Karmadonna
Directed and written by Aleksandar Radivojević
Karmadonna is the directorial debut of Serbian filmmaker Aleksandar Radivojević that was part of TIFF’s Midnight Madness series, and allegedly the goriest of the Midnight Madness films. The story follows a pregnant woman, Jelena, who is forced to commit acts of violence by an omnipresent figure via her phone who turns out to be a rogue Buddha. The reason Jelena must commit these murders is to protect her unborn child as the omnipresent Buddha can create physical pain towards her and the child. While I found this concept to be interesting and I thought there were some humorous parts like the club called “The Titahnik 2” which involved stone sculptures of James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kate Winslet, I felt as though the filmmaker was doing too much and not enough at the same time. In terms of gore, there certainly were gory parts, but not as gory as I think the film could have gone. I think it would have been more effective to stay on the bloody sequences as it would have really lived up to the expectation or to add more shock value for the viewer. Cutting a scene where someone is being killed, to our protagonist fighting, seemed like a poor choice because it made the story feel a bit disconnected. Additionally, I think the commentary the director was trying to make about capitalism fell a bit flat. While it was funny that Buddha was blaming corporations for being evil and greedy, this explanation was all dialogue, it was telling rather than showing. While I appreciated the sound design, most of the practical effects, and the humor of the film, what I enjoyed most was the energy of the audience for this late-in-the-day watch.