Was A Serbian Film really that bad?

First published on IMDb: eddie052010’s Review of A Serbian Film — IMDb

Undoubtedly one of the most controversial films in cinema recently, A Serbian Film has garnered a very polarised reaction over the years. Me personally, I feel that it is nothing particularly great or particularly bad, just OK. Let’s explore why, shall we?

Now one of my immediate positives concerning this film is its plot and pacing. Unlike most movies these days, it is happy to take its time to set up characters and story in order to provide context and develop the leads to the point where we care enough about their situations to get the audience involved. I like good old fashioned slow burners, and it’s nice to see one like this, especially one done quite well. Now, there are some structural issues however. This mainly concerns the last third, whereby it becomes weirdly non-linear all of a sudden, of which doesn’t serve the story or the film in any meaningful way. It feels done to make the film more stylish, but instead comes across as a major amateur writing mistake, as is expected of a debut.

There are also other positives as well. The acting is very good from all of the cast, it develops a mood and atmosphere quite nicely, and it is quite well made for the low budget film that it is. Meanwhile, its themes on filmmaking, sexuality and exploitation can be quite interesting, even if…