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What motivates society to embrace a cinema dominated by elements of sex, violence, horror and terror? Using a day in the life of an ordinary office worker as its central story, Salt, Saliva, Sperm and Sweat looks at how these explosive elements form an integral part of cinema today.
Stylization, repetition, manipulative mood-swings, pithy, theoretically fuelled titles, stark hyper-lighting and the tension between what is 'meant' and what is 'filmed' are only some of the strategics employed to inform, engage and destabilize the viewer. The violence is oddly distanced, ironic, ultra-cool, the sex is served up clean and cold and the whole confronting fusion of relentless sound and unsettling images might make audiences think again about concepts like getting wet, potato-couching, confronting the boss, going to nice restaurants, playing with the kids.
Descriptive commentary doesn't satisfactorily convey the full weight and head-hanging force of this latest offering from one of Australia's more formally and thematically 'daring' independent filmmakers. You certainly won't see too many like this one for a while and do remember the filmmaker's official warning 'This is NOT an exploitation film...' - P.K.