tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648318843542898679.post7746582538419074622..comments2024-03-16T21:49:16.649-04:00Comments on Unseen Films: RAZE (2013) Tribeca 2013Steve Kopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881135464953746959noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648318843542898679.post-39240923073361689242013-04-26T18:48:46.397-04:002013-04-26T18:48:46.397-04:00I know you weren't condoning violence. I only ...I know you weren't condoning violence. I only mentioned your comment because the film has generated a great deal of passionate feelings both pro and con.<br /><br />I wouldn't have mentioned the misogynistic feel except many of the women in the audience walked out on the film.(As you say I'm not a woman)<br /><br />Ultimately though my trouble with the film is not the tone but the leaps of logic. Exploitation fodder or no it just makes no sense.Steve Kopianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05881135464953746959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648318843542898679.post-22571170886741502542013-04-26T16:45:11.104-04:002013-04-26T16:45:11.104-04:00You're right to suggest that the film is misog...You're right to suggest that the film is misogynistic, but that's such a tricky thing to approach. I thought about mentioning this in my review but ultimately decided against it because A) I am not a woman and B) I am not at all qualified to provide a feminist critique of film. So what follows are just my own $0.02 on the topic, representing nothing and no one at all.<br /><br />I think the film has aspects of being a faux-exploitation film. If you wrote an entire review about the film from the perspective that it was grindhouse trash, I could understand where you were coming from and wouldn't put up too much of a fight. And yet... and yet the film doesn't particularly seem to enjoy the death of any of the characters. There is no gleeful aspect of voyeurism that I would expect from an exploitation film like this. If the movie was truthfully a mysognynistic film, I think there would be a thinner line between the audience and the observers, but they are painted in such grotesque color that we cannot help but respond negatively towards them. Furthermore, outside a few moments, I thought the film was surprisingly tactful in how it handled the violence. There is very little gore and no nudity whatsoever, and even the order of the fights is determined to have the greatest physical effect on the audience, not the greatest emotional effect. In a lot of ways it's just a cheesy contemporary gladiator film that probably thought it was being more progressive than mysogynistic in allowing all the fighters to be women.<br /><br />Does that mean it won't or shouldn't receive criticism? Certainly not. But I paid very close attention to the way the film depicted violence; the first sign of nihilism or body horror and I was out. It toed the line in places but never crossed it for me.<br /><br />Also, while I appreciate the shout-out, I never felt like you were going to take heat for the negativity of your review; I am worried that by liking RAZE I may be seen to be condoning cinematic violence towards women. I hope not!LabSplicehttp://paracinema.net/category/tribeca-film-festival-2013/noreply@blogger.com