Taxidermia

Directed by Gyorgy Palfi; Starring Csaba Czene, Gergely Trocsanyi, Marc Bischoff, Istvan Gyuricza, Piroska Molnair

This is a strange but fascinating story about three generations of men that unfolds in the most ugly , repulsive manner possible, but told in a visually striking style. Sprinkled with many unsettling images that will stick with you for quite some time.
The lives of the three men act as an allegory for the political changes of Hungary throughout it's history,where it was set and produced. Personally I'm not up on my Hungarian history, but after doing a little homework I could see that was possible. Although personally this is not what I took away from the film , but more on that later. The film is beautifully photographed but littered with repulsive images as the three generations of men are shown to represent three of the seven sins. Lust, glutton and sloth.
Morosgovanyi, a soldier living in a state of squalor is also dealing with a domineering military officer, this could be seen as the invasion of Hungary by the Nazis in 1944. As Morosgovanyi's dominant other dines , drinks and makes merry, Morosgovanyi lives his life in poverty and has a long list of chores that must be completed each day. Morosgovanyi has the misfortune to be born with a hair lip ( although characters don't mention this fact in the film )a trait the Nazis wouldn't take a liking to , considering they would eliminate anyone who wasn't physically flawless, in building their perfect race.
Morogovanyi fantasizes ( masturbates ) a lot,  dreaming of  sex with the two young women who happen to be the commanding officer's daughters. At one time he even had a run in with an angry rooster who had pecked him while having sex with a knot hole when watching the two young women frolicking outside his shack. A gorgeous moment of  the use of C.G.I turns ugly when Morogovanyi opens a pop up book of Charles Dickens' The Little Match Girl and a Dickens like village blossoms from the pages. Morogovanyi emerges from a paper door and descends a flight of paper stairs , to sit beside the little match girl, a beautiful scene that turns ugly when pedophilia is hinted at. After a night of passion with his commanding officer's fat, unattractive wife, Morogovanyi sires a son which he'll never see. There are a couple of gratuitous glimpses of genitalia, but believe me it's not the least bit titillating. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Morogovanyi shoots fire out of his penis.
The second part deals with the story of Kalman who was born with a very unusual birth defect. which is quickly done away with. Kalman grows up to become a champion speed eater and becomes a hero to his country even though the International Olympic Committee refuses to recognize the sport officially. This is where some of the grossest images presents themselves as these so called athletes must purge their stomachs as showers of vomit flow freely between bouts. It is at one of these events that Kalman meets his future wife Gizella. Kalman eventually grooms her to become a speed eater as well  and the two will grow to celebrity like status even performing in front of royalty. Kalman and Gizella give birth to a son, Lajos who is the runt of the maternity ward and a disappointment to his parents. Kalman has grown grossly obese over the years and is confined to a chair in his apartment. Gizella has found wealth in America as a speed eating coach. Lajos, a scrawny  build of a man comes by his father's apartment each day to care for him and his giant cats his father is creating for the compensation of siring such a weak offspring. Lajos makes a living as a taxidermist and is given a very strange object to preserve for his final customer.  Being the shy, introverted type that he is, Lajos has trouble asking the checkout girl at the local super market for a date. He realizes he will spend the rest of his life alone, unmarried, and childless. With a very unusual method, Lajos plans to immortalize himself.
What this viewer took away from Taxidermia is the fact that we all want to leave our mark on the world some how, any  way that is possible. Not all of us will be fortunate to become film, television or sport celebrities, so the next best thing is pursuing those dreams through our children. Or perhaps better yet, one may become preserved like a great piece of art, timeless throughout history.
My Final Thought: Taxidermia may be a little short on the plot side of things, but those images are so compelling. You will not forget this movie.
My Rating: 4 Go Go Girls out of 5