Not at all what I expected

Rating: 8/10 (4 April 2011)

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting when I walked into this film, but it certainly wasn't what I got. It's a lush visual feast with peculiar broken dreamy sequences. It's certainly a surrealist take on a sad and horrible subject matter.
The dream journeys are disjointed and don't feel connected, but who has dream sequences that all follow a single visual/conceptual pattern? I think the sound track and the costuming was sensational, but it's a hodge podge of genres and feels. There is certainly enough action and boobs for most guys to get on board, and I won't deny that I have an obsessive need for t-straps, corsets, an olive-drab nurses hat, and sparkly tights now.
The story sequence may confuse some, as it occasionally skips back and forth in time, giving you the ending before you've taken the journey. The majority of the film is a hallucination that mimics actual events in an alternate location that you rarely see. If you pay close attention to the costuming you will see where they flip flop between the actual reality, the brothel reality, and the girl power fantasy land.
It takes you on a crazy, trippy, Dali-esque journey, but at the end I did not enjoy the destination even though I did enjoy the ride.