Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

"Today people want sensationalism; the more you rape their senses the happier they are.", 12 February 2006

Going into a film like Cannibal Holocaust, it's difficult to know what to expect. Anyone who has any interest has read all the hype – the most disturbing movie ever made, banned in 60 countries, real animal killings, director Ruggero Deodato had to go to court to prove the human killings weren't real, etc. What I didn't expect to discover was such a well-made film. Parts of the film are indeed very brutal and, at times, difficult to watch. There are images in the film that I won't soon forget. The story is incredibly compelling because it is so real. Tribes of Indians similar to the ones presented in this film did (and in some cases do) exist in the South American rain forests. I suppose that if someone were looking for a "deep" meaning to Deodato's film, they might point to the man vs. nature aspects of the film where nature is represented not just by the animals, but by the natives as well. I suppose one could find something in the notion of who the real savages are – the natives or the filmmakers who exploit them. But the most amazing thing about Cannibal Holocaust is that somehow Deodato has made it very beautiful.

9/10