9 Songs [2004]

Warning

Please note that this film contains scenes of an extremely explicit sexual nature.

Customer Reviews:

Not well crafted enough to be art, nor erotic enough to be porn.......2008-02-17

If someone wants to look at 9 songs and describe it as a porn film then nothing I, nor anyone else for that matter, has to say will change their mind. And in many respects they would be right, there's an awful lot of sex on show- oral, penetrative, even a "money shot" so that's pornographic? Right?

In my opinion, no its not. I can totally see what Michael Winterbottom wanted to do. He's crafted a tale of a brief shallow relationship using their sex life to tell the story. In order to avoid falling into a cycle of relentless banging of hips he seperates each scene and moves us forward in time by showing footage of a gig that the characters go to. Big name musicians like Franz Ferdinand, Primal Scream, and Super Furry Animals feature only to leave the scene and make way for two people having oral sex- not I would argue the finest point of many of their careers.

The down side is that neither the sex, nor the concert footage is particularly satisfying. The sex, while undeniably explicit, avoids being out and out porn because the director doesn't get in and capture every thrust- preferring a lot of the time to fucus on the character's faces. The sex also keys in with how emotionally unattached they are because its rarely co-operative and is often really about one of the two protagonists pleasuring the other. Only the final scene seems like a joint effort. The concert footage on the other hand takes place from the perspective of the characters so we're generally seeing the bands from the floor when the best concert videos take you on the stage with the performers.

Some of the dialogue (as little as there is) is out and out clap trap- espacially some of the crap that spills from Lisa's (Margot Stilley whose lack of acting experience is evident) mouth. Overall there'sd nothing really in this film, the characters are not engaging, the dialogue is terrible, only Kieron O'Brien's acting is passable of the two (and its perfunctory at best here), and the sex is not a turn on. In saying that there are several very good bands on show here and its the music and the music only that saves it from the abysmal.

...yawn.......2008-01-28

So, a new law comes into town on a shiny clean horse and everyone wants to ride it, they think that this beautiful stallion will in turn make them look as pure and exciting. A sight to behold. Oddly enough, this film's horse turns out to be a small scared donkey. Clearly a blind one at that, not conscious of it's own matted fur and mucus ridden eyes.
I'm an intelligent guy, I've seen plenty of films and understand the way in which directors splice scenes to make a history that doesn't necessarily have to be contiuous, but still make sense. This poor dying donkey attempted that trick but ended up being a badly filmed music documentary, an attempt at a post-modern erotic art film that was very self aware and then some loosely tied in story pieces.
I had moments of seeing a board of middle aged FHM execs sat around a white board deciding what was sexy and which band was hip enough to give us an accurate view of what sort of people we were watching 'ooh, they could like BMRC.. and then... they could be seen smiling!'

Very boring film.
Watch Shortbus or Sex and Lucia..
Anything that doesn't canter the new horse into town and then expect it to juggle for you.

Rewarding, if you take it for what it is........2007-11-05

Okay, I'll admit it; when I decided to watch 9 Songs, I was looking for something saucy to spice up my marriage... and what I got was all that and more. If you read any of the critics' reviews at the time, and indeed some of the customer reviews on this site, you'll know that this film incited a lot of controversy and has divided opinions. Some love it, some hate it, but it certainly gets everyone talking - in my eyes that marks out a film as one to see, even if it's only so you can join in the discussions! Indeed I am now very glad I saw the film, and will be buying my own copy of the DVD as soon as the rented one has to go back.

First and foremost, yes, there is a lot of explicit sex and it is as explicit, but fortunately not nearly as unrelenting, as many pornographic films. But hey, I expected the explicit sex. What I did not expect was the tenderness with which those scenes were directed and played out. They had a sincerity and depth of feeling that is rarely if ever seen in pornos, and whilst I know the actors are only doing their job and were not a couple in real life at the time, both seem completely at ease with the raw intimacy involved and even display significant on-screen chemistry. Neither O'Brien nor Stilley are typically attractive in the Hollywood, plastic, overly-made-up artificial sense of the word; rather they are real and human, and beautifully imperfect. And so the sex (despite it being so truly believable that at times I almost thought I was watching myself!) is undeniably hot.

