Empire of Passion (1978)

PLOT:

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A torrid affair between the young Toyoji (Tatsuya Fuji) and an older housewife, Seki (Kazuko Yoshiyuki), rages out of control. When their erotic play goes too far, the couple find themselves painted into a corner. At Toyoji’s urging, the two hatch a scheme to murder Seki’s husband, Gisaburo, by getting him drunk and strangling him. Soon, Toyoji becomes obsessed with scattering dry leaves into the well where Gisaburo’s corpse is hidden, and the rumours coming from the village’s gossipy women begin to get under Seki’s skin. It isn’t long before the ghost of Gisaburo appears in Seki’s home, tormenting her and her lover…

REVIEW:

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Set in a rural village in 1895 Japan, Nagisa Oshima’s Empire of Passion is the director’s follow-up to the notorious In the Realm of the Senses, an explicit and controversial film decried as pornography and still banned in several countries. Obviously such a film would be hard to outdo, and so Oshima cuts back on the explicit sex (though there is still that) and focuses on a more traditional ghost story.

The power of the connection between Seki and Toyoji is established early in the film. The affair properly begins when Toyoji forces himself upon Seki. In what looks like a fairly blatant case of chauvinist storytelling, Toyoji overpowers Seki, violently raping her. After that, they’re a couple, bonded by their mutual physical attraction. Those who wish to cast a generous eye towards Oshima will note that Seki’s character is older and very restrained by her position in life, especially as a woman in feudal Japan. Perhaps force was necessary on the part of Toyoji to get past those defences which were set up by society, and not by Seki’s true feelings. Once breached, they are free to share their mutual love, even if that first contact required violence.

Or maybe it’s just misogynistic bullshit. Either way, the initial sex act is followed by a few more, each one rendered fairly explicitly (if nowhere near the ballpark of In the Realm of the Senses).


Be warned: if you’re approaching this film because you’re looking for a scare, you’re going to be sorry. Though this is a ghost film, it’s not the sort typical to America, and it certainly isn’t like the current crop of J-horror. This is a rural ghost, who acts more like a being out of old wives’ tales or folk legend. Gisaburo haunts his wife and Toyoji, to be sure, but he acts as a symbol of their guilt, a constant reminder of their crime rather than a vengeful demon or poltergeist.

Empire of Passion isn’t a very fast paced film, and I found that the first two acts dragged a bit, unraveling in a fairly predictable way. Fortunately, the last act of the film really turns up the thrills, adding a few chilling visuals that might not make you jump, but will probably make you shudder. It certainly helps that Oshima was a director with an eye for composing a striking scene.


The Criterion Collection disc of Empire of Passion contains a few special features to interest the curious. Perhaps most helpful was the “video essay” by Concordia University’s Catherine Russell, comparing Empire of Passion with In the Realm of the Senses. The video essay is a good idea, since often a full, scholarly audio commentary is unnecessary, and 20 minutes or so is enough for Russell to explain Oshima’s (naïve) belief in the liberatory power of female sexuality. Interviews with the two lead actors and production consultant Koji Wakamatsu (director of the brilliantly titled Go Go Second Time Virgin) are nice bonuses, but probably won’t add a whole lot to anyone’s appreciation of the film.

Empire of Passion is a fine film, no doubt, but unless there’s something in particular that draws you to the film--the explicit sex, the director, the ghost story--it’s nothing that anyone needs to rush out and see.

Gojoe (2000)

Director Sogo Ishii is best known for his radical style and rather frenetically paced films. His early involvement the burgeoning punk scene in Tokyo combined with a love of performance art is clearly visible in some of his early work such as the early biker-punk / bōsōzoku cult classics like Burst City (1982) and Crazy Thunder Road (1980) (previously reviewed in this very blog by my esteemed coleague, Ash) as well the school siege film, Panic in High School (1978), a motion picture that is shockingly relevant today given the tragic events at Columbine and Virginia Tech.

I personally never thought that I'd see the day where Ishii would test the tried and true waters of jidai geki, but here we are.

Ishii's goal seems to be to take a well worn folk tale and give it a fresh coat of paint. In this case, Ishii really does go out of his way emphasize the more cosmic and philosophical elements of the story and transforms a duel between two men into a clash of elemental forces.

