SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST is the most "real" documentary that I've ever seen. I'm not a huge documentary watcher, so that may not be saying much, but I can't imagine another film that is so absolutely honest and moving.
SICK focuses on the life of Bob Flanagan, a performance artist, comedian, and extreme SM practitioner who suffered from the terminal illness, cystic fibrosis. Through the media of film, we learn about Flanagan and all the aspects of his life, from artist, to son, to lover, to "freak", and everything in between. The audience is allowed to witness Flanagan as he speaks to other SM enthusiasts. We see him in and out of hospitals, battling his illness. We watch as he makes another CF sufferer's dream of meeting him come true. We get glimpses into the REAL relationship between himself and his lover, Sheree, through private home videos. We play "voyeur" as we witness scenes of Flanagan involved in extreme SM play, including nailing the head of his dick to a wooden board. And we watch him die...
SICK is one of those films that a mere synopsis will not do justice to. I knew very little about the man, except what I remember reading years ago in publications like RE/Search or Modern Primitives (or maybe both - I don't really recall...) - and I knew absolutely nothing about cystic fibrosis and it's effects. So if nothing else, this film made me aware of a disease that I had no prior knowledge of. But on top of that, SICK chronicles the struggles of a dying man who is constantly waiting for the axe to fall. Cysitic Fibrosis is a disease that often takes it's victim very young - most sufferers not lasting into their 20s (and many dying MUCH younger) - yet Flanagan, despite (or maybe because of) his "extreme" lifestyle lived to be 43 years old. I personally can't imagine feeling like you are constantly living on "borrowed-time". It's one thing to know that you're going to die eventually - it's quite another to be born with a death-sentence.
As other reviewers have noted - SICK is not a film for everyone. Some simply will not be able to stomach the graphic SM "play" on display, or will not be able to be open-minded enough to look past what they consider to be "aberrant" behavior, to see what the point of this film really is - to celebrate the hard but joyful life, and painful but courageous death, of a unique and truly "strong" individual. I also don't feel that the film's intention is to repulse the viewer - I think that it takes a lot of courage, both from the "subject" and the film-maker to allow things to be shown in such a graphic manner so as to get a well-rounded feel for who this person really was. There is no sugar-coating, and there is no apologizing - THAT is something that I can really respect. Flanagan made no excuses for what/who he was - he was someone that believed in himself and his actions with no compromises - another trait that I can admire.
As another reviewer stated - I have to rate this film a 10 based on the fact that I just can't find any fault with it. Everything about it rings true and sincere, and that's a rarity in ANY film. And just when I thought that I was going to be disappointed by not hearing in Flanagan's own words why he thinks that SM became the focal-point of his life - there comes a spoken-word type "poem" during the last 10 (or so) minutes of the film that sums his whole outlook up better than I could have hoped for. What works the most is that SICK is funny when the time is right, and serious when it needs to be. The last few minutes where we basically witness Flanagan dying on film is some of the most harrowing and emotion-stirring that I've ever seen committed to film.
I don't admire Flanagan for being an SM practitioner. I admire him for being a true, outspoken individual who lived life on his terms, right up to his death. Though this film may not be for everyone, I think that his story is inspirational and this film should be sought out by anyone with an open enough mind to appreciate the underlying messages behind all the SM "hype"...10/10
SICK focuses on the life of Bob Flanagan, a performance artist, comedian, and extreme SM practitioner who suffered from the terminal illness, cystic fibrosis. Through the media of film, we learn about Flanagan and all the aspects of his life, from artist, to son, to lover, to "freak", and everything in between. The audience is allowed to witness Flanagan as he speaks to other SM enthusiasts. We see him in and out of hospitals, battling his illness. We watch as he makes another CF sufferer's dream of meeting him come true. We get glimpses into the REAL relationship between himself and his lover, Sheree, through private home videos. We play "voyeur" as we witness scenes of Flanagan involved in extreme SM play, including nailing the head of his dick to a wooden board. And we watch him die...
SICK is one of those films that a mere synopsis will not do justice to. I knew very little about the man, except what I remember reading years ago in publications like RE/Search or Modern Primitives (or maybe both - I don't really recall...) - and I knew absolutely nothing about cystic fibrosis and it's effects. So if nothing else, this film made me aware of a disease that I had no prior knowledge of. But on top of that, SICK chronicles the struggles of a dying man who is constantly waiting for the axe to fall. Cysitic Fibrosis is a disease that often takes it's victim very young - most sufferers not lasting into their 20s (and many dying MUCH younger) - yet Flanagan, despite (or maybe because of) his "extreme" lifestyle lived to be 43 years old. I personally can't imagine feeling like you are constantly living on "borrowed-time". It's one thing to know that you're going to die eventually - it's quite another to be born with a death-sentence.
As other reviewers have noted - SICK is not a film for everyone. Some simply will not be able to stomach the graphic SM "play" on display, or will not be able to be open-minded enough to look past what they consider to be "aberrant" behavior, to see what the point of this film really is - to celebrate the hard but joyful life, and painful but courageous death, of a unique and truly "strong" individual. I also don't feel that the film's intention is to repulse the viewer - I think that it takes a lot of courage, both from the "subject" and the film-maker to allow things to be shown in such a graphic manner so as to get a well-rounded feel for who this person really was. There is no sugar-coating, and there is no apologizing - THAT is something that I can really respect. Flanagan made no excuses for what/who he was - he was someone that believed in himself and his actions with no compromises - another trait that I can admire.
As another reviewer stated - I have to rate this film a 10 based on the fact that I just can't find any fault with it. Everything about it rings true and sincere, and that's a rarity in ANY film. And just when I thought that I was going to be disappointed by not hearing in Flanagan's own words why he thinks that SM became the focal-point of his life - there comes a spoken-word type "poem" during the last 10 (or so) minutes of the film that sums his whole outlook up better than I could have hoped for. What works the most is that SICK is funny when the time is right, and serious when it needs to be. The last few minutes where we basically witness Flanagan dying on film is some of the most harrowing and emotion-stirring that I've ever seen committed to film.
I don't admire Flanagan for being an SM practitioner. I admire him for being a true, outspoken individual who lived life on his terms, right up to his death. Though this film may not be for everyone, I think that his story is inspirational and this film should be sought out by anyone with an open enough mind to appreciate the underlying messages behind all the SM "hype"...10/10