"If it Bleeds" by Isabelle Pauwels Review

               If it Bleeds, a satire by Isabelle Pauwels is a commentary on the current state of the MMA world and subsequent industry that it has become. While fighting has always been a spectator sport, the UFC, at least in founding stood far apart from contemporaries such as wrestling and boxing by way of higher skill requirements and less spectacle, a true pure modern gladiator fight. Not every part of the movie made complete sense to me, as there were many references I did not notice, there were plenty of things I did understand and find humorous. One such example was the Connor McGregor impersonation serving as a foil for one of the examples of overblown ego in the current UFC and how it has become a custom in the UFC for people to have massive personalities. While people love to watch fights, unfortunately, a clash of personas is able to draw in more hype around an event, which is able to subsequently earn more revenue. In other cases, the fighters simply act as buffoons in order continue their careers. This was seen in the case of the “fighter” who was being interrogated by the commission. To all his questions, all he said was “fifth amendment,” making an infamous spectacle out of the process. I later went back and found the actual questioning and discovered that Pauwels essentially did not change a single part of the dialogue, and by placing it into the setting of the movie, was able to highlight just how ridiculous it was.

               As for the actual way the movie was put together, the jump cuts to me seemed to be extremely jarring, which was possibly the point. And the overlaid deep voicing that was used frequently made me think that the movie was trying to be serious in its message. This caused me to put up a slight mental guard while watching it, as no matter what, MMA is an industry just like anything else, and money must be made. I did not realize the lighthearted nature of the film until the credits, where the voice of Pauwels came through directly. Along with this, I did not understand the opening imagery of the pile of bricks that was shown. If I’m being honest, a lot of my dislike of the film came from the abstract elements or references I was unable to understand, and the references that I did know were enjoyable. So a good bit of the reason I did not enjoy the film as much as I could have lies with me. However, I also feel that the abstract nature of the film plays to its benefit as the subtle jokes and word play allowed me to think about them and the nature of the movie, increasing the amount of interaction and investment I had in the film. It kept me engaged and intrigued even though I did not outright enjoy the film. The fact that Pauwels refused to hold our hands throughout the movie by spoon-feeding us obvious punch lines and set ups is a credit to her mastery in film. If it Bleeds was a spectacularly brainy take on a brawny subject matter that allowed us to view MMA through a lens other than ESPN and pay-per-view specials.