Long gone are the days when indie filmmakers fearlessly make movies unintimidated by its release potential--or so I thought.
Not since James Bidgood's 'Pink Narcissus' or Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 'Marriage of Maria Braun,' have I seen such kick-ass, tell-it-like-it-is, strategic camp on the big screen.
Bruce Labruce's 'Raspberry Reich' is by far the most revolutionary, counter-culture film I have seen in ages. I saw it last night at the Quad Cinema (NYC) with two friends, we were blown away and needed to smoke afterwards.
Some may want to immediately discount this film as trashy, male-porn disguised as low-brow psuedo-art, but if you come into this film completely open-minded, it will be almost effortless to grasp Labruce's intent behind having to assault all your senses with overt sexuality, revolutionary prose, and counter-culture iconography. This film is absolutely brilliant.
Every purposeful lewd frame of this film is meant to awaken all your senses and critical thinking capacity--once you're forced to think outside of your dominant social norms.
Years ago (circa 1992) I saw Labruce's 'No Skin Off My Ass' in a small art theater in London. It was also daring in your face sexuality about gay skin-heads, but his stance on imposed dominant social roles was not as blunt and well-crafted as Raspberry Reich, which definitely has teeth.
I must insist that if you are willing to break out of your cultural prison and challenge the current mass Western imperialism that's infecting surrounding nations, this film is for you.There is critical social commentary on terrorism and how normative cultures, as well as revolutionaries, can lose sight of the whole picture when they're bent on narrow views of life and imposed morality.Like say, for instance, a seemingly harmless comment like, "Well, George Bush and I are both Christians and we share the same values, so he's definitely got my vote!"(I heard it on the news last night--really).
Labruce deserves to be commended for the cinamatic risks he takes (this certainly isn't his first), as well as the very uninhibited actors--most especially Susanne Sachsse, who brilliantly plays the lead terrorist who rules over her triple-X Berlin underworld cultists. She is phenominal.If you're fortunate to find a local theater brave enough to screen this movie in your town, you should definitely seize the opportunity as this is sure to be a cult classic that future generations may end up studying in college film course--given their culture elevates to that level of permissiveness.
If Bruce Labruce happens upon my blog, I welcome your comments. We'll be friends, I'll quit my job and work for you. I just need my rent paid, a health plan and some spending cash.
"The revolution is my boyfriend!"
