SoylentWhite/BattleRoyale

Okay, I was reading the RolePlayingGame/Taboo thread, which lead to me thinking, and I got curious.
What is a 'normal' (read whatever definition of the word you want) reaction to one of those films aimed at pushing your boundaries? (I'm talking 'Hotel', 'Man Bites Dog', erm . . etc.) The only one of these I can remember seeing is 'Battle Royale', hence the title, but there are a number out there. I'm particularly, though not exclusively, interested in your reaction to the very first one you saw, whichever that may be.
Were you shocked? Or did you simply not get emotionally involved? Did it stick in your mind, or did you forget about it shortly after leaving the theatre (or wherever you were)? Do you feel it actually had an impact on you? Or anything else that sticks in your memory.
Do you still watch these kind of movies? What do you seek to get out of doing so?

Please, no discussion of the 'morality' of making/watching these movies, I'm purely interested in people's reactions.

If they're good, they get under my skin and into my head, and they get me thinking HARD about how anyone could get that disturbed, on the grounds that I want to prevent that sort of thing from happening. Squick with the intent to make you think, usually. To be fair, the first time I read something with that aim was when I read BarefootGen?, a shocking and well written tract on nuclear disarmament in the form of a manga about a family from Hiroshima circa the atomic bomb deployment: 28 Days Later is another example of the genre that I... appreciated having seen, as "enjoyed" is not the word I'm looking for. --ElliottBelser

(Finally got around to reading/thinking about these answers.) Okay, so you think about how anyone could be that disturbed (presumably talking about the characters, rather than the writer/director ;) ), but how do you feel you can prevent that kind of thing from happening by watching the film? Recognition of early signs? Is that the only reason you 'appreciate' seeing these films? Are you saying all of these films make you think in some way, or that you only 'appreciate' the ones that do? If the latter, how do you feel about the ones that don't? --SoylentWhite

: Well, even if I can't personally prevent that sort of thing, that it provokes discussion and dialog is worthy in and of itself. To clarify: all of the films of this nature that I am glad (in retrospect) that I have seen have been geninely thought provoking. If a film isn't - if it's just shocking - then I can and will walk out of the theater (I did this during the tommy-gun sequence in The Mask: I was young, and it was incredible Nightmare Fuel with very little visible point). --ElliottBelser

AClockworkOrange? (which my brain keeps turning into 'AChocolateOrange') was probably the first film of this kind I saw. It was definitely art, it was definitely well made. But eww. I'm not sure I can elaborate on my reaction more than 'Eww'. Mostly the impact of it on me seems to have been that even many years later I can still remember the plot, the 'characters' and many images from the film as well as the message it was trying to convey. That's not something I can say for most films. --Requiem

: I'll second that for AClockworkOrange? - I'm glad I saw it, I will never watch it again, it was good, but yes, 'eww'. - SunKitten
: So, it used boundary-pushing to convey its message in a memorable form? Fair enough, I can see that. But what about other ones, that perhaps don't have as strong a message? Or do all the ones you've seen have a message? While I haven't seen it and so cannot say for sure, I haven't heard much about the underlying message of 'Baise-moi', for instance. Also, is that a fair trade? Even after years, still having the 'eww' reaction means a certain mental cost was paid watching this (if you see what I mean). Is having the film's message implanted deep within you 'worth' the repeated 'eww' memories you continue to have? Thanks for the answers to date, though. Interesting. --SoylentWhite