Good concept, poorly executed.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

A profound idea and Madonna put together sounds like a futile attempt to mix water and oil, but, being a guy who likes both Hutz as an actor and indie film alone should all by itself be testament to my willingness to be open-minded about unusual forms of art and interpretation. So, I watched Filth And Wisdom with no preconceived notions even after reading so many bad reviews.Now that I've seen it, I'll just say that this film makes no effort to force you to think and ask questions, but simply lays out the overall message up front then just goes through the motions of showing it. There were moments of potential, but at no point did I even remotely wonder how things might turn out for each character in the end. It just didn't occur to me to care enough.In short, if you're a fan of Hutz's former roles in acting, no less Gogol Bordello, you'll probably enjoy seeing Hutz play himself in this role at most, which features a scene of Gogol Bordello performing at the end. Filth and Wisdom, however, doesn't even come close to what you might have walked away with in Everything Is Illuminated. This film is just Madonna's effort to cash in on a new spotlight that no longer shines on her, in my opinion.If you have no clue who Eugine Hutz or Gogol Bordello is and can care less, on the other hand, I advise you avoid this movie all together..... unless you're on a drug that can make almost anything interesting.Either way, don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.

Much reviled film from Madonna is playing on IFC in Theaters. Having seen the film its clear that the hatred of the film is because of who the director is rather than what the film is. Basically the story of AK and his two roommates who are trying to simply get a leg up in the world. AK, played by Eugene Hutz in what I hope is a break through performance is a deeply philosophical Russian in a rock band who gets people to pay him to abuse them. The film is narrated by him as we see what he and his friends are going through. A small scale nothing of a film, this is the sort of film that probably wouldn't have been noticed much without Madonna in the directors chair. then again there is something very much alive in the film with great characters , odd relationships and very good music that raises it up a couple of notches. Clearly Madonna knows what she's doing behind the camera. I really do like the film. Its not the be all and end all, but there is something nicely alive about the film that makes it more than the by the numbers independent films it resembles. (And yes Richard E Grant is Wonderful)

I watched this last night On-Demand and although it was lacking in some others, I still found it worth watching. Eugene Hutz is fabulous in everything he does so I fully understand Madonna basically making this film to highlight him and Gogol Bordello. My main issue with the film was the lack of comradery between the roommates. They were supposed to be very close and I never got that impression. And there was basically no back story on any of the characters. But I do get what Madonna was trying to do with this. She just fell short a little. But I think she's on the right track. Also, one of the main characters, Vicky McClure was quite good. I would like to see her in more films. But definitely see this if you are a fan of Gogol Bordello.

"Filth and Wisdom" illustrates that growing up requires getting your hands dirty -- you can't gain wisdom by spending your life in a germ-free bubble. however, that's too many words for a title, so it's called "Filth and Wisdom" instead.imo, relative to current pop culture, there's no "filth", as such, in this movie, except for Eugene Hutz's filthy feet shoved in the face of the viewer during an otherwise moving scene, which shows the reconciliation of two sisters who had been feuding.indeed, the film would have been substantially improved if Eugene Lutz'z ego had been edited down from the size of the Titanic to, say, the Love Boat.nonetheless, this little indie film is a very warm-hearted look at the unavoidable conflict between the fact that society must have rules to be society, but humans must sometimes bend or even break these rules to be humans.