The Seasoning House
The Seasoning House
Directed by:
Paul HyettScreenplay:
Paul HyettCinematography:
Adam EtheringtonComposer:
Paul Edward-FrancisCast:
Rosie Day, Sean Pertwee, Kevin Howarth, Anna Walton, Jemma Powell, Alec Utgoff, Katy Allen, Sean Cronin, Tomi May, Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Chris Cowlin (more)Plots(1)
The story takes place during the ravaging civil war in the Balkans in the mid-1990´s. The main hero is a young girl named Angel that is forced to work in a house that specializes in supplying young prostitutes to various military personnel. Initially planned to be put to work as a prostitute, Angel instead becomes the assistant to Viktor, who runs the brothel. During the day she is given the duty of cleaning the prostitutes up after their often violent encounters with various men, but at night wanders the walls and crawlspaces of the house. It's when she befriends newcomer Vanya and witnesses the aftermath of the regular and brutal rapes that Vanya is subjected to that Angel begins to plan revenge, especially after the squad of soldiers responsible for her abduction and the murder of her family arrives. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
Very weak. The stubborn attempts to transfer the suffering of the protagonist to the viewer are completely ineffective. The filth, the slow motion, the monotonous music and the bad actors with awful Eastern European accents are not enough for that. In the end I also suffered, though not together with the protagonist, but because of the film.
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The ratings on this site gave me an impression that this wouldn’t be a dumb movie. Unfortunately, it was. For some unfathomable reason, the English made a movie about the alleged life in the Balkans after their absurd pseudo-religious (and in fact territorial) war. The director thought he had something to say to that and decided for the most grimy and raw take possible. I could ignore the fact that everyone here talks in bad English but I could never imagine a movie shot in such an incredibly stupid, raw, slimy and disgusting way. I guess it must be cool in the West to lean into the Balkans, but I think it’s better when the Balkan people do it themselves. For example like withA Serbian Film, which at least has some balls, even though it’s also disgusting.
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"The Seasoning House" is incredibly depressing and dark film that shows us that redemption probably doesn't exist, that hope is sometimes completely scarce, because people are simply such beasts that it's hard to believe. It could be justified by war, but it shouldn't be. Moreover, I have a feeling that the film didn't go that far, that reality could have been much worse at times. This film made an impression on me.
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