Sweet Movie (1974)

2 Stars (out of 4)

Bitter 'Sweet'

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Yugoslavian filmmaker Dusan Makavejev steps over the line with Sweet Movie (1974). In it, he tries to equal the smashed-together visual freedom from WR: Mysteries of the Organism, but instead only manages to turn the stomach. Most of these disgusting images accomplish nothing but individual shocks; they don't add up to a whole. The film follows two stories, one about a virginal young girl who marries a rich Texan with a gold penis. She escapes to a weird commune where they smear food and excrement all over each other. Another woman falls in love with a soldier from the Battleship Potemkin and has sex with him in a vat of sugar (hence the title). Vile as it is, though, Sweet Movie has a cult following among those with strong stomachs.

DVD Details: The Criterion Collection released this movie on DVD in 2007.