It is very sad that such a talented director is also so demented. The first 20 minutes of this film are filled with stunning, magical scenes. For instance, a bathtub serves as a metaphor of Life; a great feat of cinematography. then, Anderson's Little Match Girl,a pop-up storybook, is filled with live characters. Clearly, the movie is a 10. Yes, there is a lot of sexuality (masturbation, male frontal nudity) and masochism, and these don't detract from, but add to the beauty of the story.But as usual, Palfi then starts gratuitously killing animals. Not staged killings and torture, but actual. He did the same in Hukkle. After some 15 minutes, he poisoned a cat.I don't car what humans do to themselves (masturbation, sex, torture) for the sake of a movie because they are willing participants,but non-humans should not be sacrificed for the sake of a film. NO film requires that.It is too bad that Palfi's talent is mixed up with sadism and the objectification, and therefore lack of consideration for "real" versus symbolic Life. Taxdermia could have been a 10. Hukkle could have been up there too. Both are 2s.

I will give this is a strange movie, and it might be because it's Hungarian, so the methodology for their horrors may be slightly different from American. I don't want to spoil anything and I will say it's not my kind of movie, but I did like that fact that thanks to QI, I understood one of the scenes where a lady and a doctor are staring at a frog. I do find it interesting how it follows the lives or more then just one person. That's generations it follows and it does express the depression professionals sometimes feel when their field of expertise is no longer appealing to the public eye. That being said, I have never understood speed-eating, but that's cause my gag factor tends to kick in easily. And trust me, this movie will pull on it at some point.

TAXIDERMIA is a horrible film. The director, who possesses some kind of art-house sensibility, has seemingly decided to make a film as grotesque and offensive as possible. He tells the story of three men in three generations of the same family, and what follows is an anthology of three linked stories.The first is about a soldier who's also a sexual pervert. Lots of unpleasant sexuality in this one, and it's all a bit pointless. I struggled through it, and hoped the second story would be better. It isn't, it's far worse: a lengthy segment about a speed eater, the sole purpose of this part is to show obese people vomiting. Over and over again. The final part follows the same character, but also links to his son, who has some bizarre notions about death and art.The characters are outrageous, the script is silly and the glorification of the grotesque just doesn't work. There's no point to all this, no power, and attempts to justify TAXIDERMIA as a groundbreaking exercise in surrealism are, in fact, groundless. Instead, this puerile piece of nonsense is nothing more than the vision of somebody with crude and childish tastes who has too much time on his hands.

What do you get when you put together an orderly during WWII, a professional eater, and a taxidermist? Well, I'll tell you. You get a concoction of grotesque imagery, hilarious situations and a strong need for a shower. This is a story about a very strange Hungarian family over the course of three generations. A disturbing film with a lot of dark comedy "Taxidermia" also provides an intelligent commentary on the lengths humans take with their obsessions of the body."Taxidermia" is director György Pálfi second feature film following the highly unique "Hukkle". Pálfi takes a more discomforting turn in this outing but keeps the dark humor he showcased in his first feature. This film has it's "WTF" moments, but in the end it is a well made film with some unforgettable scenes and a successfully artsy ending."Taxidermia" is film about three generations of Hungarians. First, an orderly during WWII who is abused and mistreated. During a night of insanity he fathers an illegitimate son who ends up being raised by the orderly's Lieutenant. The son grows to be a champion in the sport of speed eating, a sport that is on the brink of epicness it seems. Finally the speed eater marries and produces a skinny pale son who grows to be a skilled taxidermist. We witness the psychosis of the orderly, the gluttony of speed eating and finally the beauty of the taxidermist. Be prepared to laugh, puke, laugh and puke a little more.Visually the film is remarkable. Cinematographer Gergely Pohárnok returns from "Hukkle" providing excellent camera transitions and some unique "crane" shots. Veronika Merlin's art direction is also wonderful, the set pieces and costumes were very impressive and lent to the films gloomy yet comedic undertones. Along with the photography the music was phenomenal. Scored primarily by electronic artist Amon Tobin, I would say the music was the highlight for me.Make no mistake about it, "Taxidermia" is a difficult watch. Most probably won't even get through the first sequence. But with an open mind and an understanding of where this film is coming from it can be a very enjoyable experience. The mixture of troubling visuals, intelligent inner commentary and family relationship lessons makes this an easy recommendation for me.I look forward to more from director György Pálfi. I've enjoyed his first two films and know that his uniqueness will bring forth even more depraved yet intelligent films in the future.