Tetsuo: El hombre de hierro

A very strange audiovisual fetish over a piece of metal, which can be interpreted in many ways. Certain types of film art are very unique, and likely every film scholar or scientist will enjoy every last detail of Tetsuo: The Iron Man. For the layman, however, the film is a frantic ride without any substantial plot skeleton, standing and falling on the benevolence of each individual's take on this bizarre madness. This may be interesting and "entertaining" in its own way (for the first ten minutes or so) but unfortunately, it then drowns in its own monotony of shaky camerawork, fast editing, and ambient soundtrack. It’s a poseur film, but one that will certainly find "its" audience. Much more impressive and comprehensible films are available within the cyberpunk genre. (26.08.2006)

It's certainly a remarkable rebellion against the conventions of traditional storytelling that promises big extravagant things, especially in the first fifteen minutes, set to a thrilling rhythm of cyberpunk music and disjointed space-time. But since it’s nothing but a formally entertaining piece of crap from the get go, as Tsukamoto's bizarre surrealism abandons its attempts at interesting attention-grabbing and the film gradually becomes an ultra-cheesy piece of shit suitable only for individuals with deviant sexual appetites or a very strange sense of humour. Had we been served a more intimate horror drama in a similar style, about a man who must come to terms with his fate on his own, this could have been a gem of an indie film; this way, Tetsuo is incredibly dull and only artificially refined, downright fucked up in its formal and narrative potential. (16.03.2017)

Can you believe that you can pierce a table with your penis during an erection? Tetsuo, the story of a man who gradually becomes a hideous iron monster, will convince you that it is possible; this film will disgust and fascinate you at the same time. A remarkable visual experiment that would be a cinematic treat if it were half as long, but with the runtime of a feature film it becomes an indigestible spectacle, because the frantic editing, the nervous industrial soundtrack and the explosion of artistic shots with no deeper meaning begin to tire gradually. But the Švankmajer style scenes are a delight. It's definitely a film worth watching, whatever you think of it. I actually lost my appetite for spinach, it contains a lot of iron... (25.11.2003)

I hadn’t seen anything crazy from the east in a long time and I thought I’d give Tetsuo a go. Once again I came to the conclusion that these efforts are pointless. I don’t believe anyone can like this. (28.05.2010)