Bliss

The bizarre, disgusting, and perverse activity that transpires during the unfolding of BLISS caused quite a stir in Australia on the film's release, but that didn't stop it from winning the Australian Academy Award. BLISS tells the story of Barry Otto, a successful advertising executive with a loving wife, a medical student son, and a caring daughter. One day Otto collapses in the back yard and dies, though he is revived minutes later by paramedics. While dead, Harry learned that there is a heaven, and he becomes convinced that hell is here on earth. To make sure he gets to heaven, Harry decides to spend the rest of his life "being good"--to the dismay of his family, whose bizarre activities are only now coming to Otto's attention. BLISS shrouds its simpleminded thematic concerns in such a myriad of cinematic flash, shock tactics, and narrative pretension that the film seems to be saying much more about the human condition than it actually is. (Verleiher-Text)