Drawing Restraint 9 - movie reviews and information

'Drawing Restraint 9' can be an interesting mental exercise
by Bob Townsend

Visual artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney is a maestro of supersized spectacle. And "Drawing Restraint 9" — the follow-up to his esoteric, symbolically fecund five-film "Cremaster" cycle — continues his predilection for beautifully perverse images fixed in non-narrative repetition. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
A 25-ton sculpture of liquid petroleum jelly, called "The Field," is molded, poured, bisected and reformed on the deck of the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru. Barriers hold the form in place, and when they are removed, it descends into atrophied states. This shift in the physical state of the sculpture is symbolically mirrored through the narrative of "The Guests," two Occidental visitors to the ship.

FILM FACTS ...

IFC Films

'Drawing Restraint 9'

Director: Matthew Barney
Starring: Matthew Barney, Björk, Shiro Nomura, Mayumi Miyata, Susil Osoma
Run time: 135 minutes
Release date: March 29, 2006
Rating: Not rated, but contains mature subject matter and disturbing images.

Masterpiece or madness?
The 'Cremaster Cycle' is the talk of the art world.

On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: B-
"Unless you're a fan of (director Matthew Barney's) work or of Björk's music, Drawing Restraint 9 may seem like a very long voyage toward a vague destination..."

Read the full review

Austin American-Statesman: 2 of 5 stars
"... takes us along the usual visually exquisite path but disintegrates into a pretentious, self-glorious romp..."