Of all the art house anthology films you may have heard of (Coffee and Cigarettes; Paris, I Love You; Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould), the subject of Destricted is by far the most intriguing, and fans of Larry Clark especially might be drawn to this piece for his large contribution. However, while the concept of sex as an art form is explored here, it isn't perfected. The best pieces, "Balkan Erotic Epic" and "Hoist", are really the only ones that are fully distinct from pornography. The former is somewhat of a satire of strange sexual practices, while the latter is an abstract piece about a man with plantlike qualities who finds himself attracted to a machine. Larry Clark's piece, "Impaled", is also not terrible, but it is also distinctly pornographic. Unlike his earlier works, Clark allows the sex to be fully filmed here, and he loses his artistic flair in letting the actors control the scene. It begins as a documentary about the effects of pornography on youth, but ends up as a thinly veiled casting couch session.
The remainder are of varying quality, all of which would have been improved by trimming the run time, and two of which ("Sync"; "We F*** Alone") should probably have a warning for epileptics.
It's worth watching this film for its innovation, but you'll probably want to have the fast forward button ready when you do.
The remainder are of varying quality, all of which would have been improved by trimming the run time, and two of which ("Sync"; "We F*** Alone") should probably have a warning for epileptics.
It's worth watching this film for its innovation, but you'll probably want to have the fast forward button ready when you do.