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 GOTO,
ISLAND
OF
LOVE
(Cult Epics)
1969. 90 minutes. Unrated. Black and White, subtitled, mild eroticism and
heavy handed politics. Goto Island
of Love tells the tale of the legendary
island
of
Goto
, ruled by the iron fist of Goto III and yes, both his father and
grandfather also ruled the island and they had the same name. As a matter
of fact, it seems that everyone on the island of Goto has a name that
begins with G. Goto III’s lovely bride is Glyssia and the man she saves
from execution and falls in love with is Grozo. That is pretty much the
story for this film.
Shot in a style reminiscent of old silent films, even though
it was made in 1969, the movie looks much older. The acting is even a lot
like the old silent films. In watching Goto,
it is evident that the director has come from an animation background. Did
I mention that the director is Walerian Borowczyk? Now, before you get all
in a tizzy over the guy who gave us the 1975 feature The Beast (La Bete), let me tell
you this is nothing like that film. In
Goto, Walerian is using the medium of film to illustrate the
oppression of government. So, no really hot naked chicks running around
doing nasty things with men in hairy monster suits. Okay there are a few
glimpses of the eroticism that would haunt a lot of Walerian’s later
work, but this is pretty tame stuff.
Overall, it comes across as dull and thoroughly boring. Go buy The Beast instead. More bang for your buck and not nearly as much
pretentiousness as this film. Included on the disc is a twelve minute
animated short entitled Astronautes,
which shows off Walerian’s exceptional skills as an animator.
- Douglas A. Waltz
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