A Ship of Madness: Deeper and Higher with Pazucus (also known as A Nau dos Loucos : Mergulho e Decolagem de Pazucus) is a 2021 documentary written and directed by Gurcius Gewdner (Pazucus: Island of Vomit and Despair 2017, Symbolicus Vol 1 2021). It stars Lígia Marina (Uptake Fear 2016, Pazucus: Island of Vomit and Despair 2017), Marcel Mars (Quarentena no Império – Isolamento das Famosas 2020, Sete Gatos para Calígula 2021), Priscilla Menezes (13 Weird Stories 2015, Pazucus: Island of Vomit and Despair 2017), and Gurcius Gewdner.
A Ship of Madness: Deeper and Higher with Pazucus Synopsis
A documentary focusing on the bizarre, unorthodox, controversial film work of the famed Brazilian indie horror director, Gurcius Gewdner.
This is an absolutely fascinating film that’s about a lot more than just filmmaking and art. It’s an introspective look at society and the way humans treat those different from one another. It’s about digging deeper, seeing what’s underneath the surface, and appreciating the little joys that life has to offer.
At first glance this is a narcissistic self-absorbed documentary about a man making a movie about himself and trying to become famous. But it goes beyond that. It’s about the filmmaking process and an artist who wants to share something he’s created with the world around him. It’s about wanting to share joy and passion with others and hope that they can understand and connect with it too.
And if that’s not enough, it goes even further than that, touching on multiple topics like the human body, the environment, pollution, and much much more. Going into this one, I had no idea who Gurcius Gewdner was. Now I’m aware, and, dare I say…a fan.
This is an extremely interesting movie, revolving around the making of Gewdner’s feature film, Pazucus: Island of Vomit and Despair (2017). It focuses on the production of the film and the brief life it had on the festival circuit and the reaction to it. There’s a ton of on-set, behind-the-scenes footage, giving the viewer just a small taste of all the hard work that went into creating such a project.
Everything seemed to come together beautifully in this, although beware, there’s a lot of vomit and poop. It’s definitely not for the squeamish. It’s passionate, bold, and truly disgusting.
Final Thoughts
Overall, A Ship of Madness: Deeper and Higher with Pazucus is absolutely brilliant. It’s inspiring, intrepid, and deeply moving. It’s gutsy, spirited, and one seriously disturbing voyage into the mind of madness. I highly suggested giving this one a go, if you can weather the despair.
Be sure to check out our other Horror-On-Sea 2023 Film Festival reviews, including Minacious, Eating Miss Campbell, Monsters In The Closet, 4 halloween, Pig Killer, Freeze, and Mask of the Devil!
This content was originally published here.