In this case, the well worn folk tale in question is that of the legendary duel between Musashi-bo Benkei and Minamoto no Yoshitsune at Gojoe Bridge.

The story is set in 12th century Japan during the rather violent transition in power between the declining nobility and the rapidly rising Samurai class. We find ourselves viewing the aftermath of a brutal feud between the Heike and Genji clans. The Heike have emerged victorious, but the conflict has taken a toll on its military might.

To make matters worse, the remaining Heike have found themselves the target of a bloodthirsty demon known as Shanao that haunts Gojoe Bridge which lies on the outskirts of Kyoto. Night after night, Heike soldiers are found beheaded and the heavens are rife with ill omens.

Shortly thereafter, we're introduced to Musashi-Bo Benkei (Daisuke Ryu) and learn that he is a man with a very troubled past. A former bandit, Benkei has turned to Buddhism in order to find enlightenment for his turbulent soul, but he can find no solace whatsoever. In desperation, Benkei decides that the only way to exorcise his personal demons is to defeat a worldly demon, so he ventures to Kyoto to confront Shanao.

Despite his bestial appearance, Shanao turns out to be quite human and in actuality is Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Tadanobu Asano); the last surviving member of the Genji. Yoshitsune is the mirror opposite of Benkei in that his plan is to exorcise evil from the world (i.e. the remaining members of the Heike clan) by fully embracing the darkness within his heart.

Naturally, it is only a matter of time before two such forces collide. Despite the flashy special effects and heavily choreographed fight scenes, Ishii manages to weave together a fairly convincing tale of two determined combatants fated to do battle in the course of pursuing their own personal destinies and the climax of this conflict is enjoyable if not somewhat predictable.

Mechanically, Gojoe is a rather ambitious piece of work but ends up being a slightly muddled hydra of a project. Fans and scholars of jidai geki can tell you that modern samurai period pieces are far more violent than their predecessors but plot wise, they are not nearly as philosophically progressive as the highly critical and taboo smashing samurai films of the Sixties.

Gojoe attempts to reach the lofty heights of angry and socially confrontational works such as Sword of Doom (1966) and Harakiri (1962), while still retaining the fountains of blood from films such as Beat Takeshi's Zatôichi (2003) or Sonny Chiba violence parties like Shogun's Ninja (1980) that latter day viewers have come to expect.

Sadly, Gojoe tries to juggle too much for two long of a period of time (runtime is a whopping two and a half hours) and ultimately suffers for it.

I've seen other reviews of this film that are savagely critical of the apparent lack of character development, but I personally am rather fond of it. It is easy to fall into the trap of morality labeling if you find yourself investing a substantial amount of emotion in one character or another.

In Gojoe, Ishii merely presents the events as they are and doesn't lead you by the nose by telling you whom you should consider to be good or evil.

Both Benkei and Minamoto are equal parts saint and sinner, and the genius of this movie is watching while contradictory yet balancing forces from within and without coalesce from seemingly chaotic fury into one perfect and brutal snapshot in time.

The duel at Gojoe Bridge.

Although I really do like this motion picture, I can't completely recommend it to the truly uninitiated. To really appreciate what's going on here requires an already healthy diet of Japanese folklore as well as a sense of scope and direction for the diverging styles of jidai geki over the past few decades.

If it were me, I'd start with the cornerstones of each period in time (Takeshi's Zatôichi and perhaps something from Kurosawa's extensive catalogue) before delving headlong into this particular film.

Japanese Cinema Blogathon (June 1st - 30th, 2009)

For the month of June, Movie Feast will be taking part in the Wildgrounds.com Japanese Cinema BLOGATHON. While the actual BLOGATHON will be taking place from the 15th to the 21st, we've decided to devote the entire month to reviews and articles about Japanese film, showing our love and respect for the cinema from the Land Of The Rising Sun. Prepare for Ninjas, Rubber Monsters, Extreme Horror, Samurai and the just plain weirdness that makes Nippon cinema so unique.

