Body Without Soul (Documentary)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: B
The abuse and sexual exploitation of children worldwide is
a serious crisis and the media in the United States keeps clinging onto the lie
that everything is fine and even after the “mysterious death” of Jon Benet
Ramsey, keep pushing a big lie about “family values” from the 1980s that is
more and more a lie, especially after the events like the 2000 Election scandal
and dark side of what really happened on 9/11/01. It is with that in mind that 1994’s Body Without Soul
seems quite ahead of its time, with its true stories about what essentially is
child trafficking and sexual slavery.
In the Czech Republic, where the end of Communism
mythically was supposed to imply a new freedom, young pre-teen boys become and
continue to be big business. This work
points to the blaring truth as many of the victims, never having a chance at a
better life, become part of a long line of victims for pimps and porno
filmmakers doing child prostitution make much money on. One predator who tapes the events claims he
does not make much money and we learn about his other trade of surgery, the icy
approach helps to deny what he is doing to endless young boys. And to think, young girls suffering the same
is not even addressed here, but that would take at least a whole separate film.
Director Wiktor Grodecki goes very far in interviewing all
the kids who carry immeasurable pain and suffering from what they have gone
through, and can only react by being hardened by the experiences. The denial is also a necessity, but the
rapes, beatings and contraction of diseases all the way to AIDS is the worst
thing and it is an international phenomenon that is destroying the future of
Prague and all the other countries it occurs in. If course, there are sick people who will watch this in delight,
pedophiles and other sick adults, who hate children and thrive on the suffering
of the defenseless, but it is actually a vital document about what is really
going on with these kids. After all,
the title DOES NOT say these children are soulless, but have had their
souls gutted out by people being allowed to get away with what are some of the
highest crimes against humanity possible.
They deserved better and this is sadly something that continues to go
on, especially since the internet became so much more prominent since this film
was made.
The full frame image was shot on film at 1.33 X 1 and is
one of the last traditional such documentaries we will ever see. By shooting on film and not tape, the plight
of all these kids who have been slowly murdered by sexual abuse of their
exploiters without having the power or judgment to make mature choices is all
the more real. Tape would likely make
this look like bad reality TV and that is the very last thing we’d want to
see. Even the artifacts and occasions
scratches emphasize this. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo sound is limited, despite being a Dolby Digital theatrical
release. Despite that, there are no Pro
Logic surrounds and depth is limited to the situation of the on-camera
interviews. There are also no extras,
but the 94 minutes is harrowing enough.
If you think this is only restricted to a foreign country,
think again. In the United States, 25%
of the children live below the poverty line according to the government, which
only breeds the same situation. There
is also an explicit link between this and slave labor sweatshops around the
world that have been on a sharp increase since the 1980s. Body Without Soul is an important
documentary look at an ongoing disaster in Prague and all the other, many
nation-states it mirrors.
- Nicholas Sheffo
