Fun With Nihilism
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, is it winter? Is it a bad case of post-holiday blues? Santa didn’t treat you right? Whatever it is that’s got you down, a few films filled with sadistic violence should set you straight. After all, it could be worse. Couldn’t it? Oh, and wine pairings. That’s the fun part.
First of all, these three films suggest that the title of this piece should have been Fun With Sadism, since nihilism doesn’t fully connect to sadism. Deriving pleasure from causing others to suffer is almost the opposite of believing in a moral vacuum. IMHO.
Funny Games is an Austrian psycho-thriller from 1997. It was remade in English ten years later. We’re talking about the earlier film here, although they’re both fairly sadistic, and in the ‘97 version you have to read subtitles as an added pain.
Michael Haneke directed both, and he’s a nihilism film specialist. What an odd thing to be famous for. This is no popcorn movie. In fact, you should wait an hour or so after eating to view it. The violence is graphic and the torture is, well, torturous.
The story involves a couple of psychopaths who turn up at a nice family setting. Peter and Paul are their names, but they also go by Tom and Jerry, and Beavis and Butt-Head. Apparently they don’t feel an honest introduction is necessary, since they don’t plan on leaving anyone alive to appreciate it.
The director says his aim wasn’t horror. He wanted to show how violence in the media desensitizes the viewer. One of the bad guys underscored this with several instances of speaking and winking directly to the camera, as if we’re all in on the gruesome takeover of this household. Yes, it’s very difficult to watch Funny Games with any sort of compassion. Unless you revel in sadism.
With so much senseless violence in the world, it’s fair to wonder if there is such a thing as sensible violence. Bondi Beach, Brown University, the Reiner home, all have joined the endless list of tragic locales just in the last few weeks. There will be more.
Wickedness is labeled in the Bible as the wine of violence. Buckfast Tonic Wine seems to be the choice of Scottish criminals, who load up on the caffeinated alcoholic beverage before committing carnage. Leave that for the professionals. The Spanish producer Les Foes makes a wine called Brutal, for its lean into the world of natural wines. $30 bucks will let you find out if it sends you into a natural nihilistic frenzy.
1975’s Salo, subtitled as The 120 Days of Sodom, was loosely based on the book of that name written by the Marquis de Sade. Goddamn, this is one strange movie, and I don’t mean that in a good way. Director Pier Paolo Pasolini didn’t make any more movies after this one, because he was murdered shortly before its release.
This Italian film centers on a group of teenagers who are kidnapped, sexually abused, and tortured. Fun with nihilism? If that’s your idea of fun, welcome to your favorite circle of hell. I can’t even describe for you the disgusting acts displayed in Salo. Seriously, I just can’t do it. Now let me try and find a comical wine pairing that gets me out of this segment.
AI tells me there is a study which says those who enjoy bitter tastes are likely sadistic or psychopathic. You may recall that South African Pinotage was often described as tasting like rusty nails. They say it’s better now, so maybe nice, shiny nails? Kanonkop has Pinotage for $30 to $60 American so you can find out for yourself. Just don’t tell your therapist if you like it.
https://kanonkop.co.za/wines/estate-range/
Aah, finally, a good, old fashioned slasher movie. Maniac came from 1980, directed by William Lustig, formerly of the world of video porn. You got the opportunity to come up above ground, and this is what you made?
The villain in Maniac is a goofy looking guy who gets his jollies by murdering young women, scalping them, and adorning his mannequin collection with the bloody hairpieces. I understand the film now has a cult following. Of course it does, and what a great cult to join. The meetings must be buzzing with its members’ favorite mutilation memories. Can I just jump to the wine pairing now? Thank you.
Orin Swift makes a California Chardonnay called Mannequin. The label even shows some which have yet to be graced with a head of hair. Get yours for $48. Be careful when you cut off that foil cap.
https://www.orinswift.com/wines/mannequin/