Begotten (1989)
- Directed by
- E. Elias Merhige
- Genre
- fantasy film, horror film, silent film, experimental film, dark fantasy
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 1h 18m
- Rated
- NR
- Rating
- 5.9 of 10 from 357 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A godlike figure dies by suicide. This births Mother Earth and the Son of Earth who travel across a decaying world. The film has no dialogue and a degraded film look.
slow-burnbleaksilentunsettlingdreamlikevisually grittymysticalcontemplativedisturbing
What happens
Begotten is a 1989 American experimental horror film written and directed by E. Elias Merhige. It stars the largely unknown actors Brian Salzberg, Donna Dempsey, Stephen Charles Barry and members of Merhige's theatre company Theatreofmaterial. Its unconventional narrative depicts the suicide of a godlike figure and the births of Mother Earth and the Son of Earth, who undertake a journey across a dying world. Merhige directed two short film sequels: 2006's Din of Celestial Birds and 2022's Polia & Blastema: A Cosmic Opera. Merhige conceived Begotten as a dance piece for experimental theatre. It has a gritty visual style, intended to evoke film stock degraded through time and wear. Inspired by documentary footage of the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima, he decided on a feature film. As with the Hiroshima footage, Begotten is silent. Begotten is infused with mystic and religious themes. Critics have debated whether it reflects popular attitudes towards the origins of life and religion at the time of its production and portrays creation through the mythic and religious traditions. Some writers have interpreted the film as an examination of the cycle of life and mankind's relationship with nature. Other themes include the Nietzschean view of order and chaos, societal norms and the perception of reality. After completion, Merhige spent two years trying to find a distributor. It debuted at the Montreal World Film Festival and later screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival, with the film critics Tom Luddy and Peter Scarlet in attendance. The two brought it to the attention of the critic Susan Sontag, whose praise was instrumental to its eventual release. It received few reviews, which were mainly polarized. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Din of Celestial Birds (2006)
Der Todesking (1989)
The Space Between the Door and the Floor (1989)
Hard to Be a God (1989)
Прича о Духу (1989)
Krivda (1989)
Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men (1989)
Save and Protect (1989)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.