Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

Actually, yeah, it looks like he did.

And Mastidon’s no dope. So maybe it’s worth a read to see why he liked what he saw, eh?

FILTH AND WISDOM
Written by: Madonna & Dan Cadan
Directed by Madonna
Starring: Eugene Hutz, Vicky McClure, Holly Weston, and Richard E. Grant
Release Dates: None set yet. Film may be released straight to Internet
4 out of 5 stars

Hi Guys,

I can already see the talkbacks. Mastidon is nuts! Mastidon was star struck. This film has gotten bad reviews. Can he really be serious? Actually, the film has gotten mixed reviews and the reason for that is the people who gave it a bad review simply didn't get it. I must admit, I went into this film with low expectations. I love Madonna's newer music, especially her latest album but the "Lucky Star" 80s stuff was never my thing as I prefer music like Pink Floyd and The Stones. And I certainly don't need to tell you how bad her acting has been. But see that's the thing, she didn't act in it, she wrote and directed this film. And she has been writing and directing for well over 20 years. This is what she knows and does best. And this is why this film works.

To no surprise, the film is filled with music, most of which comes from Eugene Hutz's gypsy punk band the Gogol Bordello with "Wunderlust King" standing out as the best. Madonna only uses 2 of her songs in the film - "Secret Garden" and "Erotica". The music used is not designed to turn this into an 81 minute music video, but to really enhance the film as any good soundtrack should.

Eugene Hutz plays the lead of A.K. who is a philosopher of life. In the opening he explains where the title of the film comes from, filth and wisdom are two sides of the same coin. If you are down in the gutter at the lowest level, you will seek wisdom to get out of it. If you are powerful and have wisdom, eventually you will get bored and seek filth. This film explores both possibilities.

***SPOILERS****

A.K. spends his days making cash by being a dominatrix for gay men. His anger and abuse towards them reflecting the pain and abuse of his own childhood. The scenes with him beating up these men are hysterical. Through his other actions, you see how he really is a normal guy who just can't get ahead. He is kind to his blind neighbor Professor Flynn (Richard E. Grant). Professor Flynn is a former shell of himself, living in darkness since turning blind and forever giving up writing for which he became known for. A.K., always on a quest to better himself, borrows some of the professor's books. After reading one, he gets the inspiration for a song and makes a demo CD.

A.K.'s roommate Juliette is a pharmacist whose only desire is to go to Africa to save the children. She steals medicines from the shop every chance she can get for the hope to take them with her when she goes to Africa. While Juliette's boss Sardeep (Inder Manocha) secretly lusts after her despite having a successful business and a small army of kids at home.

A.K.'s other roommate Holly is starving as a ballet dancer. A.K. is secretly in love with her but too afraid to act. Desperate to survive financially, Holly takes A.K.'s suggestion and transforms from a sweet innocent ballet dancer to the world of being a stripper. Even though lots of the movie deals with sex and has scenes in a strip club, there is almost no nudity except for one slight shot of Holly's breasts while in the restroom.

The film progresses and follows these characters through their never ending quest for filth and wisdom. As A.K. says at the end that when your ship comes in, you need to put as many people on it as possible because you never know when it will sink.

***END SPOILERS****

Quirky and fun were the first two words that popped into my head after I screened FILTH AND WISDOM. Its a nice distraction and highly entertaining short film. Filled with snippets from these people's lives and with monologues from Eugene, my only complaint with it was that I wanted to see more of these people and how they evolve..

Right now it is uncertain how FILTH & WISDOM will be released. It may be either theatrically or as an alternative straight to the Internet. If the later, it would still be nice to get a small theatrical run as the music is such a key part to the film that it would be a shame for those without good sound systems to fully enjoy it. Will this film be remembered? Well, I could easily see it becoming the same kind of cult hit as SNATCH has become. Is it a great and important film? No, but it sure is entertaining and sometimes that is all that really matters.

Ciao from Berlin,

-Mastidon