Stendhal Syndrome [1996] [DVD]

Thanks to its troubled release history and the multiple unsatisfying DVD releases over the years, I've seen The Stendhal Syndrome more times than any of Dario Argento's other films, which is probably a good thing since once past the initial disappointment at how little use it makes of the condition that gives it it's title there's a lot more to it than initially meets the eye. It's almost certainly Argento's most difficult and contradictory film. On one side it's a nasty little thriller about a serial rapist and killer with some unpleasant violence (albeit not as excessive as you might expect). And yet at the same time it does make a genuine effort to build a narrative around the psychological after-effects on one of his victims as she continually reinvents herself, at first as a more masculine figure in an attempt to reclaim some of the power her rapist has taken from her, later as a more `pure' and feminine one, ultimately identifying all too closely with her attacker...

It's not a complete success but it's certainly Argento's most ambitious and psychologically profound film with the best female role in any of his films. Unfortunately, the fact that she's played by Asia Argento, an actress with more ferocity than subtlety doesn't help (it was originally written as a vehicle for Bridget Fonda, with Jennifer Jason Leigh subsequently briefly attached). Nor does the fact that the Stendhal Syndrome itself, a form of emotional overload and physical breakdown in the presence of great works of art somewhat similar to the Jerusalem Syndrome, isn't really explored beyond acting as a trigger for the plot. The exceptionally bad cgi effects when it is don't help either, undercutting a couple of potentially interesting setpieces. Still, it's much, even if it's not essential viewing, it's much better than the likes of Phantom of the Opera or The Card Player and ultimately shows a surprising degree of sympathy for the character.

The film has always had a chequered history on DVD - Troma's release was less than impressive and 74 seconds shorter than the Italian version (a couple of brief dialogue scenes trimmed by Argento himself) with a underwhelming transfer. Whereas the Italian PAL 2-disc DVD offered the dubbed American version and the very slightly longer subtitled Italian version on separate discs but was overcropped to 1.78:1 rather than the original 1.66:1 widescreen, Blue Underground's 2-disc NTSC release offers the uncut film on the first disc with optional English or Italian soundtracks in 1.66:1 (the film reverts to subtitled Italian for the restored scenes) in a superb transfer supervised by cinematographer Giuseppe Rotuno that finally shows the film in it's true colors after years of grainy and washed-out transfers. There's also a good selection of substantial interviews on the second disc. Although the making of documentary on the Italian two-disc set hasn't been included, with separate interviews with Argento, special effects supervisor Sergio Stivaletti, assistant director Luigi Cozzi and production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng, there's no cause for complaint. Best of all is the fascinating interview with psychological consultant Graziella Magherini, who originally identified the syndrome in the unrelated non-fiction book that inspired the film. Of the many versions available, Blue Underground's is definitely the one to go for.

As an huge fan of Dario Argento’s work, I have to say that this film was a bit of a let down to me. The premise is that a police detective (Dario’s delightful daughter, Asia) is being stalked by a deranged rapist/murderer, but she also suffers from the Stendhal Syndrome of the title. This causes her to have frightening hallucinations whenever she is confronted with works of art. As he has just been assigned to catch the killer in Florence, this predictably turns out to be a major problem for her.
There are a few issues which bother me about this film. The first and most obvious (to fans anyway) is that it does not look like an Argento film. There are none of the awesome camera angles and shots that are the trademark of earlier films such as Suspiria, Tenebrae or Phenomena. A quote on the DVD cover claims that it is “as gory and hard as Tenebrae”. It is nowhere near.
The second problem is the casting of Asia in the main role as Anna, the detective. Apart from the fact that she looks about fourteen years old, she just doesn’t have the charisma to pull it off successfully. She’s a very attractive girl and so watchable in that sense, but she never convinces in her character.
Thirdly, for the most part, the film is just boring. There are long passages where nothing of consequence happens, and you find yourself wishing for the killer to strike again, just to liven things up. Argento films never used to be like this, did they?
It’s not all bad news, though. There is an interesting twist ending (par for the course from this director, though) and as already mentioned, I could look at Asia Argento all day long. Not a bad film on its own terms then, but it struggles to live up to the reputation of its illustrious predecessors.

I don't find myself saying this about most recent Dario Argento - where the holes in the plot only widen under scrutiny - but, though flawed, this film actually improves with repeated viewings. We'll have to wait and see how his conclusion to his "Three Mothers" trilogy turns out but, for the time being, this is easily his best work starring his daughter Asia. The previous "Trauma" was little short of an absolute mess in which, whatever good intentions he may have started out with, Dario struggled to tie his anorexic heroine to the ludicrous plot. With "The Stendhal Syndrome" he deals again with psychological illness, this time more successfully despite the somewhat trivial nature of the titular condition.

The first 20 minutes or so has an extraordinary hallucinatory quality and is quite masterfully directed. Anna Manni (Asia Argento) visits the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, has a powerful reaction - the Stendhal Syndrome - to some of the paintings, faints, injures herself in falling and wakes up with short term memory loss, not knowing who she is. Dazed and confused she staggers outside where a 'helpful stranger' catches up with her, returns her abandoned handbag, puts her in a taxi and dispatches her back to her hotel. Once there, Anna begins to regain her memory while hallucinating under the joint influences of prescribed medication and a painting on her bedroom wall. This is very cleverly done, for the facts recalled - that she is a police officer from Rome hunting a serial rapist/murderer - are simultaneously revealed to Anna and we, the viewer, increasing our sympathy with her. Returning from her dream, Anna is attacked and raped by the man she is hunting, passes out and awakes to find him in the process of killing another victim with Anna's gun. Anna escapes and, disturbed by her experience, returns to Rome, is placed on light duties and starts seeing a psychiatrist. However, the killer is not finished with her yet...

So far, so good. One would expect there now to ensue a riveting game of cat-and-mouse, but this never really materializes to its full potential. The killer retreats back into the shadows and - curiously, because we know who he is, physically, if not by yet by name - Dario employs his typical subjective camera in his stead. Although there is some suggestion that the murderer views Anna's Stendhal Syndrome as a parallel with the reverie he loses himself in when he attacks women, this promising theme is underdeveloped. Instead, the film chooses - perhaps bravely, perhaps foolishly - to focus on Anna struggling to come to terms with what has happened to her in anticipation of her attacker's next move.

Sadly, as the film begins to plod towards its upsetting (though inevitable/predictable) conclusion our interest does wane. What keeps us watching is the novel inversion of Dario's standard 'giallo' format in which a subjective killer is ultimately unmasked from a group of suspects; as I have mentioned, here, for once, we know the killer's identity yet the film pulls away from him as it progresses. Of course, there is a very good reason for this but, nevertheless, it's still an interesting stylistic departure. It's also refreshing not to have Dario resorting to outrageous trickery to hide his killer; what concealment there is plays pretty fair though unfortunately it's more transparent than subtle.

Three other notable plus-points: a memorable Ennio Morricone score; some vivid location photography in Florence, Rome and Viterbo; and a brief appearance by the still-beautiful Cinzia Monreale, who played the blind girl in Lucio Fulci's "The Beyond" and also starred in Joe D'Amato's "Buio Omega"/"Beyond the Darkness".