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RATING:   
Taxidermia is "stuffing" the ornate pieces that auteur art is usually made of, going straight for the jugular with a beyond-bizarre tale about three corporeally-fixated generations of Hungarian men and the typical primal male self-gratifications of sexual frustration, gluttony and, erm, taxidermy.
Director György Pálfi's follow up to his debut film Hukkle, is a surprisingly engrossing watch, engaging you with its triptych structure, alternating mundane and repugnant aspects of life so convincingly and artfully-composed on screen.
Though it includes R21-rated visual orgies of decapitation, animal slaughter, graphic vomiting and other such niceties, this journey of mad surrealism never seems gratuitously offensive or pretentiously artistically gutsy. With a matter-of-fact controlled manner and non-committal detachment, Pálfi sickens, fascinates and captivates his audience all at the same time.
His Taxidermia — featuring a fetish-fuelled soldier, a speed-eating champion and a pallid animal-stuffer who has twisted ideas of immortality — astutely dissects the intrinsic shame in a severely-repressed society, in this case, a communist Hungary moving towards the self-destructive navel-gazing of modernity.
Boldly risking alienating his audience at every perverse turn, Pálfi also successfully critiques the commoditisation of flesh with comprehensive direction and a brand of depraved humour reminiscent of Monty Python.
Sure, this movie is obviously not for everyone, but it will most certainly be assured of cult status, thanks to the extreme carnivalesque images that belie the real ugliness within.
With this provocative social commentary, Pálfi is the next auteur to look out for, even if you might need a sick bag to accompany you on the ride. - TODAY/fa
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