!!Beware of [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers]], almost all of which involve MAJOR NauseaFuel and {{Squick}}
* AccidentalAesop:
** Though the writer and director maintains that it is an allegory for how he sees the Serbian government and European film industry, ''A Serbian Film'' can just as easily (if not ''more so'') be viewed as a critique of the often humiliating, dehumanizing, and sadistic themes which permeate [[CorruptingPornography much of the contemporary porn industry]]--something which ''Total Films'' noted in their [[https://web.archive.org/web/20101222021227/http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/a-serbian-film less-than-positive review of the film]]. The fact that the film is set in Serbia arguably adds to the effect, since the fall of communism and consequent dissolution of the socialist welfare state forced many Eastern-Europeans (particularly in Russia, Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary) into the sex industry as a means of making ends meet.
** Though this may not have been accidental after all. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNxrKCuTrJ4 In a podcast in 2022]], the film's writer revealed that the core premise was inspired by the cinematic exploits of Italian porn icon, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocco_Siffredi Rocco Siffredi]]:
---> '''Aleksandar Radivojević:''' Siffredi had been cranking out VHS tapes depicting himself engaged in brutal sexual acts on location with local girls in different parts of Europe (mostly in marginalized and poor post-communist Eastern European countries), all of which had an uncomfortable undertone of colonialism. One particular scene that stayed in my mind has him having sex with a girl in a car while in the background you see this forest out of which a group of grizzled beggars suddenly starts to emerge, at which point Siffredi who by now is done with the girl, 'returns her' to the downtrodden locals, handing her over to them in the manner of a modern-day Marquis de Sade as if to say: ‘here you go, I’ve finished what I needed to do, she's all yours now’. So, by making the main character in that original synopsis an aging male porn star, I began to incorporate this notion of modern-day colonialism via sexual exploitation of a poor country's human resource.
* {{Anvilicious}}: We get it, movie: life in UsefulNotes/{{Serbia}} ''sucks''.
* BileFascination: The film's disturbing and grotesque nature is why most people even know what it is.
* CatharsisFactor:
** After all the horrible, awful things that Vukmir and his gang do to Miloš and his family, it sure is gratifying to see Miloš finally regain awareness and kill Vukmir by repeatedly bashing his head into the floor, killing his doctor with one of the drugs she's been using on him, shooting two of Vukmir's guards with a handgun, and killing Raša (whom—need we reiterate—violated a newborn child for one of Vukmir's films) by stabbing him through the eye socket with his erection.
** Marija brutally killing Marko after he's done violating her is also very cathartic.
%% The Complete Monster cleanup thread have decided that due to the film's excessively controversial content and rather tasteless nature, nobody in it counts under this trope.
* CrossesTheLineTwice:
** For some audiences, oh '''yes'''; for others, it's just plain disturbing and exploitative all round. However, many seem to agree that Raša's eye socket death qualifies with how comically over-the-top and satisfyingly gruesome it is.
** Raša violating a newborn baby? Sickening and terrifying. Vukmir suddenly yelling [[GratuitousEnglish "NEWBORN PORN!"]] while MilkingTheGiantCow? Fucking hilarious.
* DeathOfTheAuthor: Pretty much ''no one'' believes the director's claim that the film is an allegory for the Serbian government. And even those who ''do'' believe him still maintain that the allegory is so abstract that it cannot be taken seriously by anyone who doesn't already have a pre-existing hatred of the Serbian government anyway.
* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
** Miloš jumping out the window and the film crew just looking in confusion.
** The FakeOutOpening at the start of the film, where it shows Miloš humping a sex worker, before it shows that it's on a television set being watched by his son Petar, who is ''six-years old''. Later on, [[BrickJoke Marija scolds Miloš for leaving his old porn tape in the DVD player where their Petar could find it so easily.]]
* GeniusBonus: The infamous Newborn porn scene appears to be a reference to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newborn_monument Newborn monument]], built to commemorate Kosovo's formal declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia itself however, still does not recognize Kosovo as its own autonomous entity, and it is unlikely that Spasojevic is unaware of this fact. His claim that the scene in question is an allegory for how Serbia 'screws its people from birth' lends credence to the theory.
* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Miloš's revenge against the film crew for raping his wife and tricking him into attacking his own son, enough so that ''Vukmir'' of all people [[WorthyOpponent praises it as being worthy enough to have a film]].
* MemeticMutation:
** Newborn porn![[note]]The line in question originates from a very disturbing scene in the movie where someone rapes a baby immediately after they're born. AndThatsTerrible![[/note]]
** The film's repulsive and disgusting subject matter has led to jokes claiming it to be an adaptation of TheAristocrats.
* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: While still pretty disturbing, Miloš brutally killing Vukmir, his doctor and Raša is absolutely glorious considering the numerous atrocities they committed throughout the film.
* MoralEventHorizon: Miloš considers Vukmir to have crossed it after the latter shows the former a particularly disturbing film whose scenes include a newborn baby being violated immediately following its birth.
* {{Narm}}: The newborn rape scene is genuinely disturbing and disgusting. Vukmir yelling "NEWBORN PORN!, NEWBORN!" on the other hand, is so hilariously over-the-top it can make some viewers chuckle. '''Some'''.
* NauseaFuel: '''Everything''' about this film to the point where it could be considered the cinematic adaptation of this trope. Special mention goes to the infamous newborn porn scene.
* NightmareFuel: [[NightmareFuel/ASerbianFilm Now has its own page]] for a '''''very''''' good reason.
* OvershadowedByControversy: The film is a low budget TorturePorn flick that has been seen by few but is well known for being extremely graphic and disturbing, and it's been banned in more than six countries due to as-yet-unsubstantiated but persistent rumors that it contains footage of ''unsimulated'' child molestation. The actual plot concerns a destitute man who gets suckered into the SnuffFilm industry as a way to make ends meet and the director insists it's meant to all be a metaphor for the free-for-all make ends meet in the post-Milosevic government of Serbia. [[ParodyRetcon Most don't believe him]].
* SignatureScene: Two words: [[WouldHurtAChild New]][[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil born]] [[BrainBleach porn]]. The sheer depravity of this scene alone is why the film's TV Tropes page is locked. That or the infamous eye rape scene--the latter mainly due to Miloš' expression during the scene appearing in much of the promotional material.
* SpecialEffectFailure: A few, although they don't exactly make the film any less disturbing.
** In a few shots, it is incredibly obvious that Miloš' penis is a rubber prop. The brief closeup shot of him threatening to cut it off is perhaps the most notable; the knife's blade actually penetrates it a couple of millimeters, yet there's a complete absence of blood.
** When Miloš ejaculates onto someone's face, the semen is obviously fake--likely some sort of cream or lotion. This may have been done intentionally so as to avoid the film being even more banned/censored than it already is.
** When Lejla has had her teeth removed, the actress' real and intact teeth are blatantly noticeable under the heavy amounts of fake blood used to cover them.
** The one thing that can make the infamous "Newborn porn" scene ''slightly'' less disturbing is noticing (especially in the uncut version) that the baby appearing in it is clearly fake, akin to the one famously used in ''Film/AmericanSniper''.
* {{Squick}}: It would be much easier to list the scenes in the film that don't fall under it.
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Arguably, part of what makes ''A Serbian Film'' so disturbing is how it seemingly goes out of its way to ''avert'' this trope at first. The opening scenes give the impression that it's going to be a sort of [[SexComedy raunchy]] BlackComedy about a former porn star awkwardly trying to live the family man life. It isn't until quite a ways in that [[FirstLawOfTragicomedies things gradually get more disturbing]] until finally, Miloš is shown a film by Vukmir wherein Raša is seen doing something unspeakable to a newly-born baby. This ultimately drives Miloš to try and walk away from the production in the hopes of regaining his sanity, only to wake up days later and learn through {{Flashback}}s that he had been drugged and that the most gruesome events have already transpired. Thus, it isn't until the very end of the film--when Miloš finally realizes what all has happened--that the despair kicks in and [[DrivenToSuicide his family dying together]] feels almost merciful. UNTIL, that is, another movie crew visits the house and begin to do something unspeakable to their dead bodies...
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