Other blogs taking part include:

- NipponCinema
- JFilmPowWow
- AHT [EN/DE]
- Cinebeats
- CinemaAsia [PL]
- CineBob [FR]
- Cinematografo
- Black Hole Reviews
- Nihon Cine Art
- LoLyfe
- Adgy
- Made in DNA
- Krell Laboratories
- Imaginary Birds.
- Maureen Donovan
- Eigagogo!

Dawn Of The Mummy (1981)

It would be foolish to suggest that a commentator of any sort isn't influenced by his or her recent experiences. I could never pretend to be completely unbiased, and with every review I do comes a lifetime of experience that is very specific to me. To that end, the films I watch have to be held to slightly different standards depending on their purpose for existing. I watched Frank Agrama's Dawn Of The Mummy with different eyes than I watched, say, I Dream Of Dracula or certainly a recent summer blockbuster like Terminator: Salvation or Star Trek, and this is out of necessity. The sort of person that would watch a film called Dawn Of The Mummy has likely already adjusted their expectations appropriately, and it's only fair that I do the same.

And Dawn Of The Mummy is an interesting animal. Obviously influenced by the Italian Dawn Of The Dead rips like Zombie and Night Of The Zombies, as well as Romero's originals, Agrama uses all of the traditional traits of mummy films; the Mummy's curse, Grave robbers, and the shambling, shuffling title creature; and combines them with the traits of late 70s/80s zombie films; cannibalism, a remote location, and buckets of gore; and transposes the whole mess to Egypt. The location filming is actually quite impressive, and there's a certain majesty to knowing that the pyramids in the background are legitimate, giving the whole production a bit of a unique look and feel.

It's a shame then that the whole thing is a tired, slow-moving mess. The characters are almost wholly unsympathetic, and often totally unlikeable, and seem to exist solely to be fodder for the Mummy and his zombie buddies. The mummy itself, seemingly influenced by the look of the Mummy in the classic Hammer films, is tall and imposing but does almost nothing of note besides strangling an old woman and (uncharacteristically) slicing and dicing one of the characters with a cleaver. Oddly, the reanimated corpses which arise with the mummy are much more threatening, as they run after people and take bites out of them when not eating their guts outright.

But i'm getting ahead of myself. Dawn Of The Mummy begins with the mummification and burial of the title creature, taking place some 3000 years ago. The name of the mummified man is apparently Sephriman (or some variation thereof), and he's entombed with six of his pals, just in case he's ever disturbed. Not a bad deal. And guess what? 3000 years later that's exactly what happens when some treasure hunters blow up the entrance to his crypt in search of gold. The most notable of these three gentleman is Rick (Barry Sattels), who is blond, wears an ascot, and mugs for the camera every chance he gets. He's excitable, and at least seems to be aware that he's in a ridiculous mummy movie. They start to search for riches (GOLD!), when they are rudely interrupted by models.

Yes, a group of models from New York City have arrived in Egypt for a photo-shoot, and after a brief misunderstanding involving gunfire they decide that the stinky, filthy tomb would be the best possible place to be photographed. Rick and his buddies raise a fuss, but eventually decide to let them prance around for a few days if it means it will eventually get them out of their hair. Now, there are three female models, one male model, a male photographer and a female assistant. I dare you to keep the names of each character straight. Luckily that's hardly necessary as the lights from the photo-shoot start making Sephriman mighty cranky, and he's soon up and around and looking to party with his zombie goons.

Then some things happen. Characters smoke pot, or have sex, or go swimming. Occasionally someone sticks their hand in some internal organs, or finds a severed head or a body. I promise you that it's all uninteresting, and you could probably skip to the last half hour without missing anything crucial. But that last half hour is a lot of fun, as the Mummy gang crash a wedding and start chowing down on innocent villagers in between killing and eating a bunch of vapid, useless models. Eventually the "good guys" blow him and his reanimated co-horts sky high with a bunch of gasoline, but a final shot shows that he'll be back. But he never was. The end.

As mentioned, the decision to shoot in Egypt with an eyptian crew works in the film's favor, as they get a lot of production value out of a comparatively low ($500,000) budget. While one could easily mistake the film for an Italian production, Agrama actually is Egyptian and studied film at UCLA after leaving a career as a surgeon. He was an experienced director by the time this film was made, and unlike a lot of Italian productions, the cast actually appear to not be dubbed. The mix of location shooting and sets work quite well, and the props and hieroglyphics that litter the inside of the crypt are fairly impressive.

