of this figure undergoing self-mutilation while twitching wildly is almost too much to watch. After finally succumbing to this horror and dying, this God figure seems to "give birth" to "Mother Earth"(Dempsey) who emerges from behind the leatherface corpse wearing a half opera mask, groping her breasts and staring at the sky. Finally, she bends down in front of the deceased "God" and seems to masterbate him until orgasm. His secretion is rubbed into her belly by her own hands and then finally "down there" where she apparantly inseminates herself. She eventually "gives birth" to an "adult"son(Barry) who is no more then a quivering, twitching mass. Great stuff so far huh? At first the pair are revered by the few "people" who roam the land before what appears to be a nasty tribe of hoodlums decends upon "mother earth" and club her in the head and do some of the craziest things I have ever seen done to a film character! Later, her son is also decended upon by this tribe and killed. The two are later dismembered(so it appears) and planted in the ground where new life soon begins.

There I did it! I don't know if that is the proper way to explain this film or describe it, but that is what I came away with! Without a doubt this is one of the most disturbing, weird and unforgettable films I have ever seen. Trust me, repeat viewings are a must and if you ever come across one of those know-it-all's who claim to have seen it all, just sit them down in front of your TV, pop this DVD in and watch them eat their words! I want to take a few moments to talk about the look and sound of this film. Firstly, there is absolutely no dialogue. Not a single word is uttered. Except for very few occasions and those are relatively short, there is no music score. All you hear are the sounds of nature and natural movement. Birds chirping, leaves rustling, footsteps, etc... As for the look of the movie, it appears to resemble some kind of ancient 19th century film stock that was unearthed in some far away ruins. It is stark black and white and extremely(folks, I ain't kiddin' here) grainy. It is very difficult at times to tell just exactly what it is you are looking at which is one of the reasons why repeat viewing is a must. Moreover, this look was deliberate on the part of Merhige. He wanted the film to appear this way and from what I understand, it was filmed and then refilmed on a black matt or something along those lines and then something was done in reverse, I don't really know the technical details but if this is the look he wanted, he sure got it! Supposedly, to get this look, each minute of finished film took 10 hours to prepare! "Begotten" is a nightmarish, disturbing and truly unforgettable film. A movie you will long remember and find yourself watching several times. You don't even have to be a fan of Avante Garde or Art House to enjoy it either. A memorable and highly recommended film.

The DVD:

Picture Quality:

Here is where I am stuck. Because of the film's purposely grainy and at times incomprehensible look, I don't really know what to score it as. I guess if you took away the grain it would be a fine transfer but with a film like this it is hard to tell if there is any natural film grain or artifacting because you simply do not know if it is the DVD or the film itself! Despite a fullscreen 1.33:1 transfer the picture quality of the disc looks just fine and one thing is for sure, the blacks are right on solid! Also, I did not notice any film damage or speckles and pops and the disc played smoothly.

Sound:

For a film with no dialogue or music score, I guess I can see why the audio here is a simple English audio mono track. The track serves it's purpose well and the "natural" sounds we hear are all clearly audible and crisp.

Extra's:

Not really much here but I didn't expect too many extra's on a film this obscure and barely known or talked about. You get a 12 page souvenir booklet which gives you background on the film and also has an interview with Merhige. The chapter listing is in the booklet and this little 72 minute film has 56 chapter stops all named by the Director! You also get the original trailer which features a neat voice-over as well as the many positive review's of the film from the likes of Time, Premiere Magazine and the New York Times. There are also the usual interactive menu's and scene access. Finally, you get a still archive and if your like me and think you will see the film more clearly through stills, don't count on it! The stills are just as grainy as the movie itself. Not a lot of extra's but it was of no consequence to me.

Final Thoughts:
Is this film for everyone? Absolutely not! There are those who will say the film bogs down a bit after the promising start and truthfully it does, but the images are so profound, I easily overcame that and in the end could not fathom just how fast 72 minutes flew by! This is a BOLD debut film by Merhige, who later directed Dafoe and Malcovich in "Shadow Of The Vampire", and I applaud and respect his guts! To me, this is one of the most profoundly disturbing, yet eerily beautiful films I have ever seen and I urge everyone with a little spirit of adventure in them to see this movie. The DVD presentation is quite acceptable though the film is hard to find and a bit pricey. Enjoy!