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10
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Guest
Review by Rod
Barnett |
Juan
López Moctezuma only directed a handful of films, none of which
made money or were widely seen, but his influence on Mexican
cinema is still felt today. First working on the stage, in radio
and television he branched into film in the '60s and became
an assistant to legendary Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky.
After helping produce Fando & Lis
and El Topo, Moctezuma made his
first film — The Mansion of Madness.
Being a fan of horror and fantasy tales he chose an Edgar Allan
Poe story as the basis for Mansion
but imbued it with his own ideas and odd vision. Moctezuma shares
with Jodorowsky a love of surreal images, symbolic stories and
a fierce independence that makes his movies true auteur pieces.
In the mid 1800s, journalist Gaston Leblanc
(Athur Hansel) travels to the French country estate of Dr. Maillard
(Santo in the Wax Museum's Claudio
Brook) to learn about his methods of treating mental illness.
Maillard has converted his palatial home into a private institute
for the mad and claims to have made great leaps in treating
various diseases. Leblanc is carried to the mansion by Julien
Couvier (Martin Lasalle) and his wife (Mónica Serna); as the
couple leaves, patients dressed as soldiers attack their carriage
and take them and their coachman captive. Unaware of this, Leblanc
is given a lengthy tour of the place and shown dozens of patients
who seem to be living with little or no supervision. Maillard
explains his "soothing method" by which he claims
to harness the inmate's madness and control it. Leblanc sees
chaos and torture instead of healing and says so. Maillard is
only amused. Finally the doctor introduces him to Eugénie (Ellen
Sherman), who dances to entertain the men, but at the climax
of her performance she tries to stab Maillard. Outraged at the
treatment of the girl (and enamored of her as well), Lablanc
can only barely be calmed and persuaded to retire for the evening.
Upon escaping from his locked room he discovers Eugénie about
to be killed as part of some strange ritualistic ceremony. Rescuing
her he learns that she's the daughter of the real Dr.
Maillard... The man masquerading as the doctor is actually named
Fragonard, a madman who thinks he can rule the world. Recaptured
by the inmates, Leblanc must find a way to stop Fragonard and
save Eugénie before he, too, is driven insane.
Mansion of Madness
is not a great film by any stretch but it has its points of
interest. More a series of strange scenes, odd moments and surrealist
visions of mad people doing weird things, it's ripe for discovery
by fans of Moctezuma's mentor Jodorowsky. Indeed, some segments
of this movie recalled to mind scenes in Jodorowsky's amazing
1989 film Sante Sangre as well
as El Topo. Even with a meandering
story and a certain lack of forward momentum, Mansion
Of Madness has so
many striking images that it exerts an odd effect not unlike
being mesmerized. The film is able to establish a dreamlike
feel that slowly seeps into the (patient) viewer and pulls you
along —
its not the most exciting
movie but if you can accept its quirks you'll find a thoughtful
exercise in style. Moctezuma seems to be commenting on society's
mad blind spots and rigid systems, but although he sometimes
ties his ideas together mostly he's just throwing things at
the wall to see what sticks. The most irritating moments are
the pointless shifts in tone such as several comic scenes with
accompanying 'funny' music that destroy whatever sense of dread
or importance that had been building. The first of these comes
on the heels of a brief instance of implied rape, so is jarring
to say the least. It's a beautiful movie but an unfocused one
—
or if it is focused I must
have missed the moment that made its aim clear. I much prefer
Moctezuma's third film, Alucarda (1978),
with its fantastic story of religious possession being much
more haunting and satisfying. Mansion
is a mess of a film but one that I'm glad I finally got to see
for myself... Your reaction my differ significantly.
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|
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| Mondo
Macabro has done a terrific job bringing this obscure film to
DVD. Their print starts off with a disclaimer explaining that
the picture may not be pristine in spots but is from the best
elements possible. This was an unnecessary warning, as the movie
looks beautiful throughout, with almost no signs of damage or
wear. If the image is less than perfect at times it is still far
above some offerings I've seen for more prestigious titles. The
film is presented fullframe, preserving the image as shot by
Moctezuma — it's clear that any matting would remove vital information
from many shots. Mansion can be watched
in either English or Spanish but (oddly enough for a Mexican movie)
it was actually filmed in English, the Spanish track being a dub.
Each audio track is fine with the obvious edge going to the English
one; both are presented in slightly flat stereo. A fine extras
package is highlighted by a very good documentary on the director
entitled Juan López Moctezuma: A Cultured Maverick
that delves briefly into his career. There's a 6-minute video
interview with fellow countryman Guillermo del Toro (director
of Blade II and Hellboy)
explaining Moctezuma's influence on his childhood and what he
loves about the man's films. Also included is the original theatrical
trailer, a stills gallery, a text biography and complete filmography
of the director. Capping the bonus material is a text interview
with Moctezuma that provides a look into his methods and goals.
All this is great stuff, although I should point out that the
same group of extras (minus the trailer) was on MM's earlier DVD
release of Alucarda.
3/27/05 |
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