Foreign films help us learn new things, as much as what should be avoided than what should be assimilated. It its singularity, Anatomie shows American influences that, sadly, are nothing new to us. The trick for these countries is to take what their people cherish and combine it with some of Hollywood’s moneymaking strategies.
While this movie is excellent, it is for this reason that the film doesn’t seem to know where it’s going. Its development is captivating and from the first scenes; we know that we will have to guess who is a part of the cult because we witness the dissection of a student who awakens during his operation and sees himself be decomposed into many pieces, unable to react. The two doctors wears masks and the room is dark, making it impossible for the spectator to see their faces.
A good part of this movie implants, in a simple story, diverse elements to avoid a repetition of explicit bloody scenes. Anatomie, from the first moments, gives us the impression of being the type of movie where guts, brains and eyes are maltreated. However, this is not true. The dissections are for the most part suggested but the concept is presented in an obscure context: the bodies of the murdered students are used to help the living students comprehend how the human body is built; their cranium becomes a drawer and their rib cage is used as a door. It is a projection that may seem far-fetched but it is not that unrealistic.
The movie has its flaws and there are many. For example, it is hard to imagine that a group of soon-to-be doctors, who are excellent in their field, risk to lose everything just for the reason given at the end of the movie. Any excuse would be unrealistic anyways. Then, there is the inevitable confusion that this movie inflicts on its viewers because it tries to do too much. This movie tries to be a violent psychopathic-slasher movie filled with surprises, with an occult aftertaste. It is very annoying.
Finally, added to all the technical problems, there is something that doesn’t work. I don’t know if it is due to the German culture, the producer’s phantasms or to censorship but nude men abound yet we don’t even see a pair of breasts, regardless of how many opportunities the producers had.
I have a lot of trouble accepting that Mr. Stefan Ruzowitzky has simply wanted to please the female viewers because he doesn’t cease to imitate the current trends, except for this fact. Does he try to kill a horror movie habit? Lets hope this it what will send him to the producer cemetery because I prefer very heterosexual horror movie heroes.
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