LIFE AND DEATH OF A PORNO GANG

Mladen Djordjevic, 2009
Starring: Mihajlo Jovanovic, Ana Acimovic, Predrag Damnjanovic, Radivoj Knezevic, Srdjan Jovanovic, Ivan Djordjevic, Bojan Zogovic, Natasa Milijus, Aleksandar Gligoric

Before I launch into a review of Zivot i smrt porno bande (the original Serbian title) I need to say one thing and one thing only. Out of the all the films presented at Danger After Dark last year, this is what I was most looking forward to seeing. I was not, in any way, disappointed. I love this film. I'm thinking of changing my Masters thesis to include it.

I really enjoy when audience members walk out of a film in outrage, disgust, or horror. This happened during the screening of Porno Gang, I attended and speaks to the fact that the film is something of an acquired taste. Not for the faint of heart, it breaks some obscenity laws in various countries around the world.

With that said, Porno Gang is a cinema verite, mockumentary style film about a young director's struggle to follow his dreams and bring something new to the world. Though Marko (a fabulous performance by Mihajlo Jovanovic) is clever, charming, and attractive, he never quite gets off the ground until he takes a job as a porn director. Unfortunately he develops some money problems with the violent producer and is forced to flee Belgrade with his girlfriend Una and a motley band of porn stars and drug addicts. They climb into a van and begin a traveling porno theater that takes them all around the war-ravaged Serbian countryside. They meet with a number of successes, a number of drastic failures, and finally encounter a financial backer who convinces them to make occasional snuff films.

In addition to graphic depictions of sexuality that include a good number of hardcore inserts and innumerable perversions such as some very real bestiality, there are also brutal snuff sequences. Unlike its more shocking and disgusting cousin, A Serbian Film, none of the material in Porno Gang is there simply to shock, but plays an integral role in the unfolding plot. The murders are all touching, sensitive, and visceral. There is also a good dose of humor throughout the film, which breaks up the moments of soul crushing schadenfreude. Despite the fact that this is a dirty, grungy, shocking film, it is solid, well-made, and leaves behind a serious commentary about Serbian politics, sex, freedom, identity, and personal responsibility.

It is partly inspired by Djordjevic's earlier documentary, Made in Serbia, about the Serbian porn industry. Currently it is touring the festival circuit, but I have no idea when it will be released on DVD. A Serbian DVD is supposedly in the works, which means that a region 1 or 2 will hopefully follow.

I want to shout from the rooftops about how much I love this movie, but I'm sure my neighbors, who are mostly young families, would not appreciate that. Thus, I need to use my blog. I love you, Life and Death of a Porno Gang!

*Update: There's now a special edition Blu-ray available!