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House of flesh Mannequins
I am lucky to have Domiziano Christopharo among my Facebook contacts
and I am very happy, because each his films are an interesting journey,
deep down, where history and direction are in perfect balance.
One of those people with whom I would gladly spend a few hours
discussing cinema and his thoughts, probably coming out disturbed. But
it is another matter.
The exceptional thing about the Roman director is that already in his
debut film he had clear ideas: to criticize society, to unmask
hypocrisies and yes, to hit hard the audience. This is the outrageous,
brave, ironic and more than independent "House of flesh Mannequins" of
2009. So sorry to have watch it almost ten years after its release, but
a year before the commemorative version.
"These images, this film ... it's not just a movie," reads overlay at
the opening, and no words were ever right to describe a film. Knowing
well the rules of the Italian thriller / horror of the golden years,
Cristopharo launches himself into a film that looks like a morbid
fiction full of symbolism and enigmatic moments.
Shot practically indoors, the Roman director works hard on camera
movements and cinematography (lead by Mirco Sgarzi) often giving us
animated and hallucinatory images, perfect for the story he is telling.
Sebastian (Domiziano Arcangeli) is a rather solitary photographer,
hiding a complicated existence, due to various abuses suffered by his
father as a child. He delights in shooting and photographing moments
that show the worst instincts of people, with his inseparable camera.
One day, however, he meets Sarah (Irena Violette), a seemingly normal
person. Their relationship gradually becomes morbid, ending more and
more in the abyss of the black of the soul.
The visit to the "House of flesh Mannequins" (central part of the film)
takes us to the most ferocious, absurd and high point of the film. The
place is a sort of "Grand Guignol", where everything is allowed, where
there are no limits. Coitus, fellatio, torture. And this visit pushes
the couple who knows no limits even further down.
An ending in some ways "happy" emphasizes even more the message of the film and its allegory.
A perfect and very underground cast completes an excellent debut with
the aforementioned Arcangeli and Irena Violette, to which are added the
legendary Giovanni Lombardo Radice and Roberta Gemma, which as you
know, is much appreciated (not only for the beauty, but also for the
skill that she shows in this kind of film) from this site.