But it's so painfully slow. Things don't even get going until about forty minutes in, and by then most horror fans would have tuned out. The film is aided greatly by a terrific synth score from Shuki Levy (who did the music for a ton of notable 80s cartoons), but Agrama fails to turn the atmospheric tombs and creepy score into anything resembling suspense. Seeing irritating models get eviserated has its own charm, but the actual mummy is such a dull creature that even these meagre pleasures are greatly diminished. By the time things finally get going with the attack on the wedding at the end, exposed entrails and zombie attacks are not enough to save the proceedings.

Some praise should be given to the special effects and zombie/mummy make-up in the film. While not looking as delightfully rotten as the zombies in Fulci's films, the corpses look appropriately decayed, while Sephriman looks terrific despite spending most of his time staring confusedly at nothing in particular. The gore is plentiful, and is usually realized quite effectively, aside from the brief cleaver to the head scene, which is really the fault of some rough editing. There are even some fun pyrotechnics, including an impressive explosion at the end. With this crew, the potential was obviously there for so much more than ended up in the film.

The DVD from Madacy Records features a rough looking full-screen print of the film, which was originally filmed in 1.85:1. Scenes taking place at night tend to be difficult to watch, particularly in some later scenes in the film featuring some day-for-night shooting, but it's never too murky.

Despite the low-budget DVD release, there are a couple of features. The best is a talky, interesting commentary, presented as a Q&A between actor Del Howison (The Erotic Rites Of Countess Dracula) and the director Frank Agrama. Agrama is a fascinating individual who has led quite an interesting life, so his anecdotes are certainly checking out. Filming in Egypt has some unique challenges, particularly in terms of sexual content, and Agrama explains why the film is heavier on gore than sexuality. Agrama later went on to bring Robotech to television, so i'm certainly willing to forgive him for making Dawn Of The Mummy.

We also (oddly) get a trailer for Road Ends, featuring Dennis Hopper and Chris Sarandon, but no trailer for Dawn Of The Mummy. I'm also disappointed that the DVD art is different from the terrific VHS box-art that I remember from when I was a kid. The hastily photo-shopped replacement is hardly an improvement.

While actually showing a lot early promise, Dawn Of The Mummy fails to pay off the potential of a modern Mummy movie renaissance and instead shuffles along to a routine demise. It looks fine, and there are smatterings of goo for the gorehounds, but discriminating viewers won't be swayed by the brain-dead cast and mundane script. Perhaps as close to a zombie film as any mummy movie can get, and the commentary is fun if you can get it on the cheap, but otherwise i'd recommend avoiding.

The FALLOUT 3 Reviews: Logan's Run (1976)

In 1967, William F Nolan and George Clayton Johnston penned a novel that had the potential to be one of the most scathing critiques of humanity ever written. Sadly, it was a work that didn't really aspire to lofty heights and settled for something slightly above mediocrity.

It portrayed a world where human self-indulgence had literally made the earth uninhabitable and it drew a picture where 60's Counterculture and the Sexual Revolution had gone into overdrive and suddenly became the thing they despised the most: the establishment.

The 60's hippie mantra of "don't trust anyone over 30" became a law enforced with an iron hand and unyielding lethality.

Welcome to the world of Logan's Run.

The late 1960's to mid 1970's saw yet another boom in the lucrative Sci-Fi film market. 20 Century Fox scored big in 1968 with Planet of the Apes and rumors were that they were working on yet another large sci-fi project (which turned out to be Star Wars).

MGM decided that they needed a franchise of their own to compete at the box office so they tapped Michael Anderson to direct an abridged version of Logan's Run. The pressure was on since the summer of the previous year saw the box office titan, JAWS, hit the big screens and all of a sudden, the timeframe between the middle of May and the end of August became the focal point of a movie studio's major releases.

The Summer Blockbuster was born.

