Controversial internet film The Adventures of Little Boris, posted by an anonymous member of the North Melbourne AFL football club, has now been tipped for an AFI film award shortlisting. The risque film, which portrays a rubber chicken "always wearing a condom on its head and manoeuvred by an unidentifiable hand, seeming to sexually penetrate a real chicken carcass", caused a media stir when it was removed from the internet yesterday, the managers of the football team labelling it "infantile and inappropriate''.
But leading film critics in Melbourne have come forward, praising a "bold and innovative new film, unafraid of confronting serious issues." Freelance film critic Sally Nguyen commended the anonymous footballer behind the film for "courageously expressing a true creative flair." She continued to write that "the symbolism of a chicken carcass for a woman caught in spousal abuse was particularly poignant, as indeed she is just the 'raw meat' of the skillfully characterised misogynistic rubber chicken. The running over the carcass with a van is also a strikingly profound metaphor for the continual and unrelenting pressure placed on women in today's society. And all through the highly personalised and humanised medium of puppetry, interwoven with the rap soundtrack Move Bitch...I think we have found a true talent in Australian film here."
Other critics, however, have not been so effusive in their praise. "Though there are certainly some genuinely magical moments, such as the van running over the chicken, tearing its breast apart - a stirring parallel to the tragic death of Myrtle Wilson at the hands of materialistic corruption in F. Scott Fitzgerald's timeless classic novel The Great Gatsby - for me, it falls flat in other areas," critiqued Margaret Pomeranz from ABC's At the Movies. "The characterisation of the chicken carcass wasn't quite as vulnerable as I think it could have, which was a shame, to be honest, as I felt it had so much potential. I also had some real issues with the clumsy camerawork, which at times let down the acting, with avant garde staging and lighting that didn't quite work, undermining the gritty exchanges between characters."
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Above: An emotionally charged scene from the 'deeply affecting' film.
The film may be released at the Pineapple Film Festival in Cairns later this week.
3 comments:
Kidding aside, it sounds perfect for the Melbourne Underground Film Festival.
What a beat up.
Full exposition here: http://roobeauty.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/boris-the-rubber-chicken/
Thanks for the interesting link Rev. A thoughtful analysis.
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