Product: La Sindrome di Stendhal
Rating: 4.0
Talk About Suffering For Art
Asia Argento is a cop on the trail of a rapist/serial killer who she follows from Rome to Florence. Once in Florence she falls victim to the Stendhal Syndrome, a supposedly real psychological condition(it's described in detail on the second disc) that causes people to feel ill, become disoriented, hallucinate, faint or lose touch with reality when exposed to certain pieces of artwork or architecture. While this condition may indeed exist, I doubt anybody experiences it to quite the degree Asia does in this film, as she is able to literally(in her mind) step into a painting and immerse herself in the environment the painting depicts. These scenes showcase Dario's flair for visuals. So, it's bad enough that she's got this Stendhal stuff to deal with, but at the same time, the killer has targeted her. Like the killer in Argento's Opera, he becomes smitten with Asia, and isn't so much interested in killing her as he is taking her for his own perversions whenever he feels like it. This sets off a series of events that leads Asia through a nightmarish adventure. To give away more of the plot is to give away some of the twists. This movie is kinda split amongst the Argento fanbase, with some on one side saying he'd lost his way and others saying it's one of the most underrated and misunderstood movies of his career. Of course you'll have to see it for yourself to be the judge of where you stand. Personally, I found it very enjoyable and disturbing. Only two things really bugged me about it and they're not too big. First off, the movie does drag a bit near the halfway mark more than it should. Second, it's hard to build alot of sympathy for Asia's character because she's such an emotional basket case from the very beginning. The whole film has her going through many psychological changes, freaking out, crying and doing irrational stuff at any given moment. I realize that this is all part of the overall point, but we never see her "normal" to begin with, so it's kinda hard to identify with her on any level at all. That's not to say Asia's performance is bad coz she actually plays it quite well(of course she's pretty much made a career out of playing women with psychological baggage of varying degrees). Very well, actually. A very interesting film any way you cut it, and a must for Argento fans. This dvd from Blue Underground looks wonderful compared to that cruddy Troma disc we've had to suffer through for the last few years. Disc 2 consists of various individual interviews totaling a little over an hour and a half with Dario and other crew members. One interview is with the psychologist who Dario consulted about the Stendhal Syndrome. This is the doctor who apparently is the world's authority on the syndrome and treats many patients at a hospital in Florence. She also wrote the book on the subject. This is an interesting little feature. Supposedly 80% of the population suffers from this syndrome to some degree. BS or not? You decide. Good movie though.