THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996)
A film review by Mike Watson Copyright 1998 Mike Watson
Rating: 4 out of 5
Stendhal's Syndrome: a condition where, in the presence of art, a person becomes engulfed in a painting and hallucinates and may afterwards suffer symptoms such as depression, suicidal behaviour and personality disorder.
Grim stuff, to be sure, but the subject of a remarkable film from Italy's master of the horror thriller Dario Argento.
Boasting an unforgettable soundtrack from the grandfather of film music Ennio Morricone, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME is a quite magnificent return to form for Argento. It follows his disappointing American debut TRAUMA (1992), the patchy OPERA (1987) and several mediocre films he produced for young Italian director Michele Soavi in the late 1980's.
Based on the novel by Graziella Magherini, the film stars Argento's daughter Asia as young Roman police inspector Anna Manni in pursuit of a brutal rapist-killer. Visiting Florence to follow up several leads, she is lured by the killer Alfredo (Thomas Kretschmann) to an art gallery, a favourite haunt where he hopes to identify exactly who is on his tail. At the gallery Anna is overwhelmed by a painting and faints. Posing as a bystander, Alfredo briefly comes to her aid and having now identified his pursuer, a strange game of cat and mouse begins.
A gripping story evolves, and a coherent one, too, which may surprise those familiar with Argento's often lumpy narratives. THE STENDHAL SYNDROME is not a simple cop-hunting-killer scenario. It is a disturbing and often compelling study of the central character's psychological disintegration. The script explores its psycho-sexual themes with intelligence and candour, perhaps too much so for more sensitive viewers. But as dark as its themes are, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME emerges as one of the most artful and effective European thrillers of the last ten years.
Argento is once again working in his native Italy, and he fully exploits the opportunities to use art and architecture for both symbolic statements and as departure points for several brilliant hallucinogenic sequences. Effects whiz Sergio Stivaletti serves his director well here, and the cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno is consistently excellent. The film's opening 20 minutes segues between hallucination, flashback and real-time with tremendous style. Proof that, at his most inspired, Argento remains one of the world's most exhilarating filmmakers.
The cast is generally good, though marred at times by dubbing into English that renders speech all but emotionless. Asia Argento's performance is by turns risky, awkward and fascinating. It's a difficult role, and given her relative inexperience on screen she deserves applause for her efforts. Thomas Kretschmann is chillingly effective as Alfredo, and Marco Leonardi (of CINEMA PARADISO, and possibly the most gorgeous looking man in Italy) does okay as Anna's work colleague and increasingly confused love interest.
But perhaps THE STENDHAL SYNDROME'S single most striking element is Ennio Morricone's soundtrack. Active since the 1960's, Morricone has scored over 100 films in his career and this must rate as one of his finest efforts. It's mostly a variation on the one theme: a slow circular melody for strings and wordless female vocal possessed with an extraordinary, haunting beauty that lingers long afterwards. It's been three decades since Argento and Morricone worked together. This is a long welcome reunion.
If the film has a fault, it is that the last half hour drags a little and the film doesn't quite reach a completely satisfying climax. But by the closing scenes, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME has already offered us enough to qualify as one of the very best films of Dario Argento's career.
*NOTE: See the uncut print from Japanese laserdisc if you can. Dubs of this version are available from various video dealers on the World Wide Web.
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