Shocking Asia II: The Last Taboos

Shocking Asia II: The Last Taboos is a riveting continuation of documentarian Rolf Olsen's exploratory journey into the intricacies and peculiarities of Asian culture. Released in 1985, this sequel to Shocking Asia continues to juxtapose the astounding beauty and diversity of Asian landscapes, from the towering Himalayas to the serene rice paddies, with the stark and unsettling aspects of various sociocultural practices that distinctly characterize the region. The movie navigates the viewer through a kaleidoscopic tableau of experiences, presenting an audacious visualization of Asia's lesser-known aspects that often provoke fascination, horror, pity, or curiosity among Western audiences.

Deploying a style typical of shockumentaries, Shocking Asia II: The Last Taboos is rooted in sensationalism, careening through various cultures, ceremonies, rituals, and practices across Asia. The film is a mirrored maze, reflecting back at its audience the exoticized, the abhorrent, the weird, and the wondrous. It is as much an act of unearthing the hidden facets of Asian societies as it is a voyeuristic gaze into the mysteries and taboos of the East.

The cinematic narrative primarily unfolds through two contrasting, yet interlinked, thematic strands: Oriental religiosity and bizarre bodily practices. Olsen gingerly excavates the spiritual depth and texture ingrained in the region, peering into the shadows and complexes inherent in its religious diversity. The ceremony of self-mummification by monks, myriad facets of Buddhism, Hindu rites, ancestor worship, and ecstatic worship rituals involving trances are unfolded with an eye for capturing the extraordinary. These scenes are juxtaposed with the desolate terrains of socially marginalized lives – lepers, prostitutes, and individuals afflicted with grotesque ailments. Together, these narratives embody Last Taboos.

The second thematic strand delves into the allure of the body – violated, embellished, punished, and adored. The movie embarks on an exploration of the process of body modification for the sake of beauty, allure, and gender conformity, such as painful procedures involving feet binding or neck elongation. It also delves into bodily practices linked to societal roles, including age-old martial art disciplines and grit-testing endurance rituals, thereby offering a slice of life that is uncannily real and disturbingly gruesome at the same time.

Olsen’s method is unsparing and raw in its approach, opting for an unblinking gaze rather than turning its face away from the grotesquery it seeks to portray. By exploring practices and traditions that have been metaphorically blacked out from the canvas of accepted societal norms, the film pushes the boundaries of what is typically understood as taboo and allows it to take center stage. While this stark, relentless style often blurs the line between showcasing and sensationalizing, it also invites viewers to suspend their judgment while embarking on this intriguing exploration of human practices and beliefs.

The film's technicolor immersions breathe life into the diverse landscapes and multi-layered human tapestries, while the dynamic soundtrack, oscillating between moving ethnic motifs and Western pop, adds another layer to the viewer's experience. The narration, loaded with a sense of gravitas, makes for an engaging guide, even though the exploration of cultural oddities seems to get a tad judgmental or sensational at times.

Certainly not for the squeamish or faint-hearted, Shocking Asia II: The Last Taboos stands as a testament to Olsen’s audacity as a documentarian, forcing viewers to confront their own perceptions of the other, the repulsive, the bizarre, and the surreal in the human condition. Despite its controversial interpretation of Asian culture, the vivid portrayal of practices hidden in the shadows, and weaved into the everyday life-stream of these societies, provides audiences with a unique lens to view the spectrum of human socio-cultural evolution and its fascinating, albeit often unsettling, diversities.

In the end, Shocking Asia II: The Last Taboos emerges as a quintessential shockumentary, unsettling viewers' comfort zones, challenging preconceived notions of the normal, and reinforcing how subjective notions of what constitutes taboo or unimaginable can be. The film, in its own sordid and stark way, manages to hold a mirror to mankind, forcing viewers to confront and question their own biases and sensibilities.