The Book of Revelation (2006)

69% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
47% of users liked it
(1,283 ratings)

A talented dancer who was abducted and tortured by three mysterious women struggles to come to grips with his harrowing experience in director Ana Kokkinos' adaptation of Rupert Thompson's unsettling novel. A beautiful and charismatic dancer who has immersed himself in a dream world of graceful… More A talented dancer who was abducted and tortured by three mysterious women struggles to come to grips with his harrowing experience in director Ana Kokkinos' adaptation of Rupert Thompson's unsettling novel. A beautiful and charismatic dancer who has immersed himself in a dream world of graceful movement, Daniel (Tom Long) maintains an amiable but somewhat detached relationship with his girlfriend, and a passionate relationship with his mentor and choreographer Isabel (Greta Scacci). When Daniel ventures out for cigarettes one day and doesn't return, the women in his life are devastated. Upon returning without explanation eleven days later, the profoundly shaken Daniel is unable to articulate his experience and loses his ability to dance. To make matters worse, Daniel is unable to engage emotionally with even the people who were closest to him before the strange incident. Now, in order to reclaim his identity by confronting his abductors, Daniel sets out to find the three women with only his memories of the ambient sounds that flowed into his window to guide him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 57 min.
Directed By: Ana Kokkinos
Genres: Drama, Horror, Musical & Performing Arts, Mystery & Suspense

On DVD: Mar 6, 2007

Critic Reviews

Megan Lehmann, Hollywood Reporter
The premise is provocative but the film lingers too long on the scenes of imprisonment, turning them into a kind of soft-porn performance art and leaving the emotional aftershocks less satisfyingly explored.
Russell Edwards, Variety
Even the pivotal weakness of [Tom] Long's dull persona can't undermine the pic's determination to confront auds intellectually and emotionally.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A controversial psychological drama.
Cath Clarke, Guardian [UK]
There's a fine and committed performance by Long, who looks like a pretty, young Nick Cave, but the women are never anything more than agents of the central conceit, the missing link in an otherwise psychologically intriguing film.
Jon Fortgang, Film4
A bit like an album by The Doors: faultlessly good-looking and loaded with dramatic import. Then you get up close and it turns out there's not much there at all.
Jamie Russell, BBC
Shot like a lush, hypnotic waking dream, it's boldly beautiful and plays some half-smart games with sex, power and gender politics.
Rob Daniel, Sky Movies
The Book of Revelation is interesting enough to hope Kokkinos follows it with something equally daring.
Nigel Floyd, Time Out
An adaptation of novelist Rupert Thomson's erotic mystery/thriller that fails to find a visual or narrative equivalent for the book's elegant prose and lubricious mysteries.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
The film has an intriguing take on sexual power, and Greta Scacchi is excellent.
S. James Wegg, Film Threat
A production that any serious film buff will have to experience.
S. James Wegg, JWR
Clearly, with its unabashedly honest nudity, steamy scenes of bondage, masturbation, sodomy and even some old-fashioned fucking, this is no flick for kids.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

David S

Often I'll watch a film and it comes up with a piracy warning, right after saying "We all love a good Australian film". That's true, only you'll be hard pressed to name a recent one. And this film joins the rank of bad films. So, we have a man getting raped… More
Often I'll watch a film and it comes up with a piracy warning, right after saying "We all love a good Australian film". That's true, only you'll be hard pressed to name a recent one. And this film joins the rank of bad films. So, we have a man getting raped by three mysterious women as the plot. The scenes of rape, they're drawn out. They take their time for no reason other than to sneak porn-style scenes into a "mainstream film" (no I will not debate the merits of sex and art. Not in relation to this anyway). And when our guy returns, his girlfriend couldn't be any less caring. Hell, she was a bitch right from the start. I had no sympathy for her. Or anyone. And come on, the guy's been through something traumatizing and how does he get on with his life? By hitting on women. Oh that's great, a male gets raped and he becomes a highly sexualized being. That's great, that's just great. Male rape is already seen as a joke or unheard of (see SVU for much, MUCH better writing on male rape) and this could have helped bring it to light in some way. My only comfort is that since it's an Australian film, we have no chance of overseas countries seeing it and hating us for it. And there's little chance we'll see it, since it's Australian. Another nail in the coffin for Australian films.
Gordon A

Curious mixture of pretentious high art and predictable 'issue' drama which makes little logical sense. It dragged badly in parts and your enjoyment will depend on how plausible you find the rape scenario and your empathy with the lead character's suffering.
Dean M

Great Aussie erotic mystery film, but a bit strange in the tale of a dancer has been abducted and abused by three mystery women for 12 days. Tom Long does a fine performance in this film. I recognised the locations was filmed at my hometown - Melbourne.

Cast

            Tom Long as Daniel

            Greta Scacchi as Isabel Auster

            Colin Friels as Olsen Mark

            Anna Torv as Bridget/Gertrude

            Deborah Mailman as Julie

            Zoe Coyle as Renate

            Zoe Naylor as Astrid

            Odette Joannides as Maude

            Nadine Garner as Margot

            Olivia Pigeot as Bernadette

            Ana Maria Belo as Sally

            Belinda McClory as Jeanette

            Sibylla Budd as Deborah

            Geneviève Picot as Barmaid

            Nina Liu as Vivian

            Brian Lipson as James

            Gavin Webber as Dancer

            Shaun Parker as Dancer

            Damien Fotiou as Shopkeeper

            Marty Fields as Charging Officer

            Ken Radley as Policeman

            Anthony Wallace as Policeman

            Robert Morgan as Doctor

            Matt Wilson as Street Performer

            Michael Carter as Dancer

            Ryan Lowe as Dancer

            Fiona Malone as Dancer

            Mia Mason as Dancer

            Carlee Mellow as Dancer

            Jan Pinkerton as Dancer
See full cast