directed by Martin Loke
runtime: 75 mins
In a field, a full-grown man is born from Earth’s vagina. A hooded monk comes along and cuts the umbilical cord, bathes him, clothes him, cuffs him to a briefcase, and sends him on his merry way into a world of male genitalia, ass beer, and business cannibals. If that doesn’t sound like a surreal roundhouse kick in the shit-maker, then I don’t know what does. Welcome to Bread and Circus.
Bread and circus is defined as:
This may or may not improve your comprehension of the movie, but at least now you know why there aren’t actually any pumpernickels or clowns present. If you didn’t need that clarification then you should skip that last part back there.
It is reported that the wild anti-establishment sci-fi action of the Norwegian Bread and Circus is also beneficial to those living with depression. Now let’s hear some testimonials from totally real people:
“Bread and Circus saved my life. The spiritual successor to Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste, with those same great SFX and same great humor”
-Real McPerson
“I was too confused to be depressed!”
-Reese Royce Ross
“Living in a time frought with political turmoil, it’s hard not to fall into a deep blue depression. So deep that you feel like you are drowning. The anti-establishment overtones cleared up my arachnoid hemorrhages and snapped my synapses back into working order. I owe my life to Bread and Circus”
-Marvin Flarber
“I LIKE DA PART WITH THE VAGINA”
-Gerb Derbson
I have to agree with Real McPerson. It’s true. Early on we are treated to superlative SFX reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste, and there is nothing wrong with that. The box art even compares it to Bad Taste (and surprisingly, it wasn’t lying!) The dismemberment is there, the goofiness is there, and the passion is there. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I actually watched about 40 minutes of this film before I realized I needed to turn the subtitles on. The film language transcended the dialogue, as much as something of this budget possibly could.
If there’s a gripe on my end, it’s that I’m not a fan of the comical music. The film was funny and farcical at times, but the music made it more cartoony than it needed to be.
So take it from Gerb Derbson and Marvin Flarber, and give Bread and Circus a look-see. A crazy film like this deserves to be seen more than it has had the fortune of so far in the 15 years since its release. Bread and Circus is distributed by Wild Eye Releasing, and you can buy it from their website!
8/10
Stay slime, and be rad at all times!
-Rat
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