Search - Whispering Moon (Sub) on DVD

Killer frogs, politics, tech nerds and torture ... oh my!

Bob Lind | Phoenix, AZ United States | 06/06/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Getting my nomination for "Most Bizarre [....] Film" is "Das flüstern des mondes (Whispering Moon)" (2005), an Austrian film that is part homoerotic love story, part sci-fi, part political conspiracy thriller, part tech-nerd's wet dream, part student project, and lots of "Huh??" moments.

Jannis and Patrick are two attractive young men who are working on a film expose' of a circus that is rumored to be a front to breed poisonous frogs to be used to kill politicians (Still with me? Hold on, it's a bumpy ride!) Patrick, the seemingly younger and less experienced of the two, is the son of a noted television journalist, and seems to be on a personal vendetta to complete their project. Patrick doesn't speak (He was supposedly struck mute after watching his father commit suicide), but you still hear his voice (with no lips moving!) as he communicates silently with Jannis. The boys start a sexual relationship, and there are many very homoerotic moments, with full frontal nudity, simulated sex acts and a creative use of a container of yogurt. But Patrick meets Mo, a young woman with the circus who has a rare condition that forces her to avoid the sun or most artificial light, and it becomes apparent that Patrick is somewhat bisexual. Patrick also gets a job with the circus, first as a laborer and eventually as a fill-in for a performer, hoping to get some leads about the poisonous frogs. Oh yeah ... and all of this is told in flashbacks, by Jannis, as he is being tortured by someone for some reason to force him to remember the details. The film, which is set "in the not too distant future", also pauses periodically to give you a "quiz" on what other film they are paying tribute to with various scenes. All together now: "Huh??"

Shot directly on video, the film is visually stunning, but especially confusing when you add English subtitles (the dialogue is in German) to the mix. The acting and direction is overdone, but that seems to fit in the context of such a strange film. DVD has several commentary tracks. If released theatrically in the US, it would likely have drawn an NC-17 rating for overt sexual content and full male nudity. I give it three stars out of five."

"Everyone Wants to be Deceived"

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 05/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Whispering Moon"

"Everyone Wants To Be Deceived"

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

From Austria comes "Whispering Moon" (WaterBearer Films), the story of Jannis a young gay guy and Patrick, his mute boyfriend. The two are making a documentary about a government conspiracy which has brought about several attempts at politial assassinations.
The film starts with an interrogation that looks to be not only intense but somewhat dangerous. At first we are no quite sure of the direction of the film but we soon see that it moves back and forth in time. Jannis tells us how he and Patrick joined a circus in order to shoot their film which exposes the conspiracy which uses poisoned frogs. What seems as if it will be a dark film actually is a playful, witty and quite inventive film.
Combining a variety of media and narrative approaches, the filmmaker, Michael Satzinger weaves his story that grabs the viewer by the collar. We are, thereby, asked to think about what storytelling is and why we tell stories. Deception emerges as a major aspect of daily life and Satzinger shows how easily we can fall victim to deception. He shows us that it is relatively easy to alter images and make things appear to be quite different from what they are in actuality.
The film is set sometime in the not so distant future and it is a movie unlike any movie I have ever seen. Using a plethora of different techniques to move the plot along the movie is quite cutting edge. It sizzles, dazzles and stuns. "Whispering Moon" bombards us visually and challenges us while, at the same time, it amuses and entertains.
This is definitely not your usual kind of motion picture. As it mixes hoaxes, young love, exposes and poisonous frogs, it shows us the wild and creative mind of its director . The actors charm us with their acting ability and boyish good looks (and one particularly graphic nude scene and several others that are beautiful to watch in their sublimity).
I love this movie but I must admit it took a little while to get into it and then to realize what it is really all about. When it was over, I realized that I had not just seen a film, but not actually been a part of a unique experience. This is definitely not your usual cinematic fare.
"

High school improv

Terran | Sunny CA USA | 06/18/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This film, unbelievable concept and execution, and all, are as if a group of highschoolers decided to "put on a show." And instead of a script, they went in front of the audience and said, "Look, we've got some computers, so we can do graphics, so shout out some ideas." And what follows are "poisonous frogs" "circus" "sun disease" "mother revenge" "father disappearance" "astronomy" "political assassination" and "plastic surgery." A professional improv group could have come up with better results than what we see here, and at least the laughs would be intentional. But even an improv group wouldn't work with so many disparate ideas in one plot. I don't think this video film is meant to be a comedy, just some "let's prove I'm a real director by use of deceptively clever camera closeup shots," combined with fullscreen computer graphics, and perhaps some over-earnestness on the part of the two main actors (both of whom average looking, openly gay in RL, but one in particular has several scenes of FF nudity). The plot is absurd, and hard to follow, if you've really a mind too. And the presumed eroticism or sexiness, is totally absent to this viewer. The best thing about this film is the front cover!"