When the mere title of a film is enough to make you sit up and take notice, then you know you are in for one heck of a ride.
The auteuristic creation of Romanian director Radu Jude, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is an anarchic, hilarious, deadly serious, ever-so-slightly mad, cinematic rollercoaster.
Emilia (Katia Pascariu) is a dedicated and highly-respected teacher in a private school in Bucharest. Once off duty, her and her husband Eugen (Stefan Steel) enjoy a healthy sex life, indulging in dress-ups, light bondage, and videoing themselves for upload to an adult website. One of these videos escapes its supposedly private platform, and before long Emilia’s students have seen it, and all hell has broken loose.
The film is presented in three sections with a prologue. Said prologue consists of Emilia and Eugen’s video, in all its messy, erotic, glory. If you find realistic and graphic portrayals of sex confronting, then you may wish to turn your head. Alternatively, it may spice up your own sex life with some excellent suggestions! The first substantive part of the film follows Emilia around the streets of Bucharest as she makes purchases, visits her school Principal, argues with bad drivers, fends off sleazy old men, and makes various frantic phone calls to Eugen to get the video taken down. Jude allows the camera to linger behind Emilia, picking out details of erotic imagery and urban detritus. This is not the pretty Bucharest of many a tourist’s dream. This is the business end. Cinematographer Marius Panduru delivers hyper-real visuals that encompass a sense of intimacy within the chaotic city-scape.
Part two is a glorious, semiotic montage, using quotes from such wits as Ambrose Bierce, and including some anarchically funny imagery. Part three takes us to Emilia’s dreaded parent-teacher meeting, where the group must decide if she should continue to be employed by the school.
Throughout the film almost all characters wear masks (as in COVID masks, not as in kabuki!), giving the work an almost documentary immediacy. These masks are brilliantly employed by costume designer Ciresica Cuciuc to connate character, especially in the third act. Of course this also presents a challenge to the actors, which they all rise to splendidly. Pascariu in particular delivers a breath-taking performance, moving from amateur porn star, to sensible teacher, with large amounts of silent work in between.
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn has made a huge splash on the international cinema scene, winning this year’s Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Not just a satirical look at sexual hypocrisy, it also exposes to the light such taboo topics as religion, porn, the white-washing of history, the patriarchy, and lousy drivers!
Jude has gone his own way with this work, somewhat like Emilia and Eugen in their intimate life. In cinematic terms he has donned the latex, taken up the whip, bent the film industry over the desk, and given it a damn good flogging.
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn opens November 25th. And yes, it’s rated R!
Mad, anarchic, and brilliant 4.5 stars
More News
