THE HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF 1995
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1998 Timothy Voon
2 :-) :-) for being ripe with sexual tension
Cast: Olivier Martinez, Juliette Binoche, Pierre Arditi, Carlo Cecchi Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau Screenplay: Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Nina Cornpaneez, and Jean-Claude Carriere
There is something exciting about sex, when the players get to keep their clothes on right till the end; and if there is a reason for nudity, it is not to display the prowess of fantastic love making, but for purpose and reason. The sexual tension, is so beautifully mounted in this movie, that a gentle breath on the nape, can be as allegorically erotic as a thousand kisses on the skin. This is a style that more directors should learn to adopt. Being a French film, it also shows commendable self-restraint.
The talented French cast includes Oliver Martinez, who plays Angelo Pardi, an Italian of noble descent who is now living in exile. He is so chivalrous, that he will brave the cholera plague to help a damsel in distress. Hollywood, if not the world, needs more dashing gentleman like this, to breathtakingly rapture the hearts of women who have lost faith in the opposite sex. Then there is the beautiful Countess Pauline, played by the stylish Juliette Binoche. Together, the duo, ride the wind on stallions, shunning greedy soldiers and fleeing death.
This movie is set during the early 1800's, when the cholera plague ravished towns in the south of France. Decaying corpses fill houses and streets, as crows feed on the eyes of the dead. This is an unusual setting for a love story, but the isolation and panic helps create a breeding ground for respect to develop between the countess and her champion. Although the ending comes too abruptly, it is easily forgiven because of the overall lyrical style of the movie. When young lovers meet, not even the world can stop them.
Timothy Voon
e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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