Sight & Sound

[Ishmael]

I was beyond horrified when I saw Hukkle (2002). No warning in the program about animal cruelty which included a very graphic scene of a cat being poisoned to death. I had no idea that the film contained that content and when watching that scene I was at first unsure what was happening to the cat only to realise once the scene was well under way. I felt like throwing up.

I admit that had I known in advance I still would have seen the film given its prestige but as least I would have been prepared and could have closed my eyes and covered my ears.

I note that Hukkle received a UK release but was understandably cut. It never turned up in Australia beyond festival screenings and I really doubt any cuts would have been made had been submitted for classification.

That scene made me uncomfortable as well, but the director says on the DVD commentary that all they did was have a veterinarian temporarily anaesthetize the cat (same thing Tarr did in Satantango). They just let the cat loose in the grass so it stumbled around as it lost consciousness. That said, the cat looks scared to me, and I'll certainly look away from the screen if I ever watch the film again, but it wasn't physically hurt and certainly wasn't killed (unless the director is lying, which I have no reason to think is the case). Was Hukkle actually cut in the UK? If I understand how the law works, it sounds like that scene would be OK since it was faked.

[Aunt Peg]

That's good to know that it wasn't poisoned but it certainly did look very distressed.

Hukkle was cut according to the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/hukkle-h ... c0zmzawnza

I was only aware of the UK cut(s) because the Sight & Sound details of the film tech specs sometimes include cuts made.

[Ishmael]

Interesting, I wonder if they cut the whole scene or just part of it. Maybe the director couldn't prove his story about the cat not really being harmed, so the BBC had no choice but to err on the side of legal caution. But legal issues aside, I feel like the earlier scenes of the cat licking the food (which we don't know yet is poisoned) wouldn't make much sense if the cat just disappeared from the film--or rather, those scenes would just show a cat behaving like a cat and wouldn't have any other point, which undermines the subtle way the film reveals what it's actually about.

[Lemmy Caution]

I've had over two dozen cats neutered over the past decade, and when coming out of the anesthesia they are groggy and confused and will try to do too much, so wind up staggering around or crashing into things. I've learned to just keep them in the carrier for an extended period of time, like 6-8 hours, to restrict their movement, until they've become fully woke.

[MichaelB]

I've had over two dozen cats neutered over the past decade, and when coming out of the anesthesia they are groggy and confused and will try to do too much, so wind up staggering around or crashing into things. I've learned to just keep them in the carrier for an extended period of time, like 6-8 hours, to restrict their movement, until they've become fully woke.

Now there's hardcore indoctrination.

[kubelkind]

Regarding S'en Fout La Mort, this is the original post from "jeromezone" that I referred to:

I worked on this film as an extra and it was a pleasure to meet the fantastic talent in the film. Isaach was a delight and it was great to meet the late, great Jean-Claude Brialy, who had us often in stitches during the breaks. But the sheer brilliance of watching Ms. Denis at work was unforgettable. I would also like to point out that the cockfights in the film look very real but in filming them it was executed so well that no harm was ever done to any animals. It took many, many hours of shooting and many takes to make it look real - and lots of fake blood. Of course they were put into the ring and they hopped around on each other and began to get aggressive but then it would be stopped. Thus the words "no animals were harmed during the making of this film" is true. It was important to show that this type of thing was going on at the time (many people didn't believe it), and how brutal it was.

[zedz]

I was just looking at Sight & Sound's 10 Best Discs of 2023 list in the Winter issue, and how weird is it that one of the releases is from 2019? * And another one from 2013? **

SpoilerShow

* Wanda
** Wheel of Ashes

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I have no idea why Wheels of Ashes is there, but Wanda got a UK edition last April.

[TechnicolorAcid]

I’m looking over the S&S online list and unless someone put Wheels of Ashes in the issue after it’s online publication I’m not seeing it. Wanda is very much there though at number 10 and some of the people who put recommendations did bring up other Re:Voir titles but not Wheels of Ashes, again though I’m just looking at the online version so it could have been added in with other suggestions or even in the actual top 10 in the official Winter printed article. Just something I’d bring up though.

[zedz]

The printed version isn't numbered / ranked. The titles are:
Foolish Wives (Flicker Alley)
Twilight (Second Run)
Wanda (Criterion)
2 x Kira Muratova titles (Studio Canal)
Magic Myth and Mutilation (Indicator)
Western Approaches (BFI)
Everything Everywhere Again Alive (Black Zero)
Moment of Romance (Radiance)
Cinematic Sorceress (Arbelos)
Wheel of Ashes (Re:Voir)

i.e. It's an almost completely different list from the one posted online. [Shrug]

[TechnicolorAcid]

Bit odd but I assume it that someone mistakenly put it down and S&S put it on the list not knowing it was a 2019 release to change it up from the online list. That’s the only possible explanation I can think of unless somehow multiple people mistakenly put down a 2019 release under the belief it was a 2023 one.

[zedz]

Bit odd but I assume it that someone mistakenly put it down and S&S put it on the list not knowing it was a 2019 release to change it up from the online list. That’s the only possible explanation I can think of unless somehow multiple people mistakenly put down a 2019 release under the belief it was a 2023 one.

Wheel of Ashes came out in 2013. It's ten years old! The only explanation I can think of is that somebody stuck it in there to test whether or not anybody read the article.