«Matador» (1986)

 Sex and Violence, Death and Silence 

An ex-matador Diego Montes has a paraphilia – he gets sexual gratification from watching female murders in the movies. He runs a bullfighting school and one of his students – religiously repressed Angel, - desperately tries to prove his manhood. The student tries unsuccessfully to rape a girl and, after that, he claims that he is guilty in a series of murders. The police commissioner is not convinced is that this neurotic kid is capable of such things, but is there any evidence to find the true murderer?

Red is the color which is associated with two things – sex and violence. The bullfighting is strongly associated with the red muleta, which is used during the final stage (the tercio de muerte or «the third of death»). Skilled matadors are rich, famous and desired by women. Nevertheless, the legalized ritual murders of animals and adrenaline addiction could seriously change the psyche of the matador and make them highly unsuitable for regular life.

Catholic teaching is strongly against pre-marital sex and promiscuity. Angel wasn’t lucky to be born with the religious mother, who repressed his sexuality and who is constantly controlling every aspect of his life. Still, the hormones, mixed up with the distorted psyche, makes an explosive thermonuclear cocktail. It surely exploded, but who is the true culprit behind those horrific murders? Watch and find the answer.

Media could sexualize the violence, especially in thrillers and horror movies. Pedro Almodóvar distorts the traditional cliches of Italian giallo movies. In his world, the attractive women are like bulls, who are running towards the red muleta of a dangerous person. Still, there is one unusual twist, like in the best giallos of Dario Argento. I am not going to spoil it; I hope you will be as pleasantly surprised as I am.

«Matador» is a good dark comedy about sex and violence in Spain of the 1980s. If you are not very impressionable or moralistic, then check out this film.

«Emmanuelle» (2024)

 Mélodie d'amour chante le coeur d'Emmanuelle

 

There are films which will hardly impress the modern viewer, but they are very important in the history of the cinema. One of such films is the very first Emmanuelle by Just Jaeckin, which even got X-rating in the initial American release. Nowadays, this film is suitable for a kid, who graduated from the first grade in the elementary school.

There were numerous sequels and rip-offs, but most of them are not even worthy of googling. What about a remake? Not even one until 2024. How can you reshoot a film from an age, when the Sexual Revolution just started, and people were much more impressionable. Sounds funny, isn’t it? I think so too, but I have decided to satisfy my curiosity. Was it worth it?

No, absolutely not. The author completely lost the spirit of the original novel. The novel, if you are oversimplifying it, was about a woman who is discovering her sexuality in the Orient (Thailand). This time it’s about a woman who comes to Hong Kong to check the luxury hotel and who just gets laid by some irrelevant persons. Sounds interesting or tempting? Absolutely not.

What about beautiful scenery? The original «Emmanuelle» movies always took you for a ride in some beautiful parts of the world (Thailand, Hong Kong, Seychelles, Brazil). This time we see only the lobby and the rooms of the luxury hotels and some generic streets and cafes. Yes, you could watch beautiful landscapes on YouTube, but if you want to remake a film, at least take something good from the original (it’s beauty).  

Actress? Silvia Kristel wasn’t a bombshell, but she captured the childish naivete and innocence of Emmanuelle, who becomes a clay in the hands of her husband Jean and Mario and turned into a devotee of free love. Noemie Merlant doesn’t radiate anything, and all her scenes only make you yawn from boredom. I think Naomi Watts would have been better Emmanuelle; she got much more spark.

Sex? Of course, modern viewer have seen everything in the high school, but nothing beats the sensitivity of the first four Emmanuelle films. In this film sex is boring and mechanical and it feels like almost real sex in night club’s bathroom. We want to watch these films for some escapism, and we need some good music for it, which is also absent in the film. Additionally, there is no playfulness in it and the film tries to present its story in serious way or maybe the director hasn’t realized what kind of story she wanted to give.

The tagline for original «Emmanuelle» was «X was never like this». It perfectly captured the spirit of the film, which was, despite its adult film rating, a playful and beautiful story without excess on physiology, and you could watch with your girlfriend. The new «Emmanuelle» failed in everything, and you could watch it with your girlfriend only in one case - if you are both suffering from insomnia.

Better check out «Supersex» - a funny Netflix-series about Rocco Siffredi.

«The Belly of an Architect» (1987)

 Everything’s permissible for art

An American architect Stourley Kracklite and his wife Louisa are coming to Rome, and the former is entrusted with organizing of exhibition about the XVIIIth century French architect Etienne-Louis Boullee. Stourley is excited about this possibility, but the world is starting to crumble around him, and it all starts... with severe stomach pains. What not-so-known American architect can do about it.

Rome, without any exaggerating, is the cradle of the Western civilization. It has numerous museums, statues, archeological digs, exhibitions and etc., and millions of tourists come to visit them annually. The artists also draw their inspiration from Ancient Rome. Nevertheless, what can we say about modern Rome? It’s like almost any other big city is the city of blood, meat and money.

