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15 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Portrait of an enigmatic serial killer., 23 Mar 2003
Roberto Succo (2001) is a far superior film to Cedric Kahn's earlier film L'ennui- which apart from the curvaceous Sophie Guillarme (spelling?)- who was so great in Harry, He's Here to Help- was a mesh of embarrasment & sexual cliches. Kahn makes a film that fuses elements of the biopic with true crime story, a romance between ingenue Lea & Kurt/Andre/Succo. Stefano Cassetti is electric in the lead role, a handsome take on Vincent Gallo with one of the great movie stare's- think Klaus Kinski in Aguire, Wrath of God or Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. Isild Le Besco is brilliant as his lover Lea, though sadly she vanishes before the end (it is problematic shaping real life events around cinematic narrative)- scenes such as the ones where her hair runs down her naked back or where she smokes a cigarette with Kurt's hat on, remind me of the impossible beauty of the European female. Another notable, if brief appearance is that of Estelle Perron as one of Succo's kidnapped, Celine. She's great in a scene where Succo's character appears so disturbing, surmising her life, talking of psychology before attempting a sexual coupling (& failing, Succo is like a child). Kahn doesn't give the simple rationale for Succo's behaviour, the chaotic nature of his actions (seemingly without pattern) & the scene where we see the police discover a myriad of photos of Succo in different appearances highlight what we don't know... This film certainly doesn't celebrate crime, reminding me of the way in which the film Chopper undercut the memoirs of it's eponymous anti-hero. It feels a lot different to TV reconstructions/movies of Ted Bundy or Ed Gein & has none of that repressed frottage people get from people like The Krays in this country. The loss Thomas depicts when staring at the photos of one of the missing girls- & how her life has become merely a set of still images from the past is unbearably moving... The soundtrack is excellent, Culture Club's Love is Love is used to great effect early on, while the recurrent use of the Marianne Faithfull song is more than a good idea. The cinematography is brilliant- especially capturing the wild car chase scenes which felt as great as those in Amoros Perros & The French Connection. There's also the great scene where the camera tracks 360degrees, following Kurt's white convertible as he picks up Lea.The denoument as such is as enigmatic as the figure of Succo (heightened by his phrase "I am not Roberto Succo" before babbling off on his frequent diatribes on Communism or Terrorism; my only criticism is the absence of Lea... Roberto Succo is an excellent film, one that takes a novel approach to the material of recent life- it doesn't celebrate a distured character, but it doesn't simplify him or his actions either- making it one of the most interesting films of recent years.
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