Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Premature Burial begins
“There are certain themes of which the interest is all-absorbing but which are
too entirely horrible for the purpose of legitimate fiction. These the mere romanticist must eschew, if
he do not wish to offend, or to disgust.”
The Italian giallo genre of thriller/horror films,
(of which Aldo Lado’s film Short Night of Glass Dolls is an example)
dealt with those horrible themes – with murder and death and mystery with
stylish camerawork and unusual musical soundtracks. Often giallo films include a lengthy murder
sequence with operatic style. It’s not a
genre that is hugely popular in America ,
but it does have its devotees. Though Short Night of Glass Dolls (La Corta
notte delle bambole di vetro) 1971 is listed as a giallo it is
unusual in its lack of some of those elements that define the genre. It doesn’t have the copious bloodletting or the
erotic elements common to giallo, but it is still a strong mystery of a
movie.
Tapheophobia (from the Greek taphos – “grave”) is the fear of being buried alive.
The film begins with the discovery of the body of an
American journalist, Gregory Moore, lying – apparently dead – in a park in Prague . The doctors can find no pulse, there appears
to be no respiration, but his body temperature remains steady and there is no
postmortem rigidity.
Moore is,
somehow, still alive and thinking, though unable to move or to communicate with
those around him. He can do nothing to
convince them that he is still alive.
All he can do is remember. “…it’s
the only way I can tell I’m alive.”
And so in stuttering series of flashbacks, he recalls the
events that led up to his death – his apparent death. He remembers his girlfriend (played by
Barbara Bach – Bond girl and wife of Ringo Starr) and her mysterious
disappearance. He remembers his
investigation and the clues that led him to his mysterious end.
And the more that he remembers the stranger the story become
causing the viewer to wonder if what he remembers is real, or if he’s gone mad
because of his condition. And the more
he remembers the more we wonder if he will be able to wake up from this deathly
nightmare – from this deathly paralysis. The tension mounts inexorably as the doctors
prepare his body for an autopsy – a procedure which will leave him as dead as
he appears to be.
The director’s use of butterflies as a metaphor for youth
and vitality is well played throughout the film - and it should be noted that the
original title for the film was "Short Night of the Butterflies"
but this had to be abandoned at the last minute (even though it makes more
sense than Short Night of the Glass Dolls…)
“Wake up,
sleeper,
rise from the
dead,
and Christ will
shine on you.”
Ephesians 5: 14
The film’s score was composed by
Ennio Morricone. It’s interesting but
not nearly as inspired as his music for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
No comments:
Post a Comment