The film is a documentary of the process of preparing the dead for burial. The removal of organs and ensuing embalming process is shown in every gory detail as it is, or as it may appear to the naked eye. All ideals of objective portrayal aside, the film shows the reality of what happens to us after we die: we are gutted and sucked dry of our fluids on a cold steel slab in the sterile, seedy basement of some century-old civic building. As cynical as that might sound, the film doesn't place any judgment on the realities it shows, but instead uses its simplistic, stripped-down filming style, free of explanation, to allow each viewer to bring their own judgments and interpretations to the table. At its most basic level, The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes is exactly what its title suggests: a study in observation and immersion. Brakhage uses his lens as our eyes, but this unblinking mechanical eye is to the casual observer controlled by some sadistic madman with a taste for stale blood. In this film, if the experiment goes as intended, it is impossible to doubt what is being seen, and, by the same token, there is no ability to look away in defiance to what is being seen by "your own eyes." Though informational on the surface, the film functions to force the viewer into seeing the macabre images unfolding in front of them while also expecting some form of deeper thought about the piece as a form of escaping or separating oneself from the images. Warning: Not pretty. Movie is silent i.e. there is no soundtrack to the movie.
http://www.lostatsea.net/feature.phtml?fid=18853449354767ab65cb6aa
http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/51839060/?tab=summary
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140788/
Youtube has censored version only.
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