The emotion and chemistry carries over into the rest of the characters' relationship. They are a credible couple, at times both likable and hateful as we all are and this only served to make me care about them more. At the sad yet inevitable disintegration of their union I even felt a pang in my chest - exaggerated perhaps by the stunning, desolate antarctic shots that evoke a deep and slightly disturbing sense of isolation and loneliness. As such, the entire film (at its relatively short length of, ah-hem, 69 minutes) is tinged with melancholy, reflected well in the dim lighting and low-key cinematography.

The music perhaps does not add quite what the production team may have wanted - the much sought after 'edge' - but it does fill out the film and serves as an unusual way to timeline the couples' demise. I can't help feeling though, that it may be also be a vehicle to promote the bands, and so would have preferred to see some that actually need promoting! As if anyone hadn't already heard of Franz Ferdinand. However, this is really the only solid negative I want to put forward (hence the four stars).

Overall the film is unusual in style and substance, and whilst I'm not sure it has quite achieved what it set out to (the much discussed 'commentary on censorship' is notably absent, and having seen the film just the idea of that is irrelevant and unnecessary - it stands up fine without anything like that), I thoroughly enjoyed it - it left me with the most bizarre mixture of feelings... both pensive and turned-on! Not previously a fan of Winterbottom, in my opinion he did a great job here and this film is an admirable addition to his body of work that I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind. It is not the great controversial release of the noughties that it was hyped as, but simply an enjoyable and moving film... in more ways than one.

Effectively Fuses Pornography into the Mainstream.......2007-08-03

I'm not sure there is much to say here. Simply put, Michael Winterbottom has entered the world of pornography, at least partially. Here, he has definitely made a very dirty film with very little else to say. I'm not saying it offends me. Perhaps Winterbottom's 9 Songs comes off this way because it is about a relationship founded on and maintained by its sex. We see Matt, a guy who does some work in Antarctica, meet Lisa, an American student. Their relationship seems to be based predominantly on two things; a common bond with music and a common bond in enjoying sexual intercourse. There is seemingly very little attachment beyond that and then the relationship ends when Lisa returns to the states.

The explicit sex scenes are intertwined with footage of rock bands including the Von Bondies, the Dandy Warhols and Franz Ferdinand, just to name a few. I was tempted to praise the film for combining elements that are pornographic with a compelling story and somehow attempt to not be gratuitous. I don't know whether to call the graphic scenes honest or exploitative, but I suppose they serve some purpose within the context of the story. It definitely seems empty and bleak in their final scene together. 9 Songs portrays sex far colder and realistic than porn does.

I'm not sure that means it should qualify as good movie, but it certainly seems like an honest attempt to be original and bring elements like this into mainstream cinema, for better or worse. The performances have been praised by some as daring but I have to say, any acting was pretty much a non-factor here. I assume the performances are muted intentionally but they are either done so because the relationship portrayed is a bleak and selfish one or because the acting chops were just no there. It really doesn't matter why because either way it conveniently and perhaps unwittingly works for the benefit of the film. It is a glimpse into the very private lives of too people only associated by their lust.

Merely mediocre acting and poor composition.......2007-06-13

I was also quite bored during the film. Yes the sex scenes were raw but I didn't feel they were sincere but were merely played out especially by Margo Stilley. The fact that the 9 songs were almost entirely put in the film distracted me each time as I was anxiously waiting the real plot to finally emerge. Unfortunately it appeared that there was none whatsoever.

Average customer rating:

9 Songs [UMD Mini for PSP] [2004]
Starring: Kieran O'Brien , and Margo Stilley
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Manufacturer: Optimum Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD Mini for PSP

UMD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000BH2TDS
Release Date: 2005-12-26

Average customer rating:

9 songs [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Manufacturer: Genius Products
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Drama | Drama | Categories | DVD | Video

All Music DVDs | Music DVDs | Categories | DVD | Video

DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
ASIN: 6309681060
Release Date: 2005-11-22

Average customer rating:

9 songs [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Manufacturer: Genius Products
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Drama | Drama | Categories | DVD | Video

All Music DVDs | Music DVDs | Categories | DVD | Video

DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
ASIN: 6309758926
Release Date: 2005-11-22

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