The American Film Theatre
Directed by Tom O'Horgan
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Kino)
Mild mannered accountant Gene Wilder begins to doubt his sanity as the people around him turn into rhinoceroses. Zero Mostel is his best friend who has a virtuoso scene turning into one of the beasts and wrecking his apartment. Wilder can barely keep it together. Karen Black is the office girl and love interest, but she too succumbs. Based on the "absurdist" play by Eugene Ionesco, it's an interesting intellectual exercise, since the animals are obviously figurative and not literal, raising the question what, exactly, do they represent? There are many answers, ranging from politics to religion, but perhaps the simplest is best: the "herd mentality" of following the crowd, as exemplified by Wilder's plea in the final scene.
No comments:
Post a Comment