"The Wicker Man" [Hardy, 1973].

[karamazov.]

From the get-go, the shitty '70s folk music and bland photography seemed to be indicative that this would not be quite the audacious, raw masterpiece of paganist hedonism I had hoped for, but, in the context of movies contemporary to it [Hammer horror, etc.], this was still a rather bold and fun movie that totally defies genre or comparison. Uncharacteristically [I'm usually the -only- person who doesn't expect the "twist"], I saw the ending coming from a lightyear away, but rather than to spoil the experience, I felt a potent sense of inevitability, and -glee,- actually. I think one might interpret the text as a very prescient critique of the so called sexual revolution of the roaring '70s. Žižek very astutely tells us that, in today's liberal capitalist society, where we are supposedly so much more enlightened than our "prudish" ancestors, the injunction is that we -must enjoy- [and, I think, nowhere more so than in the area of sex], rather than that we must not. Consider how any analysis of sex today [or porn for example] is -automatically- seen as "sex negative," and reactionary moralism, with no room for nuance. Anyway, this was a -very- unusual film, full of religious fervor, singing, and fucking, and with a fun performance from Christopher Lee, of course, and I will have to see it again sometime.

[Ag0stoMesmer]

Always interested in what non-brits think of this, the background presence of magic over here is a difficult thing to explain, this captures a bit of it. Sounds like you might find the 'sequel' interesting too. I found it surprisingly OK.

[MacSwell]

Karamazov, you say you saw the twist coming, but isn't The Wicker Man one of those films where it's nigh impossible not to already know the ending beforehand?

[karamazov.]

@Maaxwell: I'm not sure you're picking up the slight self-deprecation.

@Ag0stoMesmer: ok, cheers. Added to "remembered films"!