Monumental art is always funded by big money and history knows many examples when this money is not very clean. Just remember that the Renaissance artists were funded, among other things, by the corrupt cardinals and by the shady bankers. Cinema also could be financed by dirty money or used for money laundering; it even concerns such films as «The Wolf of Wall Street» (check 1MDB scandal).

Additionally, history is full of the artists, who were not very revered by the contemporaries, but whose work became influential for the next generation of the artists. Their legacy is presented in professional books, but the general audience has a very limited recollection of their life and work. Still, from time to time even such artists are getting exhibitions, and the public are introduced to their work.

The film draws a parallel between the vocations of architect and film director. Among other things, both vocations are requiring knowledge of the technical stuff (strength of materials for architects and physics of sound for film directors), people management skills and, the most important of all, they require substantial financial backing. In this aspect, struggling architect Stourley Kracklite is akin to struggling film directors from such films as «8 1/2», «The Public Woman» and « Beware of a Holy Whore».

Every artist has a specific old master, who inspires, and the latter’s work is heavily referenced in the former’s creative activity (Fritz Lang for Jean-Luc Godard, Dario Argento for Nicolas Winding Refn). In the course of the movie, Stourley Kracklite becomes so obsessed with Etienne-Louis Boullee that he thinks that his life is beginning to parallel the life of the great predecessor.

As it was written before, architecture and cinema are very expensive and «The Belly of an Architect» captures the constant clash between money and pure art. The history knows a lot of examples when the creation was taken from the author and changed to the point of absolute noncompliance with the original vision, but it still retained the author’s name (the first version of «Heaven’s Gate» or the American cut of «Once Upon a Time in America»). Will Stourley Kracklite be able to preserve his vision? Watch and find the answer.

Summarizing all of the above, «The Belly of an Architect» is a beautiful and mesmerizing portrait of artist’s struggle in the Eternal City. I recommend you to watch it.

«Operación Ogro» (1979)

Anatomy of a Perfect Political Murder

 

1973, an ailing Caudillo Francisco Franco still has a firm grip on Spain. He wants to ensure the durability of Francoism and makes the first step – appoints Admiral-General Luis Carrero Blanco as the Spanish Prime Minister. Caudillo plans to make Admiral as his successor and the latter is accepted by the US and by the Francoist functionaries. So, it is quite possible that Spain would remain a dictatorship for many years. Still, on the 20^th of December 1973 Admiral was assassinated by a streetside bombing and the dictatorship was not able to recover from it…

Francisco Franco was a ruthless general, who didn’t hesitate to order bombing Spanish cities into submission. He was wise enough not to engage his country directly into the Second World War and he was able to cash on this, so after the war Caudillo won the support of the United States. Additionally, Franco wasn’t as war hungry as Portuguese dictator Somoza and the former was able to steer Spain into relative economic prosperity.

On the surface, Spain of 1973 was a successful European country and even the regime began to mellow a little bit. Madrid was full of happy shoppers and tourists, and the United States were giving much needed political, military and economic assistance. Nevertheless, it was only the beautiful cover for a brutal regime which still tortured and oppressed people and tried to erase certain ethnic groups (such as Basque and Catalan).

Political terrorism will always be a controversial issue. 1970s were the golden age of political terrorism in Europe. Spain was different from Italy and Germany in that it was a real oppressive dictatorship. Is it ethical to kill an oppressor extrajudicially? The answer is yes only in the case when there are no other means to punish him (if you want another historic example – check the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942).

The Director takes a nuanced approach to this controversial issue. He agrees that it was necessary to assassinate Luis Carrero Blanco, but he makes a very important point that the violence should be renounced after Spain returned to democracy. He draws a parallel between two heroes – Izara, who renounced terrorism in favor of political struggle, and radical Iker, who remained a terrorist. I think that the Director’s sympathies are with the former.

The film also raises an important issue – are those terrorists pawns in somebody’s political game? The Director doesn’t give a definitive answer and it’s up to the viewer’s decision. Additionally I recommend you to watch «Buongiorno, notte» about the kidnapping of Aldo Moro. The latter film clearly shows how certain terrorists are used for a political gain and discarded as a used ammo.

What about the attack itself? The Director depicts it as a meticulous job by professionals, who leave nothing for a chance. In addition, the film captures the paranoidal atmosphere of Madrid, where everyone can be a snitch and success is not guaranteed at all. So, don’t expect James Bond styled villains, those people are quiet and unpretentious, who want to teach a harsh lesson to the oppressive state.

Finally, «Operación Ogro» is a very good film which tackles the controversial issue with necessary subtlety. If you like political or historical films, don’t miss this one.

«The Spirit of the Beehive» (1973)

The haunted world of dictatorship

 

The Civil War in Spain has ended and some distant Spanish village tries to maintain an ordinary life. One day there is a special event – the screening of «Frankenstein». A little girl Ana is under enormous impression and, after some persuasion on the part of her older sister Isabel, starts to think that this monster is real. Is it?

