The two pieces appear in the order in which they were written. It's important to establish up front that they were written independently and neither is intended as a reaction to the other, and where there are alternative opinions on specific elements then this is purely coincidental, not a reaction by one reviewer to the views of the other. In an unusual but not unique move, we've elected to review the film from two perspectives, an approach that was not the result of forward planning but two very different responses to the same film.
Reactions to the film have differed widely and will doubtless continue to do so, but such is the nature of extreme cinema. But in the case of A Serbian Film, a viscerally shocking, morally punishing film born from Spasojevic's anger at the exploitative nature of modern society and the darker aspects of his own country's recent history, both views are valid and deserve to be made and heard. Those who react negatively to the extremity of its content run the risk of being labelled overly sensitive and of missing the subtextual point, while an allegorical reading exposes the writer to charges of pretentious gullibility. Srdjan Spasojevic's A Serbian Film, without question the most controversial and divisive film of 2010, is not an easy one to write about in an even-handed or balanced manner.
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