9 Songs [DVD]

 

 

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I have been conscious of the controversy surrouding "9 Songs" since it first appeared, and it was in part my curiousity, and in part its appropriateness for the moment, that led me to choose to curl up with it, a glass and a friend.

Unfortunately, I spent much of the time struggling to follow and hear what was going on. I'm sure this was largely due to the editing, but perhaps also because I was looking and listening for something that simply wasn't there. It's a simple, realistic (but rather dis-jointed) snap shot of a brief relationship between two very ordinary people in which not very much happens. It is the very ordinariness of the couple that is both refreshing and reassuring. Erotic intimacy is not simply the domain of the beautiful. Indeed, it took me a while to adjust to the androgyny of Lisa. To me, a brave and honest move on both the parts of Director and cast to step outside the mould.

It is noticeably short, but, to my mind - without more of a tale to tell -long enough. There is something almost soporific about it, and not only did we have to re-wind the bits I missed, but, I think I must have nodded off through several of the 9 songs! I should, however, like to find the time to see it again. I came away feeling privileged to be invited to be a "fly on the wall" and to be part of such simple human tenderness. Certainly not porn but definitely an adult movie best watched with the someone in your life you feel completely comfortable with.

Okay, I'll admit it; when I decided to watch 9 Songs, I was looking for something saucy to spice up my marriage... and what I got was all that and more. If you read any of the critics' reviews at the time, and indeed some of the customer reviews on this site, you'll know that this film incited a lot of controversy and has divided opinions. Some love it, some hate it, but it certainly gets everyone talking - in my eyes that marks out a film as one to see, even if it's only so you can join in the discussions! Indeed I am now very glad I saw the film, and will be buying my own copy of the DVD as soon as the rented one has to go back.

First and foremost, yes, there is a lot of explicit sex and it is as explicit, but fortunately not nearly as unrelenting, as many pornographic films. But hey, I expected the explicit sex. What I did not expect was the tenderness with which those scenes were directed and played out. They had a sincerity and depth of feeling that is rarely if ever seen in pornos, and whilst I know the actors are only doing their job and were not a couple in real life at the time, both seem completely at ease with the raw intimacy involved and even display significant on-screen chemistry. Neither O'Brien nor Stilley are typically attractive in the Hollywood, plastic, overly-made-up artificial sense of the word; rather they are real and human, and beautifully imperfect. And so the sex (despite it being so truly believable that at times I almost thought I was watching myself!) is undeniably hot.

The emotion and chemistry carries over into the rest of the characters' relationship. They are a credible couple, at times both likable and hateful as we all are and this only served to make me care about them more. At the sad yet inevitable disintegration of their union I even felt a pang in my chest - exaggerated perhaps by the stunning, desolate antarctic shots that evoke a deep and slightly disturbing sense of isolation and loneliness. As such, the entire film (at its relatively short length of, ah-hem, 69 minutes) is tinged with melancholy, reflected well in the dim lighting and low-key cinematography.

The music perhaps does not add quite what the production team may have wanted - the much sought after 'edge' - but it does fill out the film and serves as an unusual way to timeline the couples' demise. I can't help feeling though, that it may be also be a vehicle to promote the bands, and so would have preferred to see some that actually need promoting! As if anyone hadn't already heard of Franz Ferdinand. However, this is really the only solid negative I want to put forward (hence the four stars).

Overall the film is unusual in style and substance, and whilst I'm not sure it has quite achieved what it set out to (the much discussed 'commentary on censorship' is notably absent, and having seen the film just the idea of that is irrelevant and unnecessary - it stands up fine without anything like that), I thoroughly enjoyed it - it left me with the most bizarre mixture of feelings... both pensive and turned-on! Not previously a fan of Winterbottom, in my opinion he did a great job here and this film is an admirable addition to his body of work that I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind. It is not the great controversial release of the noughties that it was hyped as, but simply an enjoyable and moving film... in more ways than one.

I enjoyed this film. The notion that it's porn is not really an issue in my opinion. Whatever you want to call it, they appeared to be a couple having an intensely erotic and sexual relationship. Yes their life was quite dull, livened up by the three things that enrich most young peoples lives - sex, drugs and rock & roll. It made me feel quite nostalgic!

The fact that the film explored the highs and lows of a year spent together, with no real future but a sense of immediate gratification that most young people enjoy for a while at least, sets it apart from porn. Porn is almost invariably about nice graphic shots of two (more?) people achieving nothing more than a climax, with a liberal smattering of cruelty, misogony and appaling acting thrown in. There was only one "money shot" in 9 songs and it was a tender, intimate moment with no grunting or fake moaning, or vacuous instructions along the "give it to me baby" school of script. Instead I felt as if I was a voyeur, evesdropping on the life of two pretty ordinary people. A bit like watching Peter Andre and Jordan in the jungle!!

The fact that it was she who appeared to be using him as a means of recreation also set it apart from the norm in terms of porn. He did appear weak, not unlike so many men in a similar situation really. It's not always the woman who falls in love and is hard done by.

The music was gritty, contemporary and shot in a way that felt like a memory of so many concerts one had been to. Not always exactly what you wanted but stimulating and real. The whole became a blurry mess of drugs, music and sex, hingeing on the pretext that something serious was also being planned - just like my days at art college.

An interesting, brave and honest film.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful
Having re-watched '9 songs' I have to say I was completely wrong in my opinion the first time I saw it. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Stink Finger

1.0 out of 5 stars dont bother
Another film that doesn't live up to the hype. The sex scenes are graphic(ish), if that's your main reason for buying this film then you can find a lot better on the internet. Read more

Published 4 months ago by frustrated...

1.0 out of 5 stars Yes, but what is the main thrust of this movie...?
Damn! Sorry, I really can't help myself. So puerile and immature;
a man of my age, what am I thinking?
Anyway, I found this film really hard to penetrate. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Bloodnock

4.0 out of 5 stars youthful passion, so briefly inhaled and long remembered
This is a beautiful impressionistic film about an affair, as remembered by a scientist while flying over Antarctica. Read more

Published 5 months ago by rob crawford

5.0 out of 5 stars must buy
if you like the sound of this film for the dvd case it will not let you down .top film

Published 7 months ago by frog

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for authenticity
Those who experience good sex will recognize the authenticity of the love-making sequences. There is passion, lust, pleasure, mild bondage, explicit ejaculation, and lots of... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Ian Hunter

3.0 out of 5 stars hard to stand
Boy meets girl, has sex, goes to the barbican.
Not much else to say, does not have a story line.

Published 9 months ago by Hard to Stand

3.0 out of 5 stars "...I gave her ticket away. Five thousand people in a room and you can still feel alone".
Matt is working in Antarctica, from the solitude of his tent and the overwhelming white canvas of his surroundings, he narrates his reflections on a relationship he had with a... Read more

Published 13 months ago by GeekZilla

4.0 out of 5 stars Why not 12 songs?
I didn't know that films as good as this were being made in the UK now. It is a classic; economical and spare in style and a good antidote to... Read more

Published 14 months ago by Gorilla

4.0 out of 5 stars loved it!
If your looking for a hard core porn film then this is not for you. This film is about a young couple who have a brief but passionate relationship. Read more

Published 16 months ago by fluffy

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