moebius (2013)

Original Title – Moebiuseu

HARD TO WATCH, EVEN HARDER TO LOOK AWAY.

Every now and again a film comes along that is so outrageous, so shocking, and so utterly disturbing that it’s almost hard to even talk about it, Moebius is one of those films. Nothing can prepare you for the perturbing content that unfolds throughout this film, so if you’re easily offended or can’t handle distressing material then best to steer clear of this one.

With absolutely no dialogue, except for gasps, screams, and moans, Moebius is an art-house film that follows the story of a father and son whose lives are hindered, to say the least, after a sickening act by the mother of the family. After witnessing the father sleeping with another woman in a car and seeing her son watching on aroused, the mother, in a fit of jealous rage, takes matters into her own hands and decides to try and cut off the father’s penis while he is sleeping. When the attempt fails, the mother instead heads for the son’s room where she proceeds to cut off his penis before fleeing the house.  

Without a penis, the son struggles to act upon his intense desires, especially the impulse he has towards his father’s mistress who he visits regularly at the shop where she works. After some harrowing events take place we eventually reach a point where the father, who after some extensive research, decides to have a procedure that will have his penis transferred to his son. After the procedure is a success, surprisingly, things start to get even weirder and when the mother walks back into the picture we are left with a final act that is beyond absurd.

Known as one of the world’s most controversial directors, Kim-Ki duk certainly lives up to those claims with this outrageous offering. From the very first scene we are witness to one of the most extreme acts displayed on our screens, and the story never really settles down from there. For a film that has no dialogue it sure as hell packs a powerful punch with visuals that will stick with you long after watching.

Since there is no dialogue the performances needed to be good in order for the story to have an impact and thankfully they are. Yeong-Ju Seo is great as the son, he manages to portray emotion through crippled stares as well as ghastly cries. Jae-Hyun Cho does a solid job as a distressed, guilt-ridden Father, whilst Eun-woo Lee is strong as both a crazed Mother and dysfunctional mistress. Without dialogue, the whole cast manages to speak volumes with their despairing facial expressions.

It’s a bold and daring effort from the controversial South Korean director which constantly pushes the viewer into uneasy territory. Whilst his vision may be seen as stylish and artistic it definitely pushes the envelope here and at times falls victim to being outrageously silly. I’m sure there is some deep underlying symbolism and meaning behind this repugnant story but it certainly went over my head. Some scenes felt like they were put in merely for shock value, but I could just be interpreting this wrong as it could actually be infused with some type of Buddhist metaphors.

Absolutely bonkers, unquestionably disturbing, and impossible to look away. In my opinion, Moebius isn’t a great film but it’s one that needs to be seen to be believed.   

★★☆☆☆     

28 OCTOBER 2018