Filth and Wisdom (2008)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

the leading man is my tpye

Fantastic!

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

As a director Madonna's understanding of subtlety and nuance is akin to a stiff punch to the gut. She doesn't get it at all. Incomprehensible at times and pretentious in others, there isn't that much reason to watch it. I skipped some of the more arduous scenes that were hard to get through. Doing this made the movie easier to watch.The immigrant storyline which takes place in London is mildly interesting. The problem is that Madonna doesn't know how to bring her ideas and observations together in a way that makes enough sense. This lack if comprehension for the story she is trying to tell coupled with her inexperience as a director leads to on screen confusion and annoyance.

OK, so let me just say that I came into this as a huge fan of Eugene Hutz and Gogol Bordello and while I don't enjoy her music, I like Madonna's persona and was very excited to see the film.On the upside, this movie did have some interesting ideas on, well... filth and wisdom, sex work and art. Unfortunately, the story-telling vehicle meant to get us to these ideas was so appalling that Mr. Hutz had to narrate them to us fairly explicitly. For ideas to work in a film WITHOUT an engrossing storyline, those ideas better be pretty profound (which these aren't) otherwise it just looks like the amateurish work of an angsty teen (which this did).To make it all the more disappointing, the character set ups were GOOD. I wanted to like and know about each of the three protagonists and their relationships to each other. Unfortunately, everything goes downhill after we meet them. Their back stories are only hinted at, their motives and personalities one-dimensional and their stated relationships lacked the slightest chemistry. The secondary characters were worse. So, what happened and who do we hold accountable for ruining this film? Someone was handed a great cast to play exciting characters, a nice little premise and some passable thematic ideas and yet it bombed. The real achievement of this film is that it managed to be as unwatchable as it was. The only real reason to sit through this pile is for the the sheer erotic thrill of seeing Eugene Hutz as a male dominatrix, and if that doesn't get you rocks off, then I'd just skip it all together.

I watched this last night On-Demand and although it was lacking in some others, I still found it worth watching. Eugene Hutz is fabulous in everything he does so I fully understand Madonna basically making this film to highlight him and Gogol Bordello. My main issue with the film was the lack of comradery between the roommates. They were supposed to be very close and I never got that impression. And there was basically no back story on any of the characters. But I do get what Madonna was trying to do with this. She just fell short a little. But I think she's on the right track. Also, one of the main characters, Vicky McClure was quite good. I would like to see her in more films. But definitely see this if you are a fan of Gogol Bordello.

I saw this movie yesterday at the Berlinale.Going into the theater I thought it might be a dreadful film (after all there were some terrible comments running the net...) I must say though after just a ten minutes the film had gotten to me. It is funny and has quite a pace to it. Getting to know the different characters did not seem to be "set up" as it happens to be in quite a few movies. Despite the obvious humor the movie contains a lot to think about and even more to remember.I really would advice anyone to go and watch the movie as it is one of a kind. Just go in expecting nothing and you will receive everything...