Filth and Wisdom
Encyclopedia
Filth and Wisdom is the first film directed by Madonna
, starring Eugene Hütz
, Holly Weston, Vicky McClure
and Richard E. Grant
. It was filmed on location in London, England
from May 14 to May 29, 2007 with additional scenes shot in July 2007.
The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival
on February 13, 2008 which was attended by Madonna and cast members Hütz, Weston and McClure. It has received some positive reviews. On October 17, 2008 the short film went into limited release, as well as being simultaneously released "On Demand" on most cable providers. It is the first motion picture production for Madonna's company, Semtex Films
.
The Gypsy punk
band that appears in the film is portrayed by real-life Gypsy punk
band, Gogol Bordello
, who also contributed three songs to the film's soundtrack. The band's lead singer, Eugene Hütz
, portrays the main character — a character with a philosophical attitude towards life. Madonna allowed additional dialogue written by Hütz himself to be included in the film.
reported that 28% of critics gave the film positive write-ups based on 53 reviews. The Times
Online claimed, "Madonna has done herself proud" and The Telegraph
described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort" but went on to say "Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian
wrote, "Well, it had to happen. Madonna has been a terrible actor in many, many films and now - fiercely aspirational as ever - she has graduated to being a terrible director." Jonathan Romney of Screen International
called the film "good-humoured, averagely average vanity project" and "a cheap and cheerful comedy," adding that "Madonna simply cannot direct actors." The New Yorker
s Anthony Lane
panned the film, saying that "in technical terms, more professional productions than this are filmed and cut on iMovie
, by ten-year-olds, a thousand times a day" and that "if the actors were paid according to their talents, they cannot have cost more than forty bucks."
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, starring Eugene Hütz
Eugene Hütz
Eugene Hütz , September 6, 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer and composer, most notable as the frontman of the critically acclaimed New York Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello. Hütz is also a DJ and actor.-Early life:...
, Holly Weston, Vicky McClure
Vicky McClure
Vicky McClure is a BAFTA-winning English actress best known for her work in the films of Shane Meadows. She played the title character's sister Ladine in A Room for Romeo Brass , and featured in Meadows's most successful film to date, This Is England...
and Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
. It was filmed on location in London, England
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from May 14 to May 29, 2007 with additional scenes shot in July 2007.
The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
on February 13, 2008 which was attended by Madonna and cast members Hütz, Weston and McClure. It has received some positive reviews. On October 17, 2008 the short film went into limited release, as well as being simultaneously released "On Demand" on most cable providers. It is the first motion picture production for Madonna's company, Semtex Films
Semtex Films
Semtex Films is a film production company founded by American entertainer Madonna. It was founded in 2006 under the name Semtex Girls and is involved in the production of motion pictures and television relating to the singer.-History:Semtex Girls, a limited company, was established in the UK in...
.
Plot
Described as a comedy/drama/musical/romance, the story revolves around a Ukrainian immigrant named A.K. (Hütz) who finances his dreams of rock glory by moonlighting as a cross-dressing dominatrix and his two female flatmates: Holly (Weston), a ballet dancer who works as a stripper and pole-dancer at a local club and Juliette (McClure), a pharmacy assistant who dreams of going to Africa to help starving children.The Gypsy punk
Gypsy punk
Gypsy punk is the term used to describe a hybrid musical genre that crosses traditional Romani music with punk rock. The origin of the term is unknown, but bands playing Gypsy punk have existed at least since the 1990s. One of the first rock groups to incorporate elements of punk and Eastern...
band that appears in the film is portrayed by real-life Gypsy punk
Gypsy punk
Gypsy punk is the term used to describe a hybrid musical genre that crosses traditional Romani music with punk rock. The origin of the term is unknown, but bands playing Gypsy punk have existed at least since the 1990s. One of the first rock groups to incorporate elements of punk and Eastern...
band, Gogol Bordello
Gogol Bordello
Gogol Bordello is a Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring.Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music...
, who also contributed three songs to the film's soundtrack. The band's lead singer, Eugene Hütz
Eugene Hütz
Eugene Hütz , September 6, 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer and composer, most notable as the frontman of the critically acclaimed New York Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello. Hütz is also a DJ and actor.-Early life:...
