There comes a point in Of Freaks and Men (Russian: Про уродов и людей), where we have to wonder whether director Aleksei Balabanov knew what he was doing, or was simply surrendering to the absolute absurdity of a premise that was already far from plausible, to begin with. However, what can’t be denied about this deranged dark comedy is that it is the work of a supremely gifted filmmaker who not only refused to take his art seriously but appeared to carry a nonchalance about life that is reflected in the work he produced throughout a short but impactful career. This film, in particular, is truly something to behold – a bewildering glimpse into bourgeois life that dominated Russian society at the turn of the 20th century, the film tells the story of two families that consider themselves to be at the very apex of what their country demands, the common thread between them being the presence of a motley crew of filmmakers who dabble in amateur pornography, and whole will stop at nothing to corrupt the minds of these otherwise decent people. It’s a strange film, but one that is unforgettable, a transfixing and intriguing journey into the heart of a country that is rarely represented through as bizarre a lens as Balabanov was presenting here – and solely on the merit of its ability to be undeniably different from anything we are likely to see, and for its revolutionary spirit that aimed to deviate wildly from anything we had experienced prior, Of Freaks and Men is something of a triumph, even if it comes in the form of a truly disturbing voyage into the human condition.

Of Freaks and Men could be classified as one of the most well-composed, tasteful films ever produced almost entirely on the subject of sexual perversion. From the start, we are thrown into this environment occupied by the most grotesque, maniacal characters imaginable, people who are driven by their carnal desires, which they aim to satiate by any means necessary. This is not a particularly enticing film based on the premise – Balabanov has much broader intentions than giving the audience something merely enjoyable, as he was a filmmaker who relished in his ability to provoke, using the stringent measures of his native country not as an obstacle, but an opportunity. His artistic vision was one formed from the practice of disorientating the viewer and placing them in a version of our world that is best described as carnivalesque – heightened to the point of barely being recognizable, filled to the brim with eccentric characters and propelled by a sense of debauchery, which is portrayed in vivid detail, rather than being concealed in the way it normally would in everyday life. Of Freaks and Men is a film designed to unsettle and place us in a position of supreme discomfort – but the director always knew how to effectively curate these sensations, putting us through the emotional wringer, but never leading us astray, since his vision is so potent, we can’t resist the sensation of just succumbing to the bizarre charms that keep this film afloat and allow it to be as gloriously demented as it needed to be to get this message across.

However, looking past the specific subject matter is important, since Of Freaks and Men may centre on a couple of voyeuristic filmmakers with a penchant for sadomasochistic erotica and their unsuspecting victims who gradually surrender to their demands, it is far from a whistle-stop tour of pornography in pre-revolution Russia. However, the premise sets a particular tone for the rest of the film, which takes the form of a pungent social satire, a perverted comedy-of-manners that is about as tactful as it is elegant, which is to say it somehow manages to be both and neither simultaneously, one of the several contradictions that make this such a peculiar but captivating film. Balabanov often shifted genres throughout his career, and told a wide range of different stories – but through all of them was the common theme of exploring a particular side of society. In this film, the director is looking at the contrast between two high-society clans, and the various auxiliary individuals that weave their way into their lives, infiltrating their previously peaceful but uninteresting existences by forcing them to become pawns in their increasingly bizarre games of forced seduction and sexual perversion. To say that Of Freaks and Men takes some dark turns is an understatement – this is a film that thrives on its ability to be as deranged as it possibly can be without crossing the moral boundary that would turn this from a scathing satire to a brutal exploitation film that uses sexuality as a tool to terrifying and unsettle. The director knows the limits, and while he does frequently cut it very close, he never once does anything all that morally reprehensible, instead going for a film that is shocking and perhaps even outright controversial, but never to the point where it becomes entirely transgressive.

There are many mysteries at the heart of Of Freaks and Men that need to be uncovered before we can truly appreciate what Balabanov was aiming to do with this story. In many ways, we only manage to unearth a small fraction of what this film is saying – but even in these small, intricate moments we find some meaning. Despite the subject matter, this is an exceptionally profound film, a social oddysey that dares to find the beauty in some of the most grotesque situations and reveals the humanity that lurks in even the most despicable individuals. This is a film that functions best when it is conveying its message in small details, rather than in broad strokes – by presenting us with these brief vignettes into the lives of these three characters, the film keeps everything separated, and then as it moves along, we find the stories overlapping, until we get to a stunning climax that is as thrilling as it is terrifying. It’s all helped along massively by the fact that Balabanov wasn’t only a very gifted storyteller, but also a filmmaker with a keen eye for detail. Filming the entire story in faded sepia (rather than the more conventional black-and-white that we’d expect from a film like this), there is a sense of detachment, one that hearkens back to the days of silent cinema, where artifice was much more common in the filmmaking process – and the combination of this peculiar visual scope, and the deeply unsettling narrative, only serves to make Of Freaks and Men an even more disquieting film, but one that pulls us into the world and refuses to loosen its grip until we’ve emerged on the other side, broken and bruised by the horrifying imagery, but enlightened by its unique approach to exploring the human condition.

Tonally and visually, Of Freaks and Men is something to behold. We never truly know where we stand with this film – it is both a crude dark comedy and a shattering melodrama, with hints of social satire scattered in quite liberally, to the point where it all converges in a vision of the world that is only a few steps short of an unhinged horror, with the imagery and their broader intentions serving very little purpose other than to terrifying the viewer, who is not likely to forget any of these moments. There are so many details residing at the heart of the film, dissecting each one of them is nearly impossible, as well as entirely foolish, since the director constructed this film as one that depends on the individual viewer’s connection to the story – we all bring our interpretation and are given the chance to act as adjudicator in this unforgiving satire that situates us in what can only be described as an inescapable nightmare, a daring and provocative dark comedy with a soul as unclear as its message, which seems to be different for each viewer. Built on a playful reinvention of puritanical morals, as sifted through a deranged comedy that shows us a different side of society, one that is far from endearing, Of Freaks and Men is a fascinating document of the past, facilitated by a director whose name isn’t known as widely as it perhaps should, but who left an impressive body of work behind, one that continues to be ripe for discovery, since everything he did, whether it be in this film or his other work, indicates that Balabanov was a major talent, especially in a country where deviating from the status quo either meant you were deeply embraced or immediately dismissed – and in this case, it would appear he managed to find a balance of the two, which only serves to make his life and career all the more fascinating.