Moebius (2014)
Debi Moore
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Starring Jae-hyeon Jo, Eun-woo Lee, Young-ju Seo
Directed by Ki-duk Kim
Distributed by RAM Releasing
Okay, I’m going to start this review off short and sweet, however DIRECTLY to the point – it’s been a long time since a film has made me squirm in my seat, and while the graphic visual of gore is a dead representation of what makes oneself ill, if you can pull off the same feat by merely implying what will happen to make someone want to lose their lunch, then you’ve succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest mental expanse.
I also don’t want to seem biased in my following review, but I truly feel that the fellas will be the only ones to truly take something away from this cautionary tale, simply due to the fact that within this film there appears to be a LOT missing, and that is the problem. No, I’m not speaking about the lack of dialogue (of which by the way, there is NONE); however, our male assembled portion of the cast has been… how should I say this delicately?… separated from their manhoods. Yeah, that’ll do it!
Anyway, from director Ki-duk Kim comes Moebius, a tale of infidelity, rage, revenge, and most importantly, getting back that little part of yourself that’s been taken away (I’m going overboard on this one).
The movie begins with a man (Jae-hyeon Jo) who is readying to answer a phone call from his mistress, all within plain sight of his wife (Eun-woo Lee), who is incensed. A brief struggle begins as she tries to uproot the phone away from her husband, resulting in a floor brawl between the two. After a short cooling off period, later that night the wife enters the bedroom and tries to sever her husband’s genitals off. As her venture is stymied, she then turns the focal point of her aggression onto their teenage son, lopping off his Johnson, setting off an odious series of events that include (but are not limited to): dad offering up his own bratwurst (I swear I’ll try not to get too overly offensive) as a transplant for his now-deformed offspring, teenage son focusing his carnal desires upon Dad’s mistress, rape, incest, and one scene where a gang leader has his own joystick forcefully removed and helplessly watches from the sidewalk as it gets run over in traffic… WOW.
Only after the dong-removing mother strolls back into the picture after leaving following her front-end assault, does the movie cut the brakes and delve into utter depravity. I’ll spare the sensitive eyes of the innocent from the remainder of the details here, but Ki-duk Kim obviously decided to go for the utter shock-and-awe exhibit with his direction in this film, and it’s further compounded with the complete omission of any dialogue. You can watch this film and shift in your seat as much as the situation moves you, and I know that this is to be looked at as artsy and expressive, but if someone came into MY room at night, attempting to Ginsu my doinker, I’d be inclined to utter at least a FEW choice words upon blade into flesh.
The movie, while graphic in its visuals, holds a strong family message tied to it with the father-son bond acting as the centerpiece, although it might take awhile to shake some of the images loose after laying your eyes upon it. However you interpret this movie, I could simply offer this: While worth a watch as a one-time gander, I’d HIGHLY advise skipping the in-movie meal, especially if there are cocktail wieners nearby or those little baby pickles… All right, I’ll quit while I’m ahead.
2 1/2 out of 5
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