A wife's betrayal of her husband, leads to a son's nightmares about his father's disappearance, torture and murder at the hands of a totalitarian state.
His visions are made literal with brutal, grotesquely eschatological and scatological imagery.
Do not expect linear narrative; the feverish imaginings of the boy are the plot, much like paging though Goya's "The Disasters of War", and "Caprichos", or a long leisurely look at one of Bosch's more apocalyptic paintings, to which there are visual allusions in the film, the narrative is driven by episodes of ever- increasing malaise, which give it its power.
A special treat, and little masterpiece of horror all unto itself, are the beginning credits, with a haunting song sung by children over monstrous, but beautiful, drawings by Roland Topor.
Invite the whole family over for a screening; you'll forever after feel like a functional family unit.
His visions are made literal with brutal, grotesquely eschatological and scatological imagery.
Do not expect linear narrative; the feverish imaginings of the boy are the plot, much like paging though Goya's "The Disasters of War", and "Caprichos", or a long leisurely look at one of Bosch's more apocalyptic paintings, to which there are visual allusions in the film, the narrative is driven by episodes of ever- increasing malaise, which give it its power.
A special treat, and little masterpiece of horror all unto itself, are the beginning credits, with a haunting song sung by children over monstrous, but beautiful, drawings by Roland Topor.
Invite the whole family over for a screening; you'll forever after feel like a functional family unit.