Cannes. Taxidermia.

Roger Ebert on the Un Certain Regard entry: "Taxidermia [site] is by György Pálfi, the Hungarian director of Hukkle (2003), a sort of wonderful movie almost entirely without human sounds except for hiccups. I am sure Taxidermia is an important film and certainly a brave one, but I doubt if I know anyone who would thank me for recommending it."

Eddie Cockrell in Variety: "[T]his widescreen exercise in the confrontational continues [Pálfi's] fascination with the mysteries of nature but substitutes an oddly skewed sense of wonder with a full-frontal sensory assault."

Earlier: Cineuropa's "making of" file and the trailer Todd found at Twitch.

Updates, 5/20: Duane Byrge in the Hollywood Reporter: "It will be hardly anyone's cup of tea, but for those with a cinematic stomach for huge bowls of vomit and innards, Taxidermia should sate the aesthetic appetite.... With a Brazil-like midsection that lampoons the brutish culture of the former Communist bloc, Taxidermia churns with some delicious dollops of social and psychological satire."

Premiere's Glenn Kenny: "Magnificent, provided you can stomach it."

Anthony Kaufman at indieWIRE: "Not for the squeamish, the film features streams of vomit, needles inserting into flesh, and all manner of human and animal innards. Who knows what it all means, but it's a stomach-churning romp that makes Fast Food Nation look like alfalfa sprouts."

Update, 5/21: "[N]otched up the outrageousness segment by segment," says George the Cyclist.

Update, 5/28: Gary Meyer, blogging for the San Francisco Bay Guardian: "In some ways Taxidermia is a brilliant piece, with incredible cinematography, black humor, and a couple of visual treats.... But this is a hard movie to recommend to most; the gross outs just keep coming, each topping the previous one. Obviously, it’s only for those who can stomach it."

Posted by dwhudson at May 19, 2006 9:52 AM