While very successful (earning an Oscar for visual effects, a Saturn for Best Film, and earned $50 million on a $9 million budget), Logan's Run was doomed to be eclipsed by the sci-fi films that followed, primarily Star Wars (1977), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and Alien (1979).

As far as the plot goes, the film never really delves all that deeply into the more satirical parts of the Logan novels and wisely sticks to telling the basic story within a fairly resonable runtime.

In this dystopia, overpopulation and war have all but destroyed the human race. Mankind now lives in domed cities where their every need (from food to plastic surgery to human companionship via "The Circuit") is provided for by the computer that runs all housekeeping and life-support functions.

Population control is given a rather ritualistic twist. In the future all births are achieved through cloning. Sexual contact is purely recreational (and encouraged) but pregnancy is outlawed.

Each clone is fitted with a gem embedded in the palm of their left hand known as a lifeclock. At the age of 30, the lifeclock turns black and the citizen must go to Carousel where they are subsequently put to death.

There is a strong belief in this new society that despite the obvious genocide taking place, some souls will actually be reused for future clones and thus everyone has a shot at immortality.

Dystopia being what it is, we outside observers know that the promise of renewal is pure bunk and so does the computer that runs everything. Therefore, the computer correctly hypothesizes that it will require some sort of security detachment to help enforce its will. That's where the Sandmen come in, and where Logan 5 (Michael York) enters the picture.

Those who try to escape their fate on Carousel are dubbed "runners," and it is a Sandman's job to terminate all runners.

Through the course of events of the film, the computer realizes that there is a small percentage of the population that remains unaccoutned for and assumes that despite its best efforts, citizens who decide to run are somehow managing to escape the confines of the domed city.

In a ruthlessly efficient response, the computer tasks Logan 5 with a secret mission. It alters Logan 5's lifeclock to make it appear as if Logan 5 is approaching his 30th birthday and then sends him out to make contact with any runner he can, so that he may follow the runner to Sanctuary (the mythical place where escaped runners have formed their own society) and destroy it.

To this end, Logan 5 enlists the aid of Jessica (Jenny Agutter), a girl that Logan 5 meets through "The Circuit" and correctly suspects has some intention to "run."

To this day, I always include the wonderful folks at the MGM wardrobe department in my bedtime prayers for putting the stunning Miss Agutter in the killer, green piece of nothing you see her draped in below.

Ahem... Anyway...

The following events see Logan and Jessica come to grips with startling realizations (primarily in the terrifying form of the insane robot, Box (Roscoe Lee Brown), and an amusing cameo from Peter Ustinov), catharsis, love, and finally in Logan's case, redemption.

You'll note that no one refers to the termination of runners or the renewal of those on Carousel as "death," and it is this philosophy along with the disturbingly utopian City of Domes that adds to the neo Genesis feel of the film with Logan and Jessica serving as our sci-fi version of Adam and Eve.

When the cost of paradise is paid with lives and individuality, then the only logical conclusion is to flee. Escaping from an Eden where nothing is as it appears to be is a very common theme in sci-fi and Logan's Run manages to put everything in a fairly entertaining package.

Watching Logan's Run in the present day has been bittersweet. The performances from the cast are acceptable enough to push the story along, but it really is a film that prefers style over substance. The story tends to drag during the parts where sleepguns aren't flashing or when Jenny Agutter isn't naked and the plot has holes large enough to drive a truck through.

I honestly think that this could've been one of those movies that might've been better than the book if it it had tried to more clearly address the society issues that the novel (and the novels that followed) only paid lip service to.

The caveat being that despite the rather average storytelling heights the novels aspired to, the basic concepts contributing to the premise were rather brave. The death age in the novels is 21, not 30, and I think that a project featuring young people (even minors) doing the same things that York and company did in this film would've never seen the light of day.

I still don't think society is ready for that sort of film, which probably explains why the oft-promised remake of Logan's Run still languishes in developmental hell. It's sort of tragic really.

In the 60's and early 70's, special effects really weren't at the stage where you could depict the changes in scenery or scope of concept in the Logan novels without spending tens of millions of dollars. The technology just wasn't there at the time.

Nowadays, the easiest thing to handle would be the special effects and it is the details of the story itself (especially in Logan's Run, where society is composed nearly entirely by teens and twenty-somethings) that would generate the most brow creasing and angst from film execs and audiences.

