[psycho d]

Ex Drummer (2007). Initiated through an exercise of irritation, this entry merely sets the mood for the viewer to best take in a film of the dregs of Belgian society, what could have been the circus freaks of yesteryear, such that we can tolerate the barrage of insults, violence and obscenities that permeates the collective filth that accumulates at the bottom of society's garbage pail. Add to this a highfalutin character whose agenda seems only to find amusement at the expense of even more suffering and we have the premise of Ex Drummer, a film that is likely to find short company in the ring where the heavy weights are scaled in their capacity to offend. What seems merely some glorious effort to be obnoxious slowly and surely reveals that no other means could have expressed this story with authenticity, to be other than derelict punk rock would be to compromise, a maneuver that would be quickly sniffed out by the true cinephile. As the story finds its way, it seamlessly flirts with multiple genres, from mocumentary to horror to fantasy to god knows what else. The initial insults to the viewer become requisite metaphors, a symbolic euphemism to define a class of mankind best left to the other side of the tracks. The acting was superb, each and every discomfiting character doing his and her utmost to revel in social disgust all to the horror of the audience. The direction was initially over-the-top insane, but as stated, no other means could have been true to form. The effects upon one's composure by the end are nigh palpable. The camera work is to be lauded. Every scene captures the mood perfectly, from vicious cruelty, abject despair, lurid sexuality, to the capricious outbursts that are to be expected from the urban peasants that are the real stars of the film. Even the protagonist is captured perfectly, a cold and calculating character that is captured by a cold and calculating lens. A reprieve for the soul is occasionally offered by way of the soundtrack. In between the apropos thrashiness, an almost melodic medley oozes out to help the viewer collect himself, to realize that no exercise in cruel futility is being played upon him. This film is not joke where the punch line is only to be enjoyed by its creators, but instead a savage look at two elements of life that rarely find company and for good reason.
Genruk