MartinHafer
I have only seen a few films by Phil Mulloy but he really seems to be overly fascinated with genitals and "unusual" sex practices. In his Cowboy series, there's lots of bestiality and gay sex. And in INTOLERANCE, there is also lots and lots of shocking genitalia. So, I must assume that either Mr. Mulloy is trying to make a point about shame and how silly we humans are about sex OR he's just some guy who likes to draw smutty pictures. Up until INTOLERANCE, I would have assumed the former! However, it turns out that despite all the silly and shocking genitalia, there actually is a deeper and more profound story here. The only negatives are that the message is far from subtle and the art quality is, well, very poor--like it was done by a group of six year-olds.The film begins with an Earth space craft stumbling upon a movie floating in the vast nothingness. The film turns out to be from planet Zog and when people see it, they are shocked and angered by the Zogs (or is it 'Zogians' or 'Zogites'?). It seems that they have their genitals where our heads are and vice-versa. To make things really weird, they eat and drink with their genitals and defecate with their faces. There's a lot more to it than this and much of it is very crude. However, if you love crudely painted genitalia and weird sex acts, then this film is for you! Now here is where the film gets interesting. The humans all assume the Zogs are perverts and the religious elements push for the liquidation of these "freaks". So, the film ends as you see space ships heading to Zog to annihilate them...and at the same time, ships are heading to Earth with the same idea, as they, too, saw one of our films! Subtle? No freakin' way. The film seems to attack religion (sometimes this is fair and sometimes I wonder if this is just a convenient whipping boy of sorts) as well as the natural stupidity of mankind (I can agree with that). However, the way it tells this parable is mighty shocking and crude. If you can get past this, you'll find that the film has some depth and intelligence despite the craptastic animation. It certainly is NOT for the faint of heart or overly conservative! Good message but I can't score it higher due to the shortcomings of the graphics.By the way, this black and white film is followed by two color sequels (of sorts). While what happens in INTOLERANCE and INTOLERANCE II is completely contradicted by INTOLERANCE III, it is probably the best of this bizarre series.
Mozjoukine
British garage (cow shed actually)cartoonist Mulloy is well onto the way to being the most distinctive of the animators who pop up in the festival and fringe screenings - think Bill Plimpton or Raoul Servais.This is the first of his scatological, obscene, ugly, funny, naive, knowing three part history of mankind (it takes a while to work that out,)pivoting on the battle between the earth zealots and the Zog depicted in a "film trouvé" as having their faces and sex organs reversed. Watching them shave is an uneasy experience.More use of colour and a more complex idea content tend to make this Mulloy's most advanced product.
