Reviews on movie Faceless (3)

For the remake of the classic “Eyes without a face” (“Les yeux sans visage”) was responsible Jesus Franco – a personality ambiguous and therefore the picture is doubly curious. However, the freedom-loving restless creator is still not in his plate here, although he brings something iconic in his handwriting. The fact is that, firstly, behind his shoulders there was a producer, whose name was not accidentally written out in the opening credits of the key already after the director's, and secondly, a clear budget appeared. These two elements impressively diluted the specific artistic style of Franco, allowing the picture to emerge from the narrow circle of his admirers, reaching the level of a typical genre cinema with all the necessary attributes. However, unfortunately, beyond the most unpretentious horror tape did not step, becoming just an average horror story inspired by a strong original, full of psychology.
The former dramatic scenario skeleton of the director and the producer was “transplanted”, like skin from the face, onto a figure-shaped body that can beckon the viewer with beautiful legs in no less attractive and beautiful stockings, but not to bother the brain. A similar effect with an emphasis on form shades the content, when the past psychological stuffing of each character is replaced by a genre cliché. The motives of the characters come to the simple denominator of a frank gathering of various maniacs from a mad doctor to a mute psychopath with a chainsaw/tessack/drill, which are not stupidly turned on the favorite director’s motive of a general obsession with sex with everyone. Therefore, a number of invited talented or simply recognizable lyceums suffer a creative fiasco, clamping in the framework of roles with unipolar labels. And if, say, the beautiful Caroline Munro honestly does everything that the viewer expects from her, who understands the unpretentious duties of the Scream Queen, then Helmut Berger will not have even one opportunity to make an effort, showing the skill of a real actor. And what drama can be discussed in the key pillar of the entire ideological conflict of the story - a young girl who lost her face, if we are unable to trace any tear, internal struggle, moral doubts in the "cardboard" almost episodic heroine, constantly walking on the screen with grotesque fake deformities that are bored after half a minute due to the rare presence of an intriguing mask, and dialogue, again, somewhere in the coordinates of bed scenes. Oh, and it is not by chance that the titles of the thoughtful original, emphasizing on the eyes, like a mirror of the soul, plunge through them into the gut of a person, his experiences, impulses, dreams, and the mentioned only face in the remake - pictures, appearance, superficial beauty.
However, the film is successful as just a horror, performing an entertaining task in front of the viewer. And the more he is good in the filmography of the director, clearly proving that such a free (sometimes even to extremes with the abolition of cinematic rules) creative person sometimes needs a counterweight to the reason of a reasonable producer. Franco’s handwriting makes itself felt only by ripples on the water and in several funny references, including his wife Lina Romay in the episode or the fictional Dr. Orloff brought to the plot.
As a result, it turned out quite a curious symbiosis of unbridled film improvisation long in the life of a Spanish debating director and strict rules of horror, which has a commendable work with props, restrained (and this is old Franco!) erotic moments, easy pleasant songs in the musical accompaniment and the general concept of the classical original. Whether this is bad or good, I think everyone will decide for himself, because some will be disappointed by the lack of surrealism (except for the blunders of freedom in the script), characteristic of the author’s offspring, and others – and I included – will be pleased to observe such a carefully sustained genre canvas without excesses.
6 out of 10

For me it is still a mystery why there was a desire to write a review of this film, postponing all urgent matters and sacrificing the opportunity to write reviews of more original and talented, from an objective point of view, works.
I didn’t know anything about Jesus Franco until I decided to see this film, which I met in Helmut Berger’s meager late filmography. Interested in the specific name of the director, I learned that this Spaniard is no less specific than his name: in his 80-odd years of life, he made more than 250 films, most of which either teeter on the verge of erotica and pornography, or hopelessly fails in the latter. I also learned that many consider this film one of the best of his career, or at least one of the few watchable.

It is worth noting that I am completely inexperienced and inexperienced in horror films and thrillers. I assume that true connoisseurs of this genre could not forgive this film its primitiveness. I see in it not the plane of a low-grade erotic thriller, but the unambiguity and unambiguity of a terrible, cruel fairy tale, with all the necessary characters.

