Directed by Harry Kümel
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Barrel Entertainment)
A difficult film that defies classification: part Lewis Carroll, part horror movie and part love story. Mathieu Carriere is Jan, who finds himself thrust into the world of Cassavius, a dying millionaire and owner of the mysterious Malpertuis. Much of the film has Jan wandering the long, gas-lit hallways of the mansion, trying to unlock its secrets. Along the way he is tempted by the love, and lust, of several women, or are they the same woman? And just who are the inhabitants of Malpertuis anyway? I tried to guess what was really going on, thinking maybe it was an allegory for hell with Orson Welles as the devil, but I was wrong and the "real" explanation is a bit surprising. Some amazing set design on display and it is beautifully filmed, reminding me of Terry Gilliam's Brazil. I watched the longer director's cut, and it does tend to lose its way at times, perhaps by design. It also has multiple levels of reality, at one point it appeared it was all going to be a dream, and there is a tacked on ending that takes place in a mental hospital implying it was all just the hallucinations of a lunatic. Perhaps the shorter version eliminates these unnecessary distractions.
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Barrel Entertainment)
A difficult film that defies classification: part Lewis Carroll, part horror movie and part love story. Mathieu Carriere is Jan, who finds himself thrust into the world of Cassavius, a dying millionaire and owner of the mysterious Malpertuis. Much of the film has Jan wandering the long, gas-lit hallways of the mansion, trying to unlock its secrets. Along the way he is tempted by the love, and lust, of several women, or are they the same woman? And just who are the inhabitants of Malpertuis anyway? I tried to guess what was really going on, thinking maybe it was an allegory for hell with Orson Welles as the devil, but I was wrong and the "real" explanation is a bit surprising. Some amazing set design on display and it is beautifully filmed, reminding me of Terry Gilliam's Brazil. I watched the longer director's cut, and it does tend to lose its way at times, perhaps by design. It also has multiple levels of reality, at one point it appeared it was all going to be a dream, and there is a tacked on ending that takes place in a mental hospital implying it was all just the hallucinations of a lunatic. Perhaps the shorter version eliminates these unnecessary distractions.
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