, portrays the main character — a character with a philosophical attitude towards life. Madonna allowed additional dialogue written by Hütz himself to be included in the film.
Reception
The film met with generally negative reviews: the movie website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 28% of critics gave the film positive write-ups based on 53 reviews. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
Online claimed, "Madonna has done herself proud" and The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort" but went on to say "Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote, "Well, it had to happen. Madonna has been a terrible actor in many, many films and now - fiercely aspirational as ever - she has graduated to being a terrible director." Jonathan Romney of Screen International
Screen International
Screen International is a multimedia film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by EMAP, a British b2b media company.The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global movie business...
called the film "good-humoured, averagely average vanity project" and "a cheap and cheerful comedy," adding that "Madonna simply cannot direct actors." The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
s Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane is a film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Personal life:Lane lives in Cambridge with Allison Pearson, a British writer and former Daily Mail columnist...
panned the film, saying that "in technical terms, more professional productions than this are filmed and cut on iMovie
IMovie
iMovie is a proprietary video editing software application which allows Mac, iPod Touch 4th generation, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPad 2 users to edit their own home movies. It was originally released by Apple in 1999 as a Mac OS 8 application bundled with the first FireWire-enabled consumer Apple...
, by ten-year-olds, a thousand times a day" and that "if the actors were paid according to their talents, they cannot have cost more than forty bucks."
Cast
- AdeAde (actor)Ade is a British actor of Nigerian descent. He is best known for his role as Tyrone the getaway driver in Snatch. Ade also works within the music and publishing industries....
– DJ - Olegar FedoroOlegar FedoroOlegar Fedoro is a Ukrainian-born former Soviet performer who later became a Spanish and then English actor.He started with a work for Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker...
– A.K.'s Father - Eugene HützEugene HützEugene Hütz , September 6, 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer and composer, most notable as the frontman of the critically acclaimed New York Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello. Hütz is also a DJ and actor.-Early life:...
– A.K. - Holly Weston – Holly
- Vicky McClureVicky McClureVicky McClure is a BAFTA-winning English actress best known for her work in the films of Shane Meadows. She played the title character's sister Ladine in A Room for Romeo Brass , and featured in Meadows's most successful film to date, This Is England...
– Juliette - Richard E. GrantRichard E. GrantRichard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
– Professor Flynn - Stephen GrahamStephen Graham (actor)Stephen Graham is an English actor from Kirkby, Liverpool. He is best known for his roles as Tommy in the movie Snatch, Combo in This Is England and its four-part television sequel This Is England '86, Danny Ferguson in Occupation, Billy Bremner in The Damned United, notorious bank robber Baby...
– Harry Beechman - Inder ManochaInder Manocha-Early life:Born in London to Indian parents, Manocha read Modern History at Jesus College, Oxford University and worked in international relations and as a therapist before deciding to work professionally in comedy and acting in 2001...
– Sardeep - Shobu KapoorShobu KapoorShobu Kapoor is a British actress.She is most notable for playing the role of Gita Kapoor, the long suffering wife of the market-trader Sanjay , in the popular BBC soap opera, EastEnders ....
– Sardeep's wife - Elliot LeveyElliot Levey-Biography:He is notable for his work in television, film and theatre - this has included the 2004 revival of the National Theatre production of His Dark Materials and the premieres of the musical Take Flight and the Bennett play The Habit of Art , along with Robespierre in Danton's Death...
– Businessman - Clare WilkieClare WilkieClare Wilkie is a British actress, best known for playing Sandra di Marco in the television soap opera EastEnders.Prior to her appearance in EastEnders, she had played a leading role in the period drama series Berkeley Square and also appeared in the ill-fated soap Eldorado.She then starred in...
– Chloe - Hannah Walters – Businessman's wife
Production credits
- Directed by: Madonna
- Produced by: Nicola Doring
- Executive Producer: Madonna
- Screenplay: Madonna & Dan Cadan
- Director of Photography: Tim Maurice Jones
- Editor: Russell Icke
- Production Designer: Gideon Ponte
- Costume Designer: B
- Running Time: 81 minutes
- Format: 35 mm, 1:1.85 aspect ratio
- Production Company: Semtex Films (in association with HSI London)