I was excited to see this as it sort of killed two birds with one stone given my current interests in film. When tackling the grueling task of watching all the "great" movies of all time (which I'm currently embroiled in), it's difficult to pinpoint a good "jumping in" spot, so lately the bulk of my film viewing has been from the decade of the '50's; thankfully, this film (depending on your sources, some date it as being from '59) and the next selection (Ikiru) are both from that decade. Also, I've developed a bit of an affinity for French film, in fact our logo graphic on this blog is a snapshot from Godard's spellbinding masterpiece Pierrot le fou which still invades my thoughts every so often.
I watched a sizable portion of this in the library on my laptop. The juxtaposition of the eerie, stark black and white photography, and general creepiness of the film contrasted to the bright colors and smiling, young faces of passerby. I think a big misconception at the film, given our current sensibilities, is to equate it to the exploitation fare comparable to Saw and its legion of sequels, but that'd be doing it a real disservice, I found it much closer to works of great German Romantic fabulist E. T. A. Hoffman, or perhaps even a more sinister, fatalistic Brothers Grimm tale. It really is poetically perverse.
Some other misc. thoughts: I absolutely loved Edith Scob's (as Christiane Génessier) eyes in the dinner scene, so expressive, full of such emotional depth, her "face" having to convey so much where not a lot is actually said, just a stunning bit of acting and probably my favorite moment. A funny little thing is the "theme" so to speak that plays several times during the film I recognized right away from the hilarious HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, I'm not sure it was intentionally lifted from a forty-year old Franju film or if its a more common piece of music but given the two completely different contexts its used I couldn't help but grin. Louise referred to Christiane as angelic at one point, which she sort of did appear like towards the end, freeing the animals, a savior so to speak to the would-be tortured experimental specimens. I thought Louise's death was sort of hokey, she took a scalpel directly into her throat with more poise and class then I did when I received my degree at college graduation. I liked this, good pick Darrel, don't know that I'd call it top-shelf '60's horror and/or French work, but its certainly a fun watch and will leave some mental mementos behind in my mind. I'm looking forward to your third selection next round -- I'll be sure to have my silver bullet, garlic, shotgun, holy book, and crucifix for whatever hellish movie you hurl our way!
I'm thinking of traveling to Italy for the next. Maybe some Argento that many you guys might not have seen. Maybe Opera or Tenebre. Don't know yet.
ReplyDeletei dig me some Dario Argento
ReplyDeleteI'm admittedly not that into the horror genre though I enjoy them I don't really get into them. I really liked this film and often found myself wondering how it would be handled in modern cinema and if it would be more or less effective. My conclusion: I'd like to see a remake because it can be so freaking creepy (as long as it doesn't too gore heavy). I think it would make a great slow burn, suspenseful movie and it really turns the whole kidnapping thing on its head.
ReplyDeleteAnd I definitely agree about Edith Scob, she was great as the girl forced to live against her will so her father can try and attain some sense of absolution.
Make no mistake, this movie is about the Dr doing right by himself, not because of his daughter.