SICK (1997) * * 2/3

This award-winning documentary is about comedian and performance artist Bob Flanagan, who was in pain most of his life from Cystic Fibrosis. Sadomasochism supposedly helped him cope with the disease and perhaps extend his life to age 43. S & M as therapy for cystic fibrosis? It is unlikely that his S & M "art" would have been accepted by mainstream society if he had not had cystic fibrosis, a lung disease that usually kills by age 30.

The film is extremely graphic and real, the most genuine and honest I've ever seen. Much of the footage was shot by his dominatrix lover Sheree Rose on home video. She and Flanagan, except for their S & M, seem like normal, intelligent artists. When she's not in her S & M gear, she could pass for a school teacher. It's a great contrast to see her tying him up and sticking needles in his groin in one scene, and later to see her knitting. Flanagan is completely nude much of the time. His father says, "He's saying to God: I'll show you!"

There are countless scenes of astonishing and authentic S & M. Would you like to watch a close-up of Flanagan hammering a large nail through the head of his penis? (The notorious "Hammer of Love".) There's also a clip from Nine Inch Nails' video "Happiness in Slavery", starring Bob Flanagan. He was an intelligent, sane, witty, talented, likable, very brave man who happened to enjoy being beaten and tortured sexually. The movie explains without preaching that he actually gained strength from S & M.

His performances at Art Galleries, and public recitals of his original prose and poetry are included. He also sings. My favorite Flanagan song is "It's fun to be dead", which he sings at the end of the film. Racked with pain, coughing his lungs out, he had a very loving relationship with Sheree for 15 years. Not only are they sexually a perfect match, she is his best friend, soulmate, and care-giver. When he loses his fight and goes to the hospital to die, the scenes of them together with her gently telling him it's OK to leave her, are heart-breaking.

His death is carefully documented, as is his burial. Flanagan's dominatrix displays the quart of mucus taken from his lungs that killed him. Bob Flanagan had said, "I want a wealthy collector to finance an installation in which a video camera will be placed in the coffin with my body, connected to a screen on the wall, and whenever he wants to, the patron can see how I'm coming along."

The cast includes: Bob Flanagan, Sheree Rose, Kathy Flanagan, Bob Flanagan, Sr., Tim Flanagan, Sarah Doucette, Kathe Burkhard, Kirby Dick, and Rita Valencia. Original music is by Blake Leyh. Other music is by Andre Burke, Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor, Bob Flanagan, The Nothings, Jack Shelley, Richard M. Sherman, and Bob Dylan. Kirby Dick and Carol Halstead directed.

Personally, I have a strong aversion to all perversions, even consensual ones. But I learned a lot about S & M and Cystic Fibrosis from this film. When I recovered from the horrors it depicts, I admired Bob Flanagan for his appealing personality and bold original art. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "Bob Flanagan was a wry, witty, funny man who saw the irony of his own situation."