The story of a plastic surgeon obsessed with the desire to help a disfigured beloved sister by completely transplanting the face of a living person is deliberately unrealistic and conditional. This is a fairy tale about a king who dreams, with the help of an evil wizard, to restore the beauty of his beloved sister. The king (Dr. Flaman) performed by one of the greatest actors of the XX century, the god of decadence Helmut Berger is cruel, ruthless, detached from the whole world, devoted to only one person and one dream. The role of a captive princess is not so clear. Formally, she is claimed in the film by the inexpressive, depraved model of Barbara, especially since the same inexpressive and boring prince (a private detective hired by her father and in love with her) is sent to save her. Although the impression on the role of tender and fragile princess is more suitable, touching in its sincerity, trust and impulsivity, the heroine Florence Guerin. At least she's sympathetic.

It’s hard to say anything about acting. First impression - Helmut Berger surrounded by porn actresses. Except, however, the brilliant French actress and muse Claude Chabrol Stefan Odran in a cameo role and Anton Diffring. Brigitte Lae impressed. Her Natalie is for me an extremely interesting example of a completely flat character, such a dog in the guise of a person who is beyond any moral choice, capable only of faithful execution of commands. I don’t remember a more vivid example of a man with an animal consciousness.

As for directing, it seemed to me albeit ambiguous, but interesting and fascinating in its own way. Effectively built airtight space, intentional ignoring of plausibility, quite high-quality black humor make the film entertaining, and in places catchy specific.
I can’t help but put this brutal fairy tale, in which no one has a happy ending, with a brilliant, incredibly bright and sexy (even sexier than in his dazzling youth) Helmut Berger in the title role.
7 out of 10

Richard Wagner in the creators of the Italian gallo is strongly associated with villainy. In Argento’s Phenomena, the house where the murders take place is the boarding house of Richard Wagner, where the composer once lived. In Fulci’s Lizard in Women’s Skin, Salvador Dali’s famous sketch for Lohengrin hangs over the bed, in which Florinda Bolcan’s heroine sees her mysterious dreams, and the swan from this sketch penetrates into the very plexus of her dreams. Probably, the directors of Jallo were guided by the stereotype that Wagner is a “Nazi” and almost gloomy occult composer. The Spaniard Jesús Franco, who had learned some of the features of the Italian jallo, picked up this one. It is no coincidence that in “Faceless” one of the patients of Dr. Flaman is a prima donna, which he gallantly calls “Valkyria”.
And Dr. Flaman himself is nothing less than Helmut Berger, Dorian Gray from the 1970 Italian film adaptation, the beloved of Visconti, who played the role of the enchanted King Ludwig II of Bavaria, King Lohengrin, the patron saint of Wagner, in the immortal film of his royal friend. However, directly in the Italian Gjallo Berger starred in “Bloody Butterfly” Tessari, for example. But Ludwig, Dorian Gray, the neurasthenic decadent Martin of The Death of the Gods, Giorgio of The Butterfly are the roles of the young Berger. Here you can see that the delicately cold handsome man resting on his laurels. Jesus Franco treated Berger like Klaus Kinsky: invited the “star” of the “big movie”, came up with some dialogue on scandalous topics, added eroticism and did not worry about everything else. Together with an ice-cold blonde witch, Dr. Flaman seeks out and kidnaps beauties for plastic surgery, which provides both nudity scenes and bloody meat scenes. But Berger is always ambivalent. He is a suffering villain, not an actor in the role of black as death, monsters that Kinsky and Julian Sandz did not disdain to play.
It ended up being a fairy tale. The wizard Flaman brings beauty back to women - that's the twist of Dorian's theme. But his own, touchingly beloved sister is disfigured. Therefore, Flaman, with the help of his blond beast, catches women like Black Sea or Koschei the Immortal, in short, like an evil wizard. He wants to take away their beauty, to give it to his sister, whose misfortune makes him suffer and tremble. Without revealing all the secrets of “Bloody Butterfly”, we mention that the seemingly killer Giorgio surprises the viewer with the final twist. Therefore, Jesus Franco has the right to sympathize with the efforts of Dr. Flaman to restore beauty to his sister, who did nothing wrong - well, except that she sent a feeble-minded assistant from the clinic, even a sadist. However, the final shots will clearly indicate to the viewer whether good or evil will win. If only there is good and evil in Franco's world.
6 out of 10