To this day, Logan's Run remains the semi-forgotten stepchild of the afterbirth of the Golden Age of Sci-Fi. An envelope pushing film rather than a groundbreaking one and certainly worth watching, however it certainly pales when compared to the true heavyweights of the genre that showed up when ILM changed all of the rules and Special FX became king.

Bloody Nightmares #14: When Heaven Comes Down (2002)

There's something to be said for filmmakers who have loftier goals than simply churning out an exploitation film. Sometimes an audience simply wants a little bit more substance, even when that substance comes housed in a no-budget slasher film. Gary M. Lumpp's When Heaven Comes Down deals with the issue of abuse against women, and there is obviously supposed to be an empowering element to these women revealing their abuse and fending off attackers, but whatever message was supposed to come out of this is drowned by shoddy production values, cardboard cut-out characters, and a script that limps to its final act. A slasher film about a killer targeting abusers of women, with perhaps a hint of the 70s genre of Women revenge films (like I Spit On Your Grave or Ms. 45), might have been interesting, but Lumpp does little to distinguish his film from the plethora of crappy slasher films in this collection.

Samantha 'Sam' Eckhart (Emily Albright) is a bartender with a secret. A few years back she was attacked by a serial killer calling himself The Savior (Joe Gordon) and barely escaped with her life. Today she runs a therapy group for battered women, but often has flashbacks to the traumatic incident and finds herself having trouble being intimate with her (ridiculously nice and supportive) new boyfriend, Josh (Cory Schiffern). Soon, the abused women from her therapy group start turning up dead, sometimes along with their abusers, and Sam begins seeing signs that The Savior may be killing once again. Or, could it be someone a bit closer to her? (It is. Try and guess who it could be. It's fun!)

A feminist Slasher film sounds like a terrific idea to me. So often the genre has presented women as weak, slutty or expendable, and combining a modern edge with the awful reality of spousal abuse could have led to an interesting, original spin on the material. Instead, Lumpp's film still presents its female characters as constant victims, only letting the protagonist show some grit at the very end. Most of them are easily dispatched of by the killer, and the male characters are almost all abusive, hateful pricks that show almost no redeemable qualities. This two dimensional approach to characterization means that only Sam ends up being the least bit sympathetic or interesting.

Lumpp's direction doesn't add much to the proceedings, though at least there are a few camera swivels to remind us that we're not just watching a play. Unfortunately the biggest technical limitation, and it's one that pops up again and again in this collection, is the sound. While dialogue can usually be made out, there's an audible hum in almost every talky scene, and this makes camera angle changes jarring. It's a constant irritant, though hardly the only technical issue with the film.

Giant chinned B-movie legend Robert Z'Dar (Maniac Cop) actually had a hand in producing the picture, and shows up in a totally disposable scene having a heart to heart with the boyfriend of an abuse victim (played by Jeff Dylan Graham from Hellbound: Book Of The Dead). I'm not sure why he felt like trading dialogue with a guy who beats up his girlfriend would make a fun appearance, but I don't question the lumpy faced lothario. To his credit, Z'Dar acts circles around everyone else in the film, though that speaks more to the film than to his own particular abilities.

Aside from Z'Dar giving it his all, the acting is really poor. They made the right decision sticking Emily Albright in the lead, as she delivers her lines strongly even while being a bit wooden, but practically every other actor wouldn't even pass muster in community theater. Joe Gordon as The Savior seems to be having some fun, but his overacting is hammy and annoying. Anthony Sabatino as the ridiculously abusive Ozzie (who literally "pops up" in a few scenes randomly) is pitiful, and gets a totally superfluous sex scene with sex-pot Syn DeVil just in case you thought the movie might be trying something a bit different. Ha ha, sucker.

No, that's not Ortiz The Dog Boy from Freaked, that is our killer in one of the few scenes which has anything visually interesting going on. Special effects are generally non-existant, with kills being relegated to stabbings and strangulation, and gunshots taking place off-screen. There are a few instances of the red stuff, but if you're here for some gore you're barking up the wrong tree.

