Outrageously wild, provocative and occasionally utterly bizarre, Director Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn gives us, in three distinct parts, an unusual mix of historical critique and a timely satire on a backdrop of the current covid-19 pandemic.
Based in Romania in 2020, we follow Emi, a schoolteacher, who finds her reputation under threat after a very personal sex tape is stolen and uploaded onto PornHub, after her husband gets his laptop repaired. Forced to face the parents of her school children, who demand her dismissal, Emi faces a backlash of racism and misogynistic victim-shaming, but refuses to surrender to their pressure.
The film goes far deeper than the obvious narrative. It holds a mirror up to Romania’s archaic attitudes and complicity to it’s role in 20th-century totalitarianism, and how it’s past still affects the present.
Upon finishing the wild-ride of emotions that was Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, my thoughts consisted of “phhhhwoar, I’m not going to forget that film in a while!”, and “what did I just watch!?”. “Loony” is definitely the key word in the title, that’s for sure, however despite this, parts really resonated and stuck.
The film felt timely and important, at times angering me at the shame, racism and sheer hypocrisy we observe, at others I felt like I was really learning about Romania’s history. It felt very European, very art-house, French new-wave cinema-esque, stirring up memories of my auteur analysis from my film studies degree as I was watching.
Winner of the prestigious Golden Bear at this year’s 71st Berlin International Film Festival, I drew similarities to Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, in it’s surreal and graphic nature but also seriousness.
The sex tape we witness and the backlash post-leak is reminiscent of when pop-culture queen, Kim Kardashian’s own tape was leaked, also to PornHub. However the consequences of LA-celebrity and the following sex-positive acceptance versus provincial Romania are contrastingly different: the latter with shame and victim-blaming.
Thankfully, Emi chooses to resist the conservative community, who are presumably egged on by bored frustrations from covid, and insists that her private life is just that: private. She pushes back on the blame. We see this time and time again in modern society: instead of the person who stole and leaked the video being blamed, it’s the woman who is shamed and humiliated. In the UK, it’s now illegal to share intimate videos and photos without the consent of those who are depicted, with sentences extending up to 2 years.
You also can’t ignore Jude’s decision to embrace the current pandemic, choosing to film the majority of the film outdoors, abiding by covid rules. The stark reminder of it in the use of PPE and social distancing throughout.
Katia Pascariu’s debut feature performance as Emi deserves serious praise. She does an outstanding job of the varied role, in all her quirks and quips. Her performance is demure and unassuming for the majority of the film (apart from the sex tape), culminating in a riotous, eccentric end.
Banned in Russia for “promotion of pornography”, the film raises questions of censorship and obscenity – what is art, and what is porn? Either way, be prepared for a shocking, very explicit, first 3 minutes (and parts throughout) as absolutely nothing is left to the imagination. Hot tip: definitely avoid watching this whilst commuting.
Overall, perhaps not a Sunday night family film, and by no means everyone’s cup of tea, but Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a really refreshing, confident display of filmmaking and frankly, I really enjoyed it!
BAD LUCK BANGING or LOONY PORN comes to UK cinemas on 26 November
All opinions are my own. This post was not sponsored.
