This documentary profiles poet/performance artist Bob Flanagan, who was born with cystic fibrosis. Flanagan explains, with engaging humor, how his obsession with controlled, self-inflicted pain has helped him to deal with his uncontrollable suffering. His philosophy forces one to look at sado-masochism with fresh eyes. The film includes explicit scenes of genital self-mutilation.
every time I hear that Rihanna song "S&M" (which is frequently, I'm too lazy/forgetful to put cds in my car so I get down with pop radio) I think about this film. How much better would that song be if Rihanna was singing about nailing dicks to planks of wood and sticking metal balls up a guy's ass?
Are there many films that will completely destroy your perceptions of good and bad taste and still be this funny or genuinely moving? The ending montage set to one of Flanagan's poems is mindblowing.