When Heaven Comes Down is shot on DV, and certainly looks the part. Everything is reasonably lit, and it generally seems free of the video glitches common in the Bloody Nightmares collection. Soundtrack music is generally inobtrusive though totally forgettable. Yes, it's all quite a bland experience.

What could have been an interesting spin on a tired genre becomes a wasted opportunity in this predictable slasher film. When Heaven Comes Down could have used a little more ambition, and a lot more talent both in front of, and behind, the camera. The serious topic at hand is occasionally treated with a modicum of respect, particularly in the therapy scenes, but too little effort has been made to escape from the cliched trappings of the genre.

Dillinger is Dead (1969)

A man in a mask is locked into a chamber. Yellowish, deadly-looking gas fills the confined area, but the man is unharmed. He waves at Glauco (Michel Piccoli), the mask’s designer, who safely observes from outside. Glauco’s associate begins to read to him (and us) an essay he’s written, a piece of social criticism which seems heavily influenced by the Frankfurt School. He explains that the man in the mask is a symbol for modern man, that we are all in a toxic environment. Glauco humours him, but clearly doesn’t take the man seriously. Obviously he should, since the rest of the movie only proves his intrepid co-worker’s point.

Marco Ferreri’s Dillinger is Dead is an odd beast, and one that is difficult to discuss without ruining, since the end of the film is so important to understanding the film’s meaning and its appeal. It is a film about what happens after you’ve accomplished everything you’re supposed to: Glauco has a beautiful wife, an incredible home, and a high-paying job. He (seemingly) wants for nothing. And yet this is profoundly unsatisfying. Glauco is Marcuse’s one-dimensional man.


So what comes next? Once you’ve gotten everything that a capitalist society tells those in the middle class they want and need, you are faced with two options. You can stop moving, being happy with what you have. This can lead to stasis, and perhaps even rot. Or you can try to keep moving. But what do you move towards? Nothing prepares you for that next step.

Following the discussion with his co-worker in the opening scenes, Glauco returns home to his beautiful wife, who needs pills to sleep and goes to bed in full makeup. Glauco is less than enthused by the food that she’s left him, so he decides to cook his own meal. While searching for a cookbook with his favourite recipe, he comes across an old pistol. It’s rusted and practically useless. While Glauco cooks his meal he fiddles with the gun, taking it apart and bathing it in olive oil. He barely speaks.


Watching Glauco cook is a real joy. Perhaps I just like food too much, but there’s got to be a reason that those cooking shows do so well that there are two or more channels dedicated to them alone, and that’s the fact that watching people cook is somehow rather enticing. Glauco knows his way around the kitchen, and it shows. And while he cooks he toys with the gun, playing with it like a child with a toy. Soon he discovers an old newspaper, proclaiming that the famous American gangster, John Dillinger, is dead.

The movie progresses like this from one scene to another. Glauco is bored, and decides to explore his home, watching old movies and doing things that bored people tend to do while they're alone, things which are often ridiculous or embarrassing but always authentic. Glauco’s house is a marvel, filled to the rafters with odds and ends. It looks thoroughly and completely lived in, nothing like a movie set at all. With almost no dialogue, the viewer watches as the Italian man interacts with his 8mm home movies, listlessly eats what he can, and flirts with his live-in maid. It’s a real testament to the writing and the actor that you can sit through 80 minutes of what is essentially a guy puttering around his house.


And yet, no matter how light-hearted Glauco’s actions are, no matter how mundane the film seems, there’s always a sense of dread, established in the opening shots by the gas mask and carried through the rest of the film by the presence of the gun. Glauco is constantly fiddling with the gun while he goes through all the other motions. He cleans, reassembles it, and even paints it red, with white polka dots. He finds some old bullets and loads it. Having spent so much time on it, it’s only logical that the gun be used. Even if Glauco doesn’t know it, the viewer does.

Dillinger is Dead is a remarkable film. It’s rumoured for a Criterion Collection release, either this year or next, and I’d encourage people to give it a look. It certainly isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s something incredibly engaging about the art behind it--the set design, the cinematography, and most importantly the huge performance by Michel Piccoli, one whose shoulders the success of the entire film rests.