CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK
(MECANIQUES CELESTES)
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.5 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
France/Venezuela/Spain/Belgium, 1995 Running Length: 1:26 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Sexual themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Shown at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, 5/2/96 and 5/4/96
Cast: Ariadna Gil, Arielle Dombasle, Evelyne Didi, Frederic Longbois Director: Fina Torres Producer: Gerard Costa Screenplay: Catherine Touzet Cinematography: Ricardo Aronovich U.S. Distributor: October Films In French and Spanish with subtitles
It has been ten years since Venezuela-born Fina Torres blasted onto the international film making scene with ORIANA, the Camera d'Or winner at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. Now, after a decade of relative motion picture inactivity, Torres has released her second feature, CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK, which is currently playing at film festivals and will soon be released nationally by October Films. Unfortunately, although CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK boasts amazingly off-beat visuals and quirky plot twists, the basic narrative is stale.
Fans of the film laud it as a modern-day, feminist ALICE IN WONDERLAND meets THE WIZARD OF OZ. And, while there's no denying that elements of both stories permeate Torres' movie, the basic story isn't all that interesting. The appealing performance of lead actress Ariadna Gil, the bizarre imagery, and the air of lunacy are the elements that keep this film moving forward. Delve beneath the singing Maria Callas poster, the glowing love potions, and the roiling clouds, and you'll discover that CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK's basic framework is threadbare.
The movie focuses on a beautiful young woman who finds liberation by rejecting her old, restricted life for a new existence in the City of Lights. Ana (Gil) reaches the altar before realizing that marriage is a mistake. Before saying "I do", however, she jilts her would-be bridegroom, hops on a plane, and soars to Paris. There, she moves in with four Latina women and coaxes an eccentric Russian singing teacher to accept her as a pupil. Soon, one of Ana's roommates, Celeste (Arielle Dombasle), becomes jealous of her vocal talents, and Ana is forced to move out. She next shares an apartment with an unconventional psychologist (Evelyne Didi) who falls in love with her. Meanwhile, French immigration officials are after Ana to deport her, and, in order to remain in the country and pursue a coveted film role, she agrees to marry a gay astrologist who wants to have a big church wedding to please his parents.
CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK boasts a gaggle of unusual characters, only a few of whom are developed beyond the "quirky" level. The villainous Celeste, for example, is defined largely by eyes that glow evilly and an affinity for singing songs like "Sometimes I Eat Spiders". Ana is really the only three-dimensional character, and even her personality has some obvious holes. None of these deficiencies, however, detract from the movie's basic message of self-discovery through the repudiation of conventions and others' expectations.
As intriguing as some of the color-supersaturated visuals are, this film is as much a treat for the ears as for the eyes. Boasting a rich and varied soundtrack predominated by classical opera, there's hardly a moment when someone isn't singing. CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK is a cacophony of hue, light, and sound -- at times it doesn't seem important how well the plot holds together. As a series of ethereal moments strung together by cobwebs, CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK makes for fine, feather-light entertainment, but, beneath all the delightful distractions, there's a discouraging lack of substance.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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