Dimitris T
Slowly pacing but consistent and efficient with the themes it explores. This film develops its main story, the romance growing between two western visitors aboard a Japanese whaling vessel, in tandem with some artistic processes that have a kind of ritualistic character, all with injected aspects of Japanese culture. It may be a difficult watch, but it is curious to look at.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
08/16/24
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Audience Member
if you are up to the challenge and approach it with a little bit of prepartion, there is plenty of beauty and hypnotism here. but, compared to the Cremaster juggernaut, it definitely is a more open-ended, emptier universe.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
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Audience Member
This film is as self-absorbed and annoying as it is fascinating and visually tasteful. If you like pretentious new age art, this film is for you.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
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Audience Member
Antes de empezar a describir la tortura que es ver esta cinta dejenme confesar que soy fan de la musica de Bjork y tambien de la serie "Cremaster" del director Matthew Barney. "Cremaster" funciona por su corta duracion y por el hecho de que uno puede dejar de verlos y no se pierde de mucho; en realidad son como videos experimentales sin una narrativa. Ahora imaginense un video "Cremaster"que dura mas de dos horas y cuarto y que cuenta con uno de los soundtracks mas irritantes que han escuchado.
"Drawing Restraint 9" es un proyecto de total vanidad para Bjork y Barney, casi como una perversa prueba a la audiencia para provocarla a salirse y maldecir a los que crearon semejante experimento putrido. He aqui una de las peliculas mas frustantes que he tenido que aguantar. En su aire pretensioso y pseudo-intelectual, "Drawing Restraint 9" es equivalente a los cuadros en los museos modernos con un solo rectangulo de color. Simplemente no vale nada.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
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Audience Member
I read a review on IMDB that said this movie felt more like a witnessing/experiencing of an ancient magic ritual. Some might hate this movie because it's long, slow, and it lacks a narrative. I, however, loved it as an art film. It's a great follow-up to the Cremaster Cycle.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
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Audience Member
Lush.
Ethereal.
Other-worldly.
Utterly bizarre.
Defies viewer expectations as to what constitutes a "movie"(as "good" movies should). Thus, those who prefer formulaic Hollywood-style reductions of cinema capable of rendering plot synopses that can be delineated in a paragraph will be endlessly frustrated and bemused and will bemoan Mr. Barney as self-indulgent (which is perhaps a somewhat accurate characterization, though not necessarily a derogatory one in this context), pretentious, and condescending. To put it bluntly, this one of those dreaded films where "nothing happens."
Without hesitation, I will say that this is perhaps the most visually stunning, phantasmagoric, and audacious film I have ever seen (with perhaps the noted exception of Alejandro Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain"), capturing some of the strangest and most beautiful images I have ever seen on film. The scope and scale of production are astounding in themselves. Truly a remarkable achievement and a testament to Mr. Barney's unflinching vision and relentless dedication to his craft.
Thus, to provisionally encapsulate the linear thread of the film for the uninitiated, the curious, and/or those bored enough to have read this far and to contradict my earlier statement about reductive synopses:
Two "strangers," Mr. Barney, and beloved/despised Icelandic chanteuse, Bjork (who composed the film's soundtrack, providing the aural contrast to Mr. Barney's visual cornucopia), board a Japanese whaling ship. The two are individually led through the byzantine corridors of the ship and undergo various ritualistic preparations. The two meet below decks at a tea ceremony where they proceed to amorously engage and ritualistically mutilate one another with ceremonial blades, culminating in their submersion into a tea-like liquid and transformation into Cetaceans....
Speaking for myself, to put a qualifying phrase tautologously, I feel that "Drawing Restraint 9" is best conceived as a meditation on the creation of art, a glimpse into a process beyond rational comprehension, and a beautiful homage to Japanese culture and mythology.
A "film" meant to evoke, provoke, and inspire, not to passively entertain. This is an exercise that necessitates viewer participation and open receptivity.Those seeking lulling, mindless, hedonistic pleasure in the insipid formulas of Hollywood should look elsewhere for their fix. The milquetoast need not apply. (Was that self-indulgent, pretentious and condescending enough?)
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
Full Review
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