Anticipating The Mother Of Tears

I have been trying real hard to not get too excited about Dario Argento completing the Three Mother's trilogy but I must admit, with all of the Cannes coverage and the first onslaught of photos from the film, that I am not going to be able to help the overwhelming anticipation that I am feeling.
I have hesitated even writing about it in an attempt to curb this anticipation, but I thought maybe a little post wouldn't hurt. I think I am also in a bit of a different boat than some on it because I have actually liked Dario's output from the past decade a lot, the mystifyingly bad PHANTOM OF THE OPERA excepted.
Everything about MOTHER OF TEARS seems perfect to me so far. From the casting of Asia Argento and Daria Nicoldi to the idea that this film is the culmination of his career, perhaps even Italian horror in general, up to this point. Early stills from the film show him clearly echoing not only his past works but also his peers like Lucio Fulci, one shot eerily recalls THE BEYOND.
I suppose he could blow it and I have to admit that ultimately that would be okay. It wouldn't be the end of the world, or his career, but one hopes that he is able to give SUSPIRIA and INFERNO, if not a film of equal greatness, at least a fitting finale.
Anyone interested in this film should regularly be checking the great Darkdreams.org and OdetoAzia.com for regular updates. Alan Jones' recalling of the footage premiering at Cannes over at darkdreams gave me chills and even if the film is a failure it won't be because Dario wasn't giving it his all.
Also for people anticipating this work as much as I am should send a prayer Dario's way as the studio is already pressuring him to tone down the film's violence and sexuality. If ever Dario needed to get a film across un-tampered with it is this one.
The film is due to debut in Italy in October and will hopefully be seen in the States shortly after, or at least by the end of the year. I even having a faint hope that I might actually get to see this one in a theater and not just on dvd.

This is a favorite of the stills released so far that DarkDeams has supplied. Fans of one of Argento's most personal works, PHENOMENA, will immediately recognize this location. I'd say from the mischievous grin on Asia's face here that she is more than aware of the allusion too.

Good luck Dario, we are all pulling for you.

The Jennifer Connelly B-Sides: Étoile (1988)

Filmed in Italy less than five years after her astonishing debut in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America, 1988’s Étoile remains one of the most little seen films in the career of Jennifer Connelly. Never gaining a United States release and currently only available in Japan, the film remains along with a smattering of television appearances one of the key missing pieces in what has become one of the most remarkable careers in modern cinema.


As directed by Peter Del Monte, who co-scripted it with Italian horror favorite Franco Ferrini, Étoile is an interesting if confused little film that never seems to fully make up its mind as to what it wants to be in its 101 minute running time. Part love story mixed with an odd tale of possession, Étoile isn’t a bad film, but it is a muddled one and one gets the feeling while watching it that it could have been so much more than it finally is.


Connelly stars as a young American dancer named Claire Hamilton who is attempting to make her way into a prestigious Italian Ballet school as the film opens. Claire soon meets and falls in love with a geeky but sweet young man also visiting the town, but their hopes of a solid relationship are damaged when she is inexplicably taken over spiritually by a dead ballerina named Nathalie whose great goal is to perform the ultimate version of Swan Lake.


Forgive me if my plot description of the film is a bit confused, but honestly it is a pretty fair representation of Del Monte’s bizarre script that hops from one head-scratching situation to another. No one would accuse Étoile of being predictable but unfortunately it’s not very cohesive either, so any sort of plot description is futile at best.


California born Del Monte has certainly had an interesting career with Étoile representing neither the best nor the worst of it. The high point to my eyes for the writer-director remains the fascinating Asia Argento vehicle Traveling Companion, a wonderful film that shows Del Monte is a really talented gentleman capable of getting some wonderfully nuanced and touching work out of his actors. Other films in his canon include the 1982 cult film Invitation au Voyage, the utterly bizarre 1987 Kathleen Turner production Julia and Julia, and 2000’s Controvento which featured Del Monte’s sometimes companion Valerie Golino. Étoile represents the mid-point for Del Monte and he shot the film in his mid forties, just after production on Julia and Julia had been completed.


Etoile’s cast is not surprisingly mostly made up of Italian actors, although much loved award winning Charles Durning appears in what has to be considered one of his most bizarre performances. A particular out of the blue break down sequence in a phone booth takes its place as on of the film’s and Durning’s most ill-conceived moments, but otherwise the always durable Durning gives the film a lot of support and watchability.


Technically the film is fine. It has that certain mid eighties sheen on it, thanks to cinematographer Acacio de Almeida, that automatically makes it feel very much of its time. The Set Direction by Oscar winner Bruno Cesari is very well thought and the film is nothing if not stately and handsome. Otherwise the most notable behind the scenes touch comes from frequent Wim Wender’s composer Jurgen Knieper who contributes a solid if not totally memorable score.


The film would probably have all but been lost in time right now were it not for the luminous young Connelly, and Étoile captures her at an interesting point in her career. Having still not developed the astonishing power she now possesses as an actress capable of delivering some of the most honest and intense work in American film, Connelly is still slightly awkward here but charmingly so. Possessing a natural grace and an uncommon beauty, Connelly’s work here feels a bit like an answer of sorts to her work in Argento’s Phenomena a few years before. I suspect screenwriter Ferrini felt the same way as he had indeed written her fan favorite role Jennifer Corvino for Argento, and I am sure some of the connections here between the two films were intentional, although Étoile is nowhere near as fascinating as Phenomena.


Étoile never really comes together but for Jennifer Connelly fans it is more than worth searching out. The film had a belated European release in 1990 but from what I can tell it failed to really catch on anywhere in the world. I suspect some enterprising small company will eventually release it stateside but for right now the Region 2 Japanese disc (that is out of print at this point) is the only game in town, save for grey market copies.