Directed by Oliver Blackburn Starring: Robert Boulter, Sian Breckin, Tom Burke, Nichola Burley, Julian Morris. Drama/Suspense/Foreign. Synopsis: Three young women from Britain on holiday in Spain meet up with four young British men and go out on their boat. A tragic accident occurs while they are partying at sea and the actions they take as a result put all of their lives in danger.
This one is certainly challenging and somewhat avant garde. I didn't list this flick in the gore genre, but there elements of that here, with a handful of intentional onscreen killings, including a saw though the heart.
The story is one almost all of us can relate to, three young women are taking a vacation in Spain and they hookup with four young men, also Brits, who happen to have an extremely nice and large boat. They do a little swimming, catch some rays, drink some wine, take a hit or two on the crack pipe and I'm sure most of you know what happens next. Now, those of you who have strong sensibilities in this regard need to know that this is a European film, and they aren't quite as prudish as we Yanks.
That's my way of saying the sex depicted in the film is graphic, for whatever that might mean to anyone, one way or another, deciding whether or not to give this film a look-see.
During their first night of partying and conjugal exercising, one of the young women is accidentally killed by one of the young men during sex play (hence the title of the flick, "donkey punch", but you'll have to check it out to learn exactly what it means and when its used).
Well, our crew of fun loving young professionals has gone from seven to six and the big question becomes: what to do about the deceased girl? Well, you would expect that the most obvious answer would be to call for the authorities. But, you see, our characters are out in international waters, so that-some of them feel-presents them with different options...most notably, disposing of the body and making like it never happened. Well, this doesn't go over well with all and here, in my opinion, is where the heart of the film really begins. Oh, one other fly in the ointment is the fact that there is a tape of the sexual activities and accidental death. The tape, as you would think, is in great demand and becomes the object of much attention as the film goes on.
To me, Donkey Punch is really about the human element in a tragic, stressful, or dangerous situation. We see the full gamut of emotions that would certainly play out in any similar situation: denial/refusal to accept the reality of the situation; need to cast blame, mistrust, and self preservation beyond all else.
I think what makes this film as compelling as it is are two factors: the isolation of the characters and the fact that they are not well acquainted with each other prior to the events on the boat, except for two of them men who are brothers. I think this is a good set up for the rawness of the characters' actions. Self interest would be there with anyone in this type of circumstance, moreso when there is little emotional attachment.
My main criticism of the film-and this might be too personal for a supposedly objective review-is that I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I found myself being frustrated at the actions of even the more empathetic ones, but not one I could totally get behind. Again, I think that is a very real life scenario, but I do think we need our hero(ine) to wear the white hat to some significant degree in film. On the other hand, maybe I'm just too harsh.
One other thing I would warn American viewers of, unless you have familiarity with a wide range of British dialect, the English the actors are speaking is not the clear, funny sounding (to most of us Yanks), "high class" British English we most often hear in film, but a regional dialect (I have no idea which) that is heavy on slang and when spoken fast or with emotion as it is thorughout most of the film, the actors can be hard to understand. So have the remote ready. (Most of the time I only had to listen twice to understand what they were saying in a particular line...three at most)
Well worth it if you're looking for, or open to, an art film that has a decent bit of flesh, gore, and mayhem.
This one is certainly challenging and somewhat avant garde. I didn't list this flick in the gore genre, but there elements of that here, with a handful of intentional onscreen killings, including a saw though the heart.
The story is one almost all of us can relate to, three young women are taking a vacation in Spain and they hookup with four young men, also Brits, who happen to have an extremely nice and large boat. They do a little swimming, catch some rays, drink some wine, take a hit or two on the crack pipe and I'm sure most of you know what happens next. Now, those of you who have strong sensibilities in this regard need to know that this is a European film, and they aren't quite as prudish as we Yanks.
That's my way of saying the sex depicted in the film is graphic, for whatever that might mean to anyone, one way or another, deciding whether or not to give this film a look-see.
During their first night of partying and conjugal exercising, one of the young women is accidentally killed by one of the young men during sex play (hence the title of the flick, "donkey punch", but you'll have to check it out to learn exactly what it means and when its used).
Well, our crew of fun loving young professionals has gone from seven to six and the big question becomes: what to do about the deceased girl? Well, you would expect that the most obvious answer would be to call for the authorities. But, you see, our characters are out in international waters, so that-some of them feel-presents them with different options...most notably, disposing of the body and making like it never happened. Well, this doesn't go over well with all and here, in my opinion, is where the heart of the film really begins. Oh, one other fly in the ointment is the fact that there is a tape of the sexual activities and accidental death. The tape, as you would think, is in great demand and becomes the object of much attention as the film goes on.
To me, Donkey Punch is really about the human element in a tragic, stressful, or dangerous situation. We see the full gamut of emotions that would certainly play out in any similar situation: denial/refusal to accept the reality of the situation; need to cast blame, mistrust, and self preservation beyond all else.
I think what makes this film as compelling as it is are two factors: the isolation of the characters and the fact that they are not well acquainted with each other prior to the events on the boat, except for two of them men who are brothers. I think this is a good set up for the rawness of the characters' actions. Self interest would be there with anyone in this type of circumstance, moreso when there is little emotional attachment.
My main criticism of the film-and this might be too personal for a supposedly objective review-is that I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I found myself being frustrated at the actions of even the more empathetic ones, but not one I could totally get behind. Again, I think that is a very real life scenario, but I do think we need our hero(ine) to wear the white hat to some significant degree in film. On the other hand, maybe I'm just too harsh.
One other thing I would warn American viewers of, unless you have familiarity with a wide range of British dialect, the English the actors are speaking is not the clear, funny sounding (to most of us Yanks), "high class" British English we most often hear in film, but a regional dialect (I have no idea which) that is heavy on slang and when spoken fast or with emotion as it is thorughout most of the film, the actors can be hard to understand. So have the remote ready. (Most of the time I only had to listen twice to understand what they were saying in a particular line...three at most)
Well worth it if you're looking for, or open to, an art film that has a decent bit of flesh, gore, and mayhem.
Directed by Marc Foster. Starring:Maria Bello, Sean Bean, Sophie Stuckey, Abigail Stone. 
