Despite having heard Alan Jones mention their debut film on the audio commentary for Dario Argento's Tenebre.I have never got round to seeing co-writers/co-directors Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet's Giallo homage Amer.Taking a look at Netflix UK recently,I was happily caught by surprise,when I stumbled upon the second Giallo that the team have made,which led to me getting ready to find out what strange colour the tears are.
The plot:
Getting off the plane, Dan Kristensen tries to ring his wife Edwige to announce that he has come back,but keeps going to the voice message.Returning home,Kristensen is horrified to discover that Edwige has completely disappeared.Contacting the cops, Kristensen finds himself being viewed as the lead suspect.As the cops keep their eyes on him, Kristensen begins to take a close look at his neighbours,whose strange behaviour he suspects may be linked to Edwige's disappearance.
View on the film:
For the first 30 minutes,the screenplay by Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani cross jagged surrealism with a Giallo elegance,with fragmented flashbacks uncovering what (may have) happened to Edwige,and also the brutal events which has led to the neighbours being gripped by fear.As Kristensen starts taking a closer look at the people next door,the writers sadly lose focus on keeping the Giallo mystery on track,with Kristensen's investigation into his Edwige's vices leading him into stranger,more obscure areas.
Whilst Kristensen's search for his wife leads to some visually striking moments, Cattet & Forzani's decision to push the mystery to the side leads to them lacking any feeling of uncovering a clue,and also leads the progression into more fractured images to feel disconnected from Kristensen's mindset.Although they struggle to get a grip on the direction of the film, Cattet & Forzani offer delightful nods to the gialli of the past,which go from an amazing soundtrack filled with past gialli themes,to ultra stylised reflecting shots allowing the gialli of the past to be seen in the strange tears.
The plot:
Getting off the plane, Dan Kristensen tries to ring his wife Edwige to announce that he has come back,but keeps going to the voice message.Returning home,Kristensen is horrified to discover that Edwige has completely disappeared.Contacting the cops, Kristensen finds himself being viewed as the lead suspect.As the cops keep their eyes on him, Kristensen begins to take a close look at his neighbours,whose strange behaviour he suspects may be linked to Edwige's disappearance.
View on the film:
For the first 30 minutes,the screenplay by Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani cross jagged surrealism with a Giallo elegance,with fragmented flashbacks uncovering what (may have) happened to Edwige,and also the brutal events which has led to the neighbours being gripped by fear.As Kristensen starts taking a closer look at the people next door,the writers sadly lose focus on keeping the Giallo mystery on track,with Kristensen's investigation into his Edwige's vices leading him into stranger,more obscure areas.
Whilst Kristensen's search for his wife leads to some visually striking moments, Cattet & Forzani's decision to push the mystery to the side leads to them lacking any feeling of uncovering a clue,and also leads the progression into more fractured images to feel disconnected from Kristensen's mindset.Although they struggle to get a grip on the direction of the film, Cattet & Forzani offer delightful nods to the gialli of the past,which go from an amazing soundtrack filled with past gialli themes,to ultra stylised reflecting shots allowing the gialli of the past to be seen in the strange tears.