In «Frankenstein» the Monster had a grotesque look, but he turns out to be an innocent creature. Still, his looks frighten people, and they suspect him of wrongdoings, and they want to destroy him. This narrative was exploited by the Francoist state or any other dictatorship to persecute everyone, who was not fit into their definition of normalcy (Republicans, Communists etc.). People also don’t want to do anything with the enemies of the state, and they will never accept them.

The human and collective psyche always tries to substitute horrible external with some tolerable inner world. Some adults go into «internal emigration», such as writing letters to imaginary lover (Anna’s mother) or spending all time with bees (Anna’s father). Nevertheless, they are still surrounded by the Francoist Spain, which resembles a wasteland after a very brutal war.

What about children? They cannot apply sophisticated psychological mechanisms and they grow up in contaminated atmosphere. Ana doesn’t understand this new world and she, like a girl in «Frankenstein», sympathizes with so-called monsters, but she cannot do it vocally. So, basically, she got two options – accept the ideology or grow estranged from her conformist family. What would she choose?

The film was released during the last years of Francoist Spain, so the author had to be very careful with critiquing the regime. The viewer won’t hear any vocal diatribes against the regime, but he will absorb it visually. The Director shows a wasteland, which doesn’t connect with the beautiful tourist image of Spain. Additionally, he employs metaphorical language, including the abovementioned Frankenstein and bees’ hive.

This subtleness creates a very haunting image of a sick society and it is more understandable to the viewers, then some words about brutality and lawlessness of a particular dictatorship (especially for those viewers, who never experienced it). Watch this old film, because it still makes a very disturbing impression.

«Caligula: The Ultimate Cut» (2023)

 The flawed masterpiece about the orgy of power

«Caligula» was released in 1979 and it still remains a controversial film.  The film has a very good cast (including Helen Mirren and Peter O’Toole) and some of the scenes are brilliant. Still unnecessary pornography insertions and overbearing emphasis on the naked bodies ruin the viewing experience. Also, because of the poor editing by Bob Guccione, «Caligula» gives the impression of a rough screening cut and not of a coherent motion picture.

The troubled production of «Caligula» led it to be disowned by the director, the screenwriter and the actors were not satisfied with Guccione’s version. The cinema buffs heard a lot of stories about how the film can be redeemed if it was reassembled in accordance with the vision of its creators. Finally, the art historian Thomas Negovan used the original camera negatives and assembled the version, which is more loyal to the original artistic vision («The Ultimate Cut»). Was he able to flesh out a masterpiece or not?

 Well, the answer is both yes and no.  As Tinto Brass said in one of the documentaries: «In my own mind, the film should have been a film on the orgy of power. In their version it became the power of orgy. They changed perspective». Thomas Negovan was able to reverse the perspective back to the vision of the Director. Additionally, in the context of «Caligula», the orgy of power comes hand in hand with an interesting oxymoron – the anarchy of power. What is the meaning of this self-contradictory remark?

According to the dictionary anarchy means a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority or other controlling systems. Concerning the anarchy of power we must look to a quote from «Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom» («In fact, the one true anarchy is that of power»). This quote perfectly summarized the nature of unlimited and unrestrained rule, epitomized by Caligula.

 «The Ultimate Cut» presents Caligula as a sick and a deformed human being with complete disregard for any moral or political restraints. The absolute power completely «liberates» him, and he is ready to play the God. Caligula has no regard for the remnants of the Roman Republic, especially the Senate, and he consistently tests their limits. He is surprised that the senators are ready to tolerate anything in order to keep their places and to retain the possibility to plunder Rome.

The Roman Senate, which was once the house of the wisest and the ablest persons, already surrendered its real power to Augustus and, by the time of Caligula, became just a figurehead body. This Senate doesn’t have Cato, Cicero or Brutus, it has only sheep in rich clothing. They lost the ability to present a united front against a tyrant and they don’t have the guts to execute a conspiracy to murder him.

 

This narrative brings out a lot of parallels with current events in the world, including modern Russia. By the virtue of removing the tasteless pornographic scenes and putting emphasis on the corrupting nature of absolute power, «The Ultimate Cut» finds the right balance between black humor, intellectualism, cruelty and depravity. Additionally, the new cut sheds more light on previously neglected characters, including Caesonia and Cassius Chaerea, presenting them as scheming and unscrupulous persons, who are playing their own political games with Caligula.

Still, even «The Ultimate Cut» fails to bring «Caligula» to the level of a true masterpiece. The film is still uneven and it takes great liberty with historical accuracy, especially concerning the character of Claudius. Regardless, finally «Caligula» is presented as a flawed masterpiece about corrupting effect of absolute power on a society as a whole and not as a pretentious porn.

«The Stendhal Syndrome» (1996)

 

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».