Asparagus

7.2
1979 0 hr 20 min Animation

A symbolic reflection on issues of female sexuality, art and identity constructs.

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Reviews

ReaderKenka
1979/03/17

Let's be realistic.

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Matialth
1979/03/18

Good concept, poorly executed.

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Fairaher
1979/03/19

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

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Jonah Abbott
1979/03/20

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

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rzajac
1979/03/21

Have fond memories of seeing this as an opener for a mid-career Fellini flick. Everyone in the audience was spellbound. The imagery challenges you to metabolize it, somehow, and surely some of it stubbornly refuses to give up any secrets.Was enormously impressed with the scene in the theater. It's a thought- provoking representation of a relationship between an idealized artist and an idealized audience.

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Horst in Translation ([email protected])
1979/03/22

"Asparagus" is an American short film from 1979. The writer and director here is Suzan Pitt and it is certainly still her most known work. The movie runs for 20 minutes approximately and takes us on a journey with a woman who decides to go out and spend an evening at a theater and other locations. But before she goes, she bakes sure the bowels are empty and we graphically see that, only that what comes out of her butt is not the usual, but it's lots of asparagus. That's why the title, I guess. And this motive is repeated on some other occasions. Near the end, for example, she sucks on an asparagus as if it was male genitalia. That should already tell you the tone of this film. Yes it is animated, but it is certainly not a good watch for very young audiences. Then again, it is probably also not a good watch for grown-up audiences. I myself liked very little in here. The animation was fine, but in terms of story, it felt really empty, just going for cheap thrills, but not a convincing or interesting plot. Thumbs down from me and, judging from this one, I am not surprised Pitt did not make it bigger in the decades since this came out.

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MartinHafer
1979/03/23

I am giving ASPARAGUS a 5 simply because it has lovely quality animation. This animated film appears as if they merged the Art Deco and 1970s Pop Art movements to make a truly unique looking film. Also, the color palate is interesting--as the film seems to use a lot of reds, oranges and pinks--all helping to create an interesting style. However, as for the film itself, I just don't get it. Now I understand that the plot is supposed to be surreal and bizarre, but it just seemed, at times, like veggie porn. And, if I want to see something sexy, it won't be in the form of vegetables! Such "sexy"(?) imagery is a closeup of a woman pooping out asparagus as well as scenes of a hand or a mouth performing sex acts with this same vegetable--and I doubt if I'll be able to look at this particular veggie the same way again. Along with this, there is tons of other phallic imagery.Overall, while I understand what the animator was trying to say, my point is why? Sure, you can show drawings representing penises and various sex acts...but to why? Sure, you can try to shock people but I was less shocked and left wondering why and what makes this worth seeing? If you want to see a "dirty film", why not chose something better? Is there some sort of creepy underground for this sort of stuff that I am not aware of or is this just for shock value?

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ACW
1979/03/24

It has been almost two decades since I saw this film, and I enter my comments only because nobody else has. I don't trust my memory much, but it's better than nothing._Asparagus_, as I recall it, was a beautiful dreamlike sequence of psychedelic images, with no clear plot or action. A woman discovers her own power and womanhood by working magic on her environment -- perhaps.Many of the images were of receding perspectives of stage curtains and scenery, rolling back and opening to reveal successive depths; perhaps this can be compared to the vaginal symbolism in Judy Chicago's installation _The Dinner Party_, with which this film is approximately contemporary.The music was also dreamlike and its slow progression fit the slow evolution of the images on screen.The film is definitely _adult_ animation; parents should view it before deciding whether to present it to their children.I hope someone who has seen _Asparagus_ more recently than I will take a moment to provide a more cogent review.

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