Film-making tour de force, but where's the character development?

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2005)

A film-making tour de force of style, "Requiem" is ultimately exploitation masquerading as art. Apart from the glitz and glamor of the cinematography and editing, where is the character development? Where are the twists and turns in the story? Where are the delightful surprises that great films always give us?
Were it other than a straight linear, chronologically ordered record of four characters' steady descent into hell, it might be more than a simple diary of the times.
Students wanted me to show this in my film class this past semester. Sometimes I will show films I have not previous viewed. This time I chose not toI'm glad I made the right decision.