Generally, I am not into documentaries, not against them, really, but I choose to follow the topics that a) I like and know b) are totally unknown to me. Telo bez duse falls into the latter category as I have never been even approached by a man offering to sell himself, but several awards and accolades promised to obtain a thorough picture of what was going on in a 1990ies post-socialist country.And yes, I am generally satisfied with the result, although the thoughts and comprehensions of the boys are more profound and versatile than those of the man who irresponsibly and stonily victimised the boys who were even often neither gays nor bisexuals... Thus, there is even no frivolous glamour, but real lowlife, lots of violence, drugs, abuse, poverty, diseases. The filmmaker's daily employment in performing autopsies provides the film with macabre undertones, as in other circumstances, his thoughts and actions would be just odd and sometimes darkly humorous, but as for his "creations" with underage hetero boys (being a family man with children!), he is just plain and loathsome.The film in question could also be a warning film for teens who sometimes think that prostitution is a quick money and plentiful entertainment.

First I watched "Mandragora" – an excellent, trough very depressing movie. Than being found of documentary movies I decided to watch "Body without Soul " – based on other user comments I expected this to be another dark and depressing masterpiece of Wiktor Grodecki. Instead it turned out to be very powerful documentary, with a lot of life lessons.You might be surprised by my statement above and so was my grandmother when I discussed the film with her. She asked me – why was I watching such movies anyway – and my answer was – because I rather see it on the screen than get a real life experience like the boys shown in " Body Without Soul " . If some of them had seen similar movie before they decided to cell their bodies – may be they wouldn't have made the steps which brought them in the hands of the porno producers … That is why my opinion is that movies such as Body without Soul should be viewed by as many people as possible – as they are sure to make them think – about what they had just seen and if they could do something to prevent it happening to them or their friends or relatives.Some of the boy prostitutes interviewed in this movie seemed to deal pretty well with their lifestyle and profession, other were making just the opposite impression. In the movie you can see an the interview with a pornographic film director – to my surprise he wasn't shown as the absolute evil – but rather as a person who makes his living from shooting porno( and working at the morgue ) – with his sins and mistakes , but still real and accurate character as all characters in this documentary are...

Wiktor Grodecki is a brave filmmaker, one who is unafraid to address a controversial subject, yet one who is able to make a powerful sociological statement by creating a metaphorical art film that demands respect.Grodecki interviews young boys (ages 14 - 17) who are male hustlers in Prague: he wisely removes (for the most part) the interviewer questions allowing the individual boys to make spontaneous, searing comments. These young lads discuss why they became male prostitutes, how they deal with selling their bodies, where they find their business (the train station, the swimming pools, etc), how they feel about the johns and about their fellow hustlers, the manner in which they do business including the way in which the financial aspects come to play - all in a way that burns the faces of these young lads into our psyches.About half way through this film Grodecki introduces Pavel Rousek, a man who by day is a pathologist performing autopsies in the Prague morgue and in his off hours (using the pseudonym Hans Miller) creates, casts and directs gay porno videos in his home. Rousek is shown at the autopsy table gowning, gloving, and grotesquely performing an autopsy on a real cadaver while discussing both professions. There are moments while he is gloving that he explains why he doesn't allow his boys to wear condoms (the buyers of his videos don't want to see condoms), and the contrast between his self protection vs the enforcement of prevention of sexual protection of his actors is devastating.Rousek as Miller is then shown filming the boys in his home, explaining the details of achieving the visual effects of pornography: simultaneously we again hear the boys views of that aspect of their 'careers', creating a pitiful tension. There is almost no total nudity in this film and when it does occur the lighting is so dark as to obscure it - making the overall effect even more dense and effectively tense. Under all of this lurid talk Grodecki uses classical music - Albinoni, Mahler, Mozart - which again provides a contradiction that makes the topic digestible.The final question Grodecki poses to his subjects involves the boys perception of 'soul' and while there is a variety of responses, the overall message is that these lads sell their bodies as a career, but the soul is 'what you think', something that cannot be taken from you. Several of these boys have screen presence and faces that, were they noticed by regular film makers, would probably give them legitimate careers. But the power of the film comes from the words of these boys, knowing completely their choice of life, and therein lies the sorrow.This is a tough but very fine piece of film-making. Interestingly, Grodecki absorbed this material and used it to create his subsequent feature film MANDRAGORA (reviewed under that title). This film is the more powerful of the two. Not a movie for everyone, but certainly an important document about a way of life few know and fewer understand. Grady Harp

Wiktor Grodecki's " Body Without Soul " invites the courageous to the prequel of his sensationally dark film, Mandragora. This graphic film depicts the appalling process by which young prepubescence and teen age boys in Prague are so skillfully lured into the eviscerated life of a male prostitute. Candid interviews with both predators and victims alike allow the visitor to observe how deftly and skillfully an unsympathetic pimp/promoter/and oftentimes executioner, can entice, convince and then blackmail his victims into becoming porn stars. Systemic of a life of poverty, the boys recall how easily they and their peers became street hustlers. Converging at a well-known swimming pool in the city, unsuspecting victims are attracted by the promise of money, and too often find themselves defending the tragic lifestyle of the walking dead. This film is not for the faint-hearted, but rather for those wishing to obtain the remnants of humanity on the verge of self-destruction.