Editorial Reviews and
DVD Information about
Body Without Soul
Product Description
From director Wiktor Grodecki (Mandragora) this startling and disturbing feature is a graphic insider's view of the seedy but burgeoning East Europe industry that trades nubile young men. The film introduces us to one of the adults (now jailed) who exploits Prague's youth; the city's police coroner and prolific porn director named Pavel. Told with unflinching honesty, Body Without Soul provides an explicit view of the exploitation, pain , and pitiful existence of young men who, out of necessity, sell their bodies to survive. The camera follows the young men as they walk the streets, work on porno shoots, hustle for money, and talk abut their emotions, bodies, sexual preferences and fear of AIDS, their hopes and demons.
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Customer Reviews for
Body Without Soul
Disappointing
The idea of having a porn movie director discuss the business while performing his day job, doing autopsies & showing it, was bizarre. It's basically a documentary with no actual action. I was completely disappointed with this film & could not recommend watching let alone buying it. Save your $.Body Without Soul
In the shadows of Prague
This film is a documentary, not a movie. For those of you who admire European films with honest, casual nudity, this film may not be for you. European films with honest, casual nudity usually are non-pornographic in content. This film brings the anatomy down to a degrading level. If you want to view this film, fine, but be prepared for some tears and nausea. This film is not for the faint-hearted.
Though here in America we do need to let loose our prudishness when it comes to casual nudity, yet, to Europeans who tolerate young children being victims of sexual exploitation I ask, where are your child protection agents, your social workers, your law-enforcement agents, your religious leaders and, for crying out loud, the parents?
I admire Europe's easy-going ways when it comes to casual nudity, whether on the screen or on their beaches, but when you view this film, you might think that a lot has to be said for the way we protect our children in America against sexual exploitation. I cannot think of a more vicious, sinister crime. I believe the body has a soul, only these young lads were cheated out of a healthy outlook on the body, let alone a normal, healthy childhood. My poor heart just cries out to them. I practically saw the devil through that pornographer in question.
I was going to rent "Angels, But Not Angels," but this film, and "Mandragora", were enough for me.Body Without Soul
well structured documentary.the characters are nicely lit.
Deeply affecting/well structured movie.it could easily been a crushing bore had it not been for the imagination of the film maker whose use of Classical Music (Mahler,Albinoni,Mozart...)is more effective than one is accustomed to though i can see why some may find it too cloying.Best of all was some urgent drumming which had a slightly Japanese feel to it.Sexually charged,and very appropriate.
As for the boys themselves,the director has made some canny choices.A number of them would make brillant filmstars.....there's a certain poignant/artistic look about a them.I hope they manage to get out of their irregular line of work as a result of this exposure.
The bad guy is a man called Pavel Rousek who directs porn movies.Not a likeable chap but he's commendably frank about his exploits:He admits to punching a boy and says you can see the bruise mark in one of his movies.
The only slight let down are the subtititles which have been rather crudely translated.Body Without Soul
Really bitter reality
The story is real, this is basically a documentary, so sad to know that this is based on true story, I just wish it could have done it in better ways.Body Without Soul
A Brutally Powerful Documentary: Wiktor Grodecki's Precursor to MANDRAGORA
Wiktor Grodecki is a brave filmmaker, one who is unafraid to address a controversial subject, yet one who is able to make a powerful sociologic statement by creating a metaphorical art film that demands respect.
Grodecki interviews young boys (ages 14 - 17) who are male hustlers in Prague: he wisely removes (for the most part) the interviewer questions allowing the individual boys to make spontaneous, searing comments. These young lads discuss why they became male prostitutes, how they deal with selling their bodies, where they find their business (the train station, the swimming pools, etc), how they feel about the johns and about their fellow hustlers, the manner in which they do business including the way in which the financial aspects come to play - all in a way that burns the faces of these young lads into our psyches.
About half way through this film Grodecki introduces Pavel Rousek, a man who by day is a pathologist performing autopsies in the Prague morgue and in his off hours (using the pseudonym Hans Miller) creates, casts and directs gay porno videos in his home. Rousek is shown at the autopsy table gowning, gloving, and grotesquely performing an autopsy on a real cadaver while discussing both professions. There are moments while he is gloving that he explains why he doesn't allow his boys to wear condoms (the buyers of his videos don't want to see condoms), and the contrast between his self protection vs the enforcement of prevention of sexual protection of his actors is devastating.
Rousek as Miller is then shown filming the boys in his home, explaining the details of achieving the visual effects of pornography: simultaneously we again hear the boys views of that aspect of their 'careers', creating a pitiful tension. There is almost no total nudity in this film and when it does occur the lighting is so dark as to obscure it - making the overall effect even more dense and effectively tense. Under all of this lurid talk Grodecki uses classical music - Albinoni, Mahler, Mozart - which again provides a contradiction that makes the topic digestible.
The final question Grodecki poses to his subjects involves the boys perception of 'soul' and while there is a variety of responses, the overall message is that these lads sell their bodies as a career, but the soul is 'what you think', something that cannot be taken from you. Several of these boys have screen presence and faces that, were they noticed by regular film makers, would probably give them legitimate careers. But the power of the film comes from the words of these boys, knowing completely their choice of life, and therein lies the sorrow.
This is a tough but very fine piece of filmmaking. Interestingly, Grodecki absorbed this material and used it to create his subsequent feature film MANDRAGORA (reviewed under that title). This film is the more powerful of the two. Not a movie for everyone, but certainly an important document about a way of life few know and fewer understand. Grady Harp, September 05
Body Without Soul
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