Begotten

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Summary: Archetypes
Review: This film is a representation of the old goddess (i.e. pagan) traditions and contains such themes as an immolated god, mother goddess and the birth, death and ressurection of her son. Regarding previous comments, the film does not have anything to do with the Necronomicon (a work of fiction) or with Christianity save for the pagan influences on the religion. If you are interested in the raw imagery of earlier religious traditions, this film shows them very powerfully. The timing, as with most works of surrealism is a bit off and trying, but well worth the effort. This film is not meant as a comedy or horror show, but a revelation of the cycle of life viewed through ancient mythologies: Ishtar and her husbands, Osiris, Dionysus, Persephone and Demeter to name but a very few of the very many examples of this archetype. Definitely a challenge to orthodox opinions, especially those which deny the impact of goddess traditions on Judaism and Christianity. Anyone interested, might check out Merlin Stone's "When God Was A Woman" for a scholarly work which examines the goddess oriented traditions of the Middle East which preceded Jusaism and Christiniaty, and on which this film is based. Begotten is powerful and haunting, touching on the deepest levels of our collective memory. Love it or hate it, its symbolism will stay with you for quite some time.

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Summary: New Depths to the Human Soul.
Review: This movie shows you that there are depths to this world that you have never imagined. Who could have dreamed that this movie would ever exist. OUTSTANDING ! Disturbing, but I have a deeper appreciation for life because of it. The box was right, This is a one of a kind ... You wouldn't want there to be a second. EASILY ONE OF THE BEST FILMS EVER MADE!

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Summary: A FUN FILLED MOVIE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Review: begotten is a movie for the whole family, my kids love it.i make them watch it 3 times a day

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Summary: Be Patient ....And Enjoy The Show.
Review: First of all, I'm not sure which was more entertaining,...this movie or the subsequent reviews for it. What a great read this site is! And what a great film "Begotten" is. We have become far too dependent on Hollywood to fire bullets past our heads and blow up buildings in our faces for the sake of holding our interest. We don't like it when movies actually ask us to think. And if there is no apparent plot to figure out, all of our control issues surface. At that point, we can get a little annoyed and irritated and it becomes difficult or impossible to appreciate the very images that we're supposed to be focusing on. Kind of like life. Even I became frustrated the first time I tried to get through this film the first time. However, the same thing happened when I first saw "Eraserhead". I now hold both of these works up in a different light. Just because it didn't star some leading actor packing an Uzi doesn't mean it was bad. It was just different. And brilliantly so. My only complaint (and I still gave it five stars for a myriad of reasons) is that I would've liked it to have been a bit more horrorfying...say,..like The Exorcist times ten! It certainly had the potential with some of the gruesome images. I can't remember seeing stuff so disturbing, which is clearly what this movie was supposed to do. I hate watching movies labeled "sick" or "scary" which barely amuse, much less disturb or frighten me. "Begotten" is a success if for no other reason than the fact that it delivers. Granted, the style is minimilistic, but to notice the details in this film is to behold a wealth of creativity. This movie is absolutely awesome! It just ain't a Hollywood movie....Thank God!

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Summary: The feel good movie of the century!
Review: Very simply put, a triumph of the human spirit. The kids loved it. Not as funny as I had hoped, but nevertheless a heart warming display of superb film making. Two amputated thumbs up!

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Summary: The most disturbing imagery I ever laid eyes upon.
Review: I have seen this movie over 3 years ago and since then, have not gone more than a week without thinking about it and getting chills up my spine. No other film has ever done that to me. It's left a mark that will never go away. After watching it, I was afraid to touch the video tape. Afraid of it's evil. It leaves you with a feeling of pure hate. Hate for a society that can spawn beings who could make such a film. Love it or hate it, your feelings will be very strong. I loved it for making me hate it so much.

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Summary: The new silent cinema.
Review: Begotten is perhaps one of the most crucial film works of the 1990's. While many folks have pointed to its roots in avant garde cinema, I can't help feeling that they are missing something. I will let the many other reviews present try to analyze the contents of this opus. I must confess that as philosophy it leaves something to be desired. But whatever else it is, it is consistently made and displayed to a high degree. The real importance of Begotten, in my opinion,lies in two areas. One is that the blurring of the imagery, the dirtying of the image itself, helps point a way out of the current fixation with overplotted, far too efficient Hollywood cinema. And then Begotten is also a real contemporary revival of the silent film. And this in itself points the way to a new cinema based not upon a perfection of images, but upon the MEANING of images. The discarded and surpassed technologies of the past can be reconverted for powerful work. The gauntlet is thrown down here.

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Summary: nice pot party film
Review: if you ever get really stoned check this movie out. if your not stoned you will think its sick or ripping off other film makers who make boring films, or really damn pointless, well fu*k you if you think that, i think its a good movie.

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Summary: A psychotic piece of genius
Review: You will either be completely overwhelmed in awe by this film, or completely repulsed by it. Suffice to say that this is the only film that really scares me. I have described this film to people as 'watching someone's bad acid-tripped nightmare.' The phrase on the box is absolutely true, no one will come out of watching this film unscathed.

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Summary: a nightmarish epiphany in monchrome
Review: This is one of the most nightmarish films ever created. It requires multiple viewings just to be able to comprehend what is actually transpiring throughout the film. The images, actions and sounds of BEGOTTEN brings to mind the anthropological films of Margaret Meade in a strange sense more so than say Eraserhead or Dali and Bunuel's film collaborations. BEGOTTEN depicts an alien monochrome world where God has killed himself in order to reproduce and bring forth a son "flesh on bone" and an "earthmother" who wander about a mud world populated by shambling humanoids who practice deus-cide in order to bring about the flowers of the heavenly state.Taking elements from Christianity, the Druids and the necronomicon this film is both disturbing and beautiful. Definitely not for the squeamish.