Product: La Sindrome di Stendhal
Rating: 3.0
Argento's languid thriller will divide fans like never before
THE STENDHAL SYNDROME[La Sindrome di Stendhal](Italy - 1995)Aspect ratio: 1.66:1Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby DigitalQuite unlike anything Dario Argento has directed before, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME is a grimly realistic portrait of a female police officer (Asia Argento, essentially miscast) whose encounters with a sadistic rapist/serial killer (Thomas Kretschmann) have devastating consequences. Though distinguished by some truly horrific violence, played straight by Argento with few of his trademark stylistic flourishes, the film is much too languid for its own good, wasting a lot of valuable time on an otherwise laudable attempt to depict the long-term consequences of a vicious sexual assault on the central character. Furthermore, the harsh subject matter allows no room for levity, and the austere scenario is at odds with the sumptuous artwork that acts as a catalyst for the murderous proceedings. Asia's convulsive reactions to works of art (hence the ornate title) makes her a target for Kretschmann's psychopathic killer, allowing Argento to fill the screen with paintings, sculptures and beautiful objet d'art, which offsets the film's own lack of visual flair.But there's a fierce intelligence underpinning the somewhat predictable scenario: When Asia de-emphasizes her femininity in response to the initial attack, only to re-establish her womanhood after a second assault in which she emerges the victor (or does she?), it becomes easier to forgive the painfully obvious surprises which clog up the final quarter. Only one scene recalls the best of Argento's work: A potential victim being stalked through a dimly lit room full of oversized marble statues, a brilliantly edited sequence which suggests everything and reveals nothing. Overall, "Stendhal" may not be vintage Argento, but it's too clever and too unsettling to be easily dismissed, and it gets under the skin like no other horror film in recent memory. See it and make up your own mind.