Begotten

Begotten (1991) is a stark portrayal of god, of man, a nightmare from a desolation of the real,
a metaphor for the devouring nature of life. It opens as a bandaged figure, a god we learn from the closing credits,
convulsing, covered with blood, holding a straight-razor and slashing at his gut.
This suiciding god disembowels then dies shitting himself. A goddess rises from the corner, crawls from the dead god, goes down on his corpse, then impregnates herself with his sperm by hand.

According to wikipedia (and yes, I realize it’s not
the most reliable source) Begotten was “shot on black and white reversal film, and then every frame was painstakingly rephotographed for the look that is seen.” Marilyn
Manson fans will recognize a technique they saw in the music video for Cryptorchid, which actually contains elements and footage from Begotten.

He’s also directed
Suspect Zero, and more recently Din of Celestial Birds,
but I doubt anything he’s done comes close to the Saturnian
energy that floods this film.

It is an experimental work, the footage becomes something other than itself, and Elias Merhige is undoubtedly a master. The Begotten wikipedia entry goes on to indicate that the film deals
directly with uncompromising depictions of religious myth, the bodily fluids, the
shit, the violence of a suiciding god, the devouring cannibalistic tendencies of the throngs of followers, all disentangled from any referents.
No specific religion is implied, although overtones of Tammuz, of Isis, of Christ resonate to those familiar with those cycles. Atum, Kronos, or
Dionysus, the Bachae, Demeter… all these archetypes are faintly brought to life while remaining dispelled by the stark visceral images, the
simulacra of icons, that play out in the film.

Begotten is harsh, nothing is clearly formed, everything shifts and mutates as the film progresses.
You may stare at an image before comprehending what you’re witnessing throughout the entire film.
There’s this approach toward simulating the natural through the rough entropy of continuous affectation
and this action against the negative which intensified the contrast creates film that presents itself as
an anthropological record of some secret place beyond this physical world. The footage feels alive. Dark, yes, nihilistic even… but alive.

This film is an experience, messy, violent, and painstakingly crafted as a simulation of in intensely personal vision.
Watching it now, I am amazed by the incredible tension the film creates from its contrasts and textures.
There is no dialog, only the incessant re-occurring sounds of white noise, heartbeats, birdsong, crickets… pops and cracks of static.

Pause the film, and stills are Rorschachian. The film can be made sense of only as it moves forward through time.
And the stark black/white nature of the footage blurs meaning and perception. This is a moving piece, if you sit and watch it.

Here’s where it gets tricky. I suggest mind altering substances, and lots of them. It can be difficult to sit through
70 minutes of dialog-free black and white footage. I realize this. And that’s why I recommend drugs. Some films are popcorn movies,
this one more of an absinthe flick. Since I’m flat out of absinthe, I’ve struggled to make it through
the film, requiring several pauses, a stretch or two. This is a thing of beauty, and will challenge your perceptions:

Begotten