Carcinoma

Director- Marian Dora

Cast- Dorian Piquardt, Thomas Goersch

Country of Origin- Germany
 

Distributor - PCM/Diabolik DVD

Number of discs –  1

Reviewed by - Tyler Miller

Date- 07/03/2019

CARCINOMA is a strange beast in the world of arthouse cinema. A ugly look at the effects of colorectal cancer, while also trying to express the stages of grief. Sadly the worthwhile experiment left me cold and alienated.

The film tells the story of a man who arrives to the ER with some strange marks on his face. The doctor on duty is soon shocked to see the man is in dangerous stages of cancer, that has gone untreated for too long. As the patient slowly sinks into his doom we are shown his nightmarish state of life.

Without spoiling too much, I will say CARCINOMA (2015) has its moments. It’s a grim and haunting tale from director Marian Dora. But the subject matter seemed too dark to be this playful with this material. All the elements are here for a worthwhile experience, But I was left cold. The humaninstic element isn’t there and the tone was just too blunt for my taste. The look of the film does it no favors with plenty of tight close ups and dirty photography. Every inch of the ER seems to be layered with crust of filth and lazily unkempt spaces.

The emotional aspect was also not there. This is a deeply personal subject, so based on life experience, results will vary. But the acting and situation left me wanting. This didn’t have a gut punch climax like say Clint Eastwood’s MILLION DOLLAR BABY.

In terms of graphics it does deliver in the forms of body decay. In some shots you could even smell the dying flesh. But with the washed out lighting and disappointing sound mix I just felt disgusted and turned off. I finally finished the film after three attempts. So if this sounds like your cup of tea, I say take the chance. But I’ll avoid revisits.

The Blu-ray from PCM offers two avenge sound mixes. The German 5.1 DTS-MA track is free of hiss or pops. The music is slightly muffled but the effects sound fine. It comes with English subtitles. The 1080p HD picture is also flawed with a couple shots being too bright. The black levels are decent. In terms of extras we have a trailer, and a gallery of short films by Marian Dora.