Of Freaks and Men, A Dirty Shame

Of Freaks and Men, a Russian film directed by Aleksei Balabanov, is a strange film. Shot as if an old dauggerotype in sepia color, and sometimes as a silent film with dialogue slates thrown in, this story of conjoined twins and 1800's-style underground pornography, S&M, and murder was slow but engaging. I wasn't exactly thrilled with the subject matter, but am curious about this director's work after seeing Brat & Brat 2.

John Waters' A Dirty Shame was another example of his over-the-top, no holds barred, ripping down the tabboos style. But it really wasn't that funny (what I look for mostly in a Waters film, which may be a mistake). Sure, I guess it's important to have frank films dealing with diverse sexualities, but for some reason this one made me feel cold, an experience I've had before with his work. Perhaps my expectations are too high here.