a film by Jan Komasa 2011 | 110 mins | Poland ›› Suicide Room - Sala samobójców - aka: @SuicideRoom the virtual end of lonely street. Adapted Synopsis:- After footage of a drunken gay kiss with a fellow student is posted on the internet, dark and sensitive Dominik finds himself tormented by his homophobic classmates. Grappling with the public humiliation of this and another sensual encounter with cutie Alek, Dominik seeks solace in the avatar based virtual network Suicide Room. Welcomed by its pink-haired Queen and her seductive online charm, but with his depression ever worsening, Dominik is set to discover the sinister side of a make believe world far more dangerous, than reality. Dave Says:- Beautifully executed, if alarming by nature, this message in a bottle piece delivers a cinematic rallying cry to the mental and physical consequences of systematic bullying; be it at school or increasingly in the form of the poison pen side to social networking. For it is here that writer Jan Komasa weaves his compelling directorial web, taking you literally into Dominik's virtual hall, if not hell of suicide, along the way seamlessly merging stylish animation with live action sequences, in a work high on production values; be it the staging of light and shade, captivating cinematography or that of its evocative and often classical score. Yet it is the quality work from the cast that gives this feature its dramatic edge, with Agata Kulesza and Krzysztof Pieczynski achingly realistic as Dominik's career driven parents, forever too busy to spend time with their son, only to end up grabbling with the ramifications of their neglect to Dominik, if not to each other. Only for all of its positives and of those there are many, this is far from being easy viewing, intercut as it is with a number of graphic scenes of self-harm and bloody suicide. All of which makes the decision to blur penile side nudity* in a brief shower sequence on the print viewed, an odd, if not parochial form of censorship. Then again, this is not a gay film per se, given the same-sex encounter here plays as a narrative catalyst to allow for the development of Dominik's heterosexual bond with the punk-like Suicide Queen, wonderfully played by Roma Gasiorowska in a role that is emotionally countered by Jakub Gierszal's rollercoaster ride of a performance, one that sees his unsympathetic rich kid persona, give way to a desperate cry for help from a teen living at the virtual end of lonely street. The result is a polished piece of Polish cinema that and by no surprise, raises a series of wide ranging questions. Yet the overriding theme here is the danger of disassociating yourself from the real world, by way of putting your life in the hands of an online stranger, in this instance a girl whose true intent is somewhat masked; at least, at first. Cutting and poignant, indeed, even if I suspect that many would have opted for a bit more of the story, between the boys. Gay Visibility - overt.  Nudity - bare-arsed cheek *  Overall - file under ... 4 stars.  ›› Available to buy from Amazon.com. ›› Available to buy from Amazon.co.uk. available on DVD as part of the TLA Releasing UK catalogue: 8.October.2012 / UK. available on DVD as part of the Wolfe Video catalogue: 13.March.2012 / US. principal players: Jakub Gierszal / Dominik, Roma Gasiorowska / Sylwia, Agata Kulesza / Beata, Dominik's mother, Krzysztof Pieczynski / Andrzej, Dominik's father, Bartosz Gelner / Aleksander, Danuta Borsuk / Nadia, Piotr Nowak / Jacek, the Chauffeur, Filip Bobek / Marcin, Piotr Glowacki / Psychiatrist Darek, Kinga Preis / Psychiatrist Karolina and Krzysztof Dracz as the Secretary of State. official website: www.salasamobojcow.com Copyright 2012 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #528 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