reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/27/85)
An unlikely Polish film with the unlikely title of "Sex Mis-
sion" is, so far as I am concerned, the hit of Filmex. It's de-
finitely the best film I've seen in the festival so far, and I
can but hope it receives wide US release. "Sex Mission" is funny
and provocative, managing the rare task of being intellectually
interesting and viscerally enjoyable.
The story starts out ten years in the future. Two Polish
men are about to be put into hibernation for three years in the
first human test of a new suspended animation process. When they
awake, though, things aren't at all as they expected. Fifty
years have passed, there has been an atomic war, and, due to a
fearsome new weapon, all men have been destroyed. But not all
women. A whole society of them exists, and they are the ones who
wake our heros.
In the new society, which reproduces by a form of partheno-
genesis, men are remembered as fearsome oppressors who, armed
with such dreadful devices of torture as straight razors and
corkscrews, terrorized women. Not to such an extent that famous
women like Einstein were unable to make their discoveries, howev-
er. The relatively benign Archeology section which discovered
the frozen men favors "naturalization". (Think about it.) The
fanatic and dictatorial Genetics section wants to perform certain
unspecified but doubtlessly nasty experiments, after which the
men will be disposed of. Any resemblances to a couple of Eastern
European countries is strictly coincidental, of course, as direc-
tor Juliusz Machulski would be the first to insist. None the
less, it is profitable to reflect that "Sex Mission" is a Polish
film which could never have been made in, say, the USSR.
Let's get one thing straight, though: there is absolutely
nothing heavyhanded about "Sex Mission". If you don't want to
think of it as satire, fine, it's a great science fiction
slapstick comedy. Machulski, a first time director and the
youngest Polish director, has wonderful comedic timing and is
able to make old bits like the foot-in-the-bucket schtick come to
new life. The script, even in translation, is hilarious. "Sex
Mission" is a real audience pleaser.
Machulski is aided and abetted by an excellent cast, led by
Olgierd Lukaszewicz and Jerzy Stuhr as the mismatched pair of men
in a strange new world that has such people in it, and Bozena
Stryjkowna as the scientist from Archeology who begins to have
doubts about her society. All three are fine comedians and ex-
cellent actors.
Some feminists may find "Sex Mission" rather offensive, sug-
gesting as it does that a society composed completely of women
could possibly be intolerant or oppressive. They will also ob-
ject, with some truth, that Machulski indulges rather heavily in
female nudity. (I must confess, sexist pig that I am, that the
latter didn't bother *me* a bit.) Tough luck. Probably the same
group of "feminists" are working for the passage of the current
anti-pornography laws, and have none of my sympathy. True femin-
ists will recognize that "Sex Mission" isn't about feminism, any-
way, but about totalitarianism. In fact, "Sex Mission" would
make an excellent double feature with "1984" (preferably as the
second feature, to cheer the audience up). The fact that such a
savagely funny satire could be made with state money in a Commun-
ist country under martial law surprised me more than a little,
and must surely be a good sign of some sort.
At the moment, "Sex Mission's" American release is rather
uncertain, lying in the hands of the Polish government and US
film distributors, an unsavory match indeed. Should an opportun-
ity arise to see it, then, I strongly advise that you do not miss
"Sex Mission".
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reihersrt@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/27/85)
On Peter Reiher's recommendation I went to see "Sex Mission", and although I enjoyed the film, I have a few comments to throw in. First, I thought the satire was incompletely done. The world portrayed in the film mirrored current day totalitarianism, obviously, but failed to develop the concept. It seems to me that a film on a social problem needs 3 facets: 1) A development of why the situation is a problem 2) A suggested solution 3) The results of the solution "Sex Mission" develops the first idea, hints at the second, and doesn't even consider the third. Furthermore, I don't think that the parallel they develop has any real bearing on modern day totalitarianism. Some people are satisfied with a satire that only addresses the first issue above, and I don't mean to contradict your viewpoint. I'm only pointing out what seemed to me an incompleteness in the film. Second, I found myself wondering throughout the film of the ramifications of an all-female society. This film only touches the surface of this idea, an I found myself wanting a fuller exposition. I realize that the intent of this film wasn't to explore this concept, but I found this more interesting than the ideas (and actions) they were portraying. Finally, I wanted to note that the foreigness of the picture is really brought home in the final shot - something you definitely wouldn't see in an American film. Always like to end with a tease... -- Scott Turner
reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/28/85)
In article <4541@ucla-cs.ARPA> srt@ucla-cs.UUCP (Scott Turner) writes: >First, I thought the satire was incompletely done. The world portrayed in >the film mirrored current day totalitarianism, obviously, but failed to >develop the concept. It seems to me that a film on a social problem needs >3 facets: > > 1) A development of why the situation is a problem > 2) A suggested solution > 3) The results of the solution > >Furthermore, I don't think that the parallel they >develop has any real bearing on modern day totalitarianism. If you mean the statement of the problem has no bearing, well, I think it does if one pursues certain parallels. As far as the solution goes, take it as a metaphor. In fact, the film "Sex Mission" is an example of the real world implementation of the sort of solution that was used in the picture: those who see the problem and dare to do something subverting the system from within by attacking the hearts and minds of the more complacent citizens. If works of art like "Sex Mission" don't get slapped down, then sooner or later their effect will be a population which won't put up with totalitarianism. "Sex Mission" thus must tread a rather fine line, for if its subversiveness is too obvious, the director could end up in jail or deported. >Some people are satisfied with a satire that only addresses the first issue >above, and I don't mean to contradict your viewpoint. I'm only pointing out >what seemed to me an incompleteness in the film. I should mention that most of the great classic satires are no more than an exposition of problems. For instance, "Gulliver's Travels", "A Modest Proposal", and "The Threepenny Opera" all expose the absurdity of problems, but offer no serious solutions to the problems. As I see it, the satirist's job is to grab his audience by the shirtcollars and shake enough sense into them that they can see what's wrong. This is hard enough without demanding solutions. >Finally, I wanted to note that the foreigness of the picture is really brought >home in the final shot - something you definitely wouldn't see in an American >film. > Definitely. This may wind up being a real tease, as, what with the current climit in America about certain subjects, an American release print may well have the last shot cut. -- Peter Reiher reiher@ucla-cs.arpa {...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher