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Film: Amer
Year of production: 2009
UK Release date: 31st January 2011
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Certificate: 18
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani
Starring: Cassandra Forêt, Charlotte Eugène Guibeaud, Marie Bos, Bianca Maria D'Amato, Harry Cleven
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Format: DVD
Country of Production: France/Belgium
Language: French
Review by: Anastasia Catris
Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s Amer is a French homage to the Italian cinematic genre of giallo. Stemming from the Italian word for yellow, giallo refers to the series of paperback crime, mystery, horror and erotic fiction novels with trademark yellow covers. This unique genre veered towards psychological horror with emphasis on madness, alienation and paranoia; themes explored with graphic vividness in Amer.
Amer follows the three ages of Ana and her encounters with death and sexuality. The first chapter sees Ana as a curious child (Cassandra Forêt) who is haunted by her family’s spectre-like house keeper. During this chapter, she encounters the corpse of her recently deceased grandfather and walks in on her parents engaging in sexual intercourse. There then follows a brief symbolic transition into the second chapter.
This chapter follows Ana as an adolescent (Charlotte Eugène Guibeaud) as she accompanies her mother on an errand to the local hairdressers. After abandoning her mother in the town, she comes across a gang of motorcyclists, before being found and subsequently punished by her mother.
The final episode accompanies Ana as an adult (Marie Bos) as she returns to her childhood home where her strange sexual fantasies and traumatic memories collide with a violent and ambiguous present…
The film itself is notably short, but nevertheless crammed with stylistic visual imagery consisting of sympathetic lighting and colour, extreme close ups and highly sexualized cropped shots. This makes for a disturbing film experience. The transitions between each of Ana’s ages are handled in a highly explorative and sexual way, including close up shots of various body parts, often accompanied by close ups of men to symbolize her sexual awakening. This is also alluded to by the heightened sound of breathing and rough, rasping soundtrack.
Each chapter is dealt with in a very different style. The initial chapter, exploring Ana’s childhood, is obviously of the horror genre, from the veiled, dark figure of the house keeper to the grungy, shadowed set of the house against Hitchcockian flashes of red. Ana’s experience of discovering her grandfather’s corpse reveals occult imagery, such as the ritualistic adornments in his room, a dead bird in his coat pocket and crystallized salt being placed under his bed. This is also the most surreal chapter of the film in terms of lighting and colour, as Ana’s traumatizing experience of witnessing her parents having sex causes the screen to flash from blue to orange to red. All of these fantastical elements combine to create a truly effecting barrage on the senses.
The first chapter may be likened to Guillermo del Torro’s early work in its horrific content, as well as its haunting soundtrack and accentuated sound. This, however, dissipates in the second chapter and we are left with a far more French, rural image of adolescence, akin to Lolita. Whereas the previous chapter deals with Ana’s experience of sexuality in a terrifying way, associating it with death, horror and decay; this chapter is more about adolescent curiosity and naiveté.
While the fear of rape is alluded to through Ana’s disgust at having a lollypop forced into her mouth, and her eventual meeting with the motorcyclists, the only real sexual experience in this chapter is one that is in fact symbolized. A young boy, attempting to kiss Ana, is rejected and she instead follows him outside to watch him play with his football. Both of them then chase the football down a darkened tunnel and out into the light of the town outskirts. The heightened breathing of the two characters as well as the vacillating motion of them as they run, paired with the extreme close ups and physical exertion implies their sexual experience without showing it. Whilst only being alluded to symbolically, this is the only example of an untainted and innocent sexual encounter in the whole film.
The final chapter of the film is the most disturbing. While not openly engaging with the theme of horror as in the first chapter, this time-line deals more with realistic horror and the giallo theme of crime and death. Perhaps the fact that the first chapter is so openly fantastical while the other two chapters are more realistic in their view of horror and fear, is a comment on the traumatizing effect of memory.
Films such as Luis Buñuel’s Un Chien Andalou are alluded to through Cattet’s employ of insect imagery and the slicing of various body parts. Homages to Bava and Argento are also unsubtle in their approach.
This is the definition of an art house film and as such warrants more than one watch to truly understand what is happening. The ending is ambiguous, allowing us to draw our own conclusions from the violent imagery and iconic final shot, solidifying the fact that this is a film attempting to elicit an emotional response rather than created of enjoyment.
Despite all of the thought provoking imagery and art house styling, however, it is noteworthy that nothing truly happens within the film. Whilst dealing with Ana’s strange mind, and her experiences of sexuality, we never truly see into her character as we are merely a voyeur. The sexualisation of her character is done through the camera’s eyes, not hers; and we realize quickly that we know nothing about her as a person or character, only what the director wants us to see. This leaves us with a disturbing and voyeuristic feeling at the end of the film that does nothing to quell our curiosity about the strange little life that has just been revealed to us.
This is a film to be analysed for analysis sake. The Freudian influences are obvious and bring out the amateur psychiatrist in the audience, but this is where the mystery ends. Neither can it be said to be entertaining, as the art house style is overly familiar to us through its allusions to greater directors and artists. While this is an interesting exercise in Freudian filmmaking, it is hardly original, and seems to rely on the sexuality and violence of the plot to sell it as meaningful, when it is in fact empty. AC
Film: Amer
Release date: 31st January 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani
Starring: Bianca Maria D'Amato, Cassandra Foret, Delphine Brual, Harry Cleven, Marie Bos
Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller
Studio: Anchor Bay
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France/Belgium
Amer owes a huge debt to the giallo genre, an art house slasher sub-genre from Italy that became popular in the 1970s. What made the films unique was the use of a black gloved killer stalking beautiful women and offing them in a variety of ways. Any sharp object piercing the skin of a gorgeous, shrieking Italian actress would do nicely. It is time to put on your black gloves and take out your open razor as directors Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani deliver their sensual and stylistic homage to the Italian giallo film.
The film unfolds in three distinct parts. Each part shows a different stage in the sexual evolution of Ana, the protagonist. The first part shows Ana as a child, growing up in a wonderfully gothic house, with a dead body in the basement, and a black veiled housekeeper, who may or may not be a witch.
The second part shows Ana as a teenager. This part of the film is highly sexualised as Ana has blossomed into a beautiful teenager, and becomes sexually aware of the male characters she encounters.
The third part is Ana as a woman. She returns to the house where she grew up and is stalked by a taxi driver who puts on black gloves and carries an open razor. He becomes obsessed with Ana after picking her up and driving her to the house…
Amer is a classic example of style over substance; lots and lots of style. The cinematography is absolutely stunning. It looks beautiful, and is edited creatively. There are sequences of psychedelic colour and expressionistic filtered lighting inspired by Dario Argento’s masterpiece Suspiria.
The other big success of the film is the sound, which is taken from giallo films from the 1970s and features compositions by the likes of Ennio Morricone. It is hard to think of a film that utilises sound and music so evocatively to create emotion. While the music in the film is excellent there is too much reliance upon it. Whole sequences appear to exist for no other reason than to look ‘cool’ with the music. Quentin Tarantino uses music as a similar device in his films. Interestingly, he named Amer as one of his favourite films of the year.
The key problem with the film is the complete lack of any narrative. After a great opening that really engages and creates an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, the middle section drags badly. Even beautiful photography starts to wear thin after a while, and as a viewer you find yourself longing for something tangible. The final segment, in which the classic murder takes place, feels perfunctory and forced. It is almost like the filmmakers thought, “we have to have a black gloved murder in the film,” and then tagged it on. It is executed well-enough but none of the pieces of the film really seem to fit into a cohesive whole.
Another criticism is the repetition of shots and motifs. A shot of an eye through a key hole looks good once or twice, but after five or six of the same shots, the novelty wears thin. The eye may be the window to the soul and to reading the emotions, but endless close ups soon become tedious. A homage such as this can too easily descend into a derivative rip-off, and at times, Amer falls into this trap.
In terms of acting, and there isn’t a huge amount of it, the performances are solid. Ana, at each stage, is performed well by striking and convincing actresses, and the role of the mother is performed convincingly by Bianca Maria D’Amato. Charlotte Guibeaud, the adolescent Ana, bares a striking resemblance facially to Beatrice Dalle in Betty Blue, and she communicates well without dialogue.
The direction is largely creative and fresh, if somewhat derivative in places. For example, Ana’s sexuality is evoked through the use of breathing, close up of eyes, breasts and legs, droplets of sweat on the skin and hair, and clothes blowing in the breeze. This is repeated throughout the film. It is a film that urges you to use your senses.
Amer is very much in the art house tradition, and will alienate and frustrate many fans of mainstream cinema. It would have made an amazing short film, but at ninety minutes, the concept is stretched very thinly indeed. Beautifully made, it is a treat for the eyes but, with no story to speak of, is also a strain on the patience. LM
Check out the trailer below for Amer, which comes to DVD on 31st January 2011.
More information on this film can be found by clicking here.
The winner of several international film awards, including the New Visions Award at Sitges International Film Festival and the Public’s Choice Award at Montreal Festival of New Cinema.
Recalling the captivating cinematic style, recurring themes and bold visual motifs seen in the works of directors such as Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci, Cattet and Forzani’s highly original and visionary tribute to the Italian masters is a virtually dialogue-free, Freudian tale of sexual awakening, obsession and murder.
The story unfolds in three parts as Ana (played, respectively, by actresses Cassandra Forêt, Charlotte Eugène-Guibeaud and Marie Bos) progresses from childhood through adolescence to womanhood.
For Ana, in all three stages of her life, fear, sensuality and the threat of violence are constant companions, each lurking in her mind’s eye and waiting to take physical form.
Scored (in ‘Tarantino style’) utilizing recycled Italian movie soundtrack music composed by Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Adriano Celentano and Stelvio Cipriani and destined for cult status, Amer is a must-see for fans of art house, horror and independent cinema.
Film: Amer
Release date: 31st January 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani
Starring: Bianca Maria D'Amato, Cassandra Foret, Delphine Brual, Harry Cleven, Marie Bos
Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller
Studio: Anchor Bay
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France/Belgium
Special Features:
•
Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's short films
•
Teaser trailer
•
Main trailer
Recalling the captivating cinematic style, recurring themes and bold visual motifs seen in the works of directors such as Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci, Cattet and Forzani’s highly original and visionary tribute to the Italian masters is a virtually dialogue-free, Freudian tale of sexual awakening, obsession and murder.
The story unfolds in three parts as Ana (played, respectively, by actresses Cassandra Forêt, Charlotte Eugène-Guibeaud and Marie Bos) progresses from childhood through adolescence to womanhood. For Ana, in all three stages of her life, fear, sensuality and the threat of violence are constant companions, each lurking in her mind’s eye and waiting to take physical form.
Scored (in ‘Tarantino style’) utilizing recycled Italian movie soundtrack music composed by Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Adriano Celentano and Stelvio Cipriani, and destined for cult status, Amer is a must-see for fans of art house, horror and independent cinema.
Amer has won several international film awards, including the New Visions Award at Sitges International Film Festival and the Public’s Choice Award at Montreal Festival of New Cinema.
Film: Amer
Release date: 7th January 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani
Starring: Marie Bos, Delphine Brual, Harry Cleven, Bianca Maria D'Amato, Cassandra Foret
Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller
Studio: Anchor Bay
Format: Cinema
Country: France/Belgium
