THREE LIVES AND ONLY ONE DEATH
(TROIS VIES ET UNE SEULE MORT)
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Americans are not fond of foreign films, at least not those with subtitles. Americans find reading too taxing, being unable to read and munch on popcorn at the same time I suppose. The New York Times recently reported that ninety percent of the foreign films do not even make a single million dollars in the United States. With revenues that low, you can see why few distributors want to handle foreign films and even art houses shun most of them. People in the movie business are there to make a profit, not a statement.
The excitement of foreign films comes in their ability to experiment and to approach subjects in a way unlike that of Hollywood's. Sometimes, as in the recent THE POSTMAN, NELLY AND MONSIEUR ARNAUD, FRENCH TWIST, THE PROMISE and THE STARMAKER, they are quite successful, and other times, such as CEMETERY MAN, they are so bad as to be almost completely unwatchable.
Using the format of multiple short stories woven together as Eric Rohmer did this year in his wonderful RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS, highly prolific, European director Raul Ruiz brings us THREE LIVES AND ONLY ONE DEATH. The interest is provided by the casting of the great Marcello Mastroianni as a character in each of the stories. The good news is that the script by Pascal Bonitzer and Raul Ruiz takes risks, but the bad news is that it rarely works. I have never seen any of the other films by director Ruiz, and based on this one, I am not motivated to try any more.
Pierre Bellemare is a radio announcer who narrates the introduction of each of the short stories. In the first, Marcello Mastroianni plays Mateo Strano. While waiting in line, he acts strangely. When Andre (Feodor Atkine) turns to him, Mateo apologizes with, "Excuse me. I can usually control my hilarity."
It seems Mateo is so lonely that he pays people for their time so he can talk to them. Andre reluctantly accepts his money, but gets more than he bargained for. It seems that Mateo is the ex-husband of Andre's wife Maria (Marisa Paredes), whom Mateo has not seen in twenty years.
This story is a nostalgic one full of reminisces of the past, especially how their apartment looked twenty years ago. It ends strangely in a gory scene that could have been lifted out of the awful horror show CEMETERY MAN. The tale is slow, and its only charm is the acting by Mastroianni. The story is so dispassionately and almost clinically told that there is little to draw in the viewers. There are several experimental, surreal sequences that seem of little purpose other than to demonstrate the director's ability to pull them off.
The second and more bizarre story has Professor George Vickers (Mastroianni) as a teacher at the Sorbonne. What does he teach? "Negative anthropology." Don't ask.
As the professor is walking up the steps to give his big lecture at a conference, he gets the urge to leave. He spends the night in a graveyard, and the next morning he decides to become a beggar. The show explains this by telling us that as a beggar, and as a successful one I should point out, he is happier than ever. One day he falls for a prostitute named Tania (Anna Galiena) who is also the president of a large company. From there the story manages to get even more unbelievable.
If this reivew has not already made you stop and go immediately to see this strange film, let me tell you just a bit more.
The announcer explains, "extreme happiness is a form of misery," in the introduction to the third story. In it, Mastroianni plays a butler to a poor couple, Martin (Melvil Poupaud) and Cecile (Chiara Mastroianni). It seems they have inherited a large chateau with the only provision of the will being they must never fire the butler (Mastroianni).
For completeness sake, let me say that the last story has Mastroianni playing rich businessman Luc Allamand.
THREE LIVES AND ONLY ONE DEATH is willing to take risks, and it has a talented lead. More than that, I can think of nothing to recommend the film. At least it is never boring.
THREE LIVES AND ONLY ONE DEATH runs too long at 2:03. It is in French with English subtitles. The film is not rated, but the gore in the first part and the mature themes might get it an R. If so, it is a soft R. The show would be fine for teenagers. There is little in the show worth seeing, so I give it a thumbs down and * 1/2.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: December 12, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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