A decent thriller, which lacks the magic of
«Profondo Rosso»
and «Suspiria»
From his birth Dario Argento ate, slept and
breathed cinema. He started out as a film critic and when the time was right,
he made his first film («The Bird With The Crystal Plumage»). His
father (famous producer Salvatore Argento) produced the debut
motion picture, and its success launched Dario’s career. Asia Argento started
out as an extra in the films of Dario’s friends and when the time was right she
took leading roles in her father’s pictures. What can we say about their
second joint picture («The Stendhal Syndrome»)?
Detective Anna Mani travels to Florence in
order to get the leads on whereabouts of a notorious serial killer and rapist. While
visiting the Uffizi Gallery she is overwhelmed by a painting and passes out.
The killer uses it and subjects Anna to a bizarre psychosexual torture and,
strangely, doesn’t kill her. Traumatized Anna is granted medical leave, but she
gains the upper hand when the maniac strikes again. The murderer is presumed
dead, nevertheless the killing spree continues. Who is the new culprit?
The art projects, among other things, the fears,
desires and impulses, including the darkest, of the author. The
spectator often projects his own experiences on the viewed art object and, from
time to time, he becomes really overwhelmed by it. One of the most extreme
viewer’s conditions is called the Stendhal syndrome (when the person can
even faint or hallucinate when exposed to artwork). In addition, certain
serial killers saw themselves as artists and their «art» inspired new
murderers.
As in his earlier films, Dario Argents
explores the theme of repressed victim’s memories, which are triggered by traumatic
experience. Still, he leaves a lot of question marks. Was Anna abused as a
child? Did Anna run away from her hometown or she just wanted to start the
police career in a bigger city. The answer is up to the viewers’ projections. Anna’s
profession leads to another interesting point.
Police work, generally, is considered
masculine and the female police officers are often seen as males with long hair
(to pit it mildly). In the beginning of the film, Anna looks like
as a stereotypical defenseless girl and the colleagues treat her as a little
sister. After the traumatic event she tries to project aggressive masculinity,
but it doesn’t bring the desired result. So, she assumes the personality of
a blonde to full the authorities, romantic interests and future attackers.
Still, the main question is – was the
Director able to fully execute this interesting material? The answer is both yes
and no. Asia Argento convincingly portrayed a tormented woman, the maniac will
give violent chills to the viewer and the plot will surprise with few
interesting turns. Nevertheless, the film lacks the flare and magic of earlier
Dario Argento’s art. It doesn’t fully captivate the viewer; it doesn’t have memorable
music; it doesn’t play sophisticated games with a viewer’s mind, and it doesn’t
provide you with some truly memorable scenes.
Summarizing, «The Stendhal Syndrome» is a
decent, but not so memorable thriller. If you want to see the real Dario
Argento, then watch «Profondo Rosso».
