Just going to start off by saying, if you are looking for a linear, rational experience, just leave. Right now. And never come back. Saint Bernard will probably having you screaming at the TV claiming it is either the worst film you have ever seen, or amongst the worst.
If you are looking for a film that is radically different from anything commercial or conventional, then step right up and try to figure this puzzle out.
Saint Bernard, on the surface, appears to take place in a nonsensical, nightmare world. Kind of like a really disturbed version of Alice in Wonderland. From the beginning, Bernard had wanted to be a composer, but when a failed recital turns Bernard into a slithering worm, he appears to go on some sort of metaphorical nightmare journey that seems to be about self discovery.
This is a movie that begs the viewer to think way outside the box. Every scene is a metaphor, in some manner or another, that builds like a towering puzzle box.
Some of the metaphors are easy to figure out. Such as the failed recital scene, when Bernard cannot perform due to his use of drugs, and how he is horribly embarrassed to the point he slithers out of the recital, looking like a disgusting worm, because that is mentally how he feels. Or the scene towards the end, where it is heavily implied that Bernard's Uncle, whom he seemed to have a good relationship with, and had even mentored him, has actually molested him as a child. This is easily represented in his fondling of Bernard's head, and then how he immediately becomes aroused. To make it even more obvious, he tells Bernard, "You were always my favorite".
But then there are many other metaphors that are so difficult to figure out that the film becomes increasingly more confusing. Such as the whole scene at the police station. Although it is incredibly intriguing, with a makeup heavy performance from the late Peter Iasillo Jr as the Chief, none of it seems to amount to much, if anything at all.
This was my third viewing of the film and I seem to pick something up every time I view it, which helps to make sense of the film as a whole. However, Gabe beats the viewer over the head with such style that this film will never gain any sort of mainstream or commercial appeal. This movie is strictly for the arthouse viewer. And even that might be stretching it.
This isn't comparable to the films of Lynch or Jodorosky, as some reviewers have mentioned. Although I would say there is some influences, this is a highly original piece of work. I don't think it would be fair to make those sorts of comparisons.
For me, I go through phases of what I like to watch. Some days I want to have a fun time with a movie. I will put on a conventional slasher film. Other times, I want something that is going to challenge me and force me to figure things out on my own. Saint Bernard is easily amongst the most difficult films that I have seen. And I have seen and analyzed films such as Subconscious Cruelty or Melancholy of the Angels. But that is also what makes a movie like this endearing. Every time I watch it feels like an entirely fresh experience. I can't say that for most commercial films.
