The Stendhal Syndrome Review

• 3rd Apr 2011

Dario and Asia team up for the first time in this thriller, with all the Argento trimmings in place.  A serial killer with a quirk and a leading lady (Asia as police detective Anna Manni) with one of her own (the titular syndrome which causes a person to faint in the presence of majestic art.)

In its opening moments this film beautifully shows Argento becoming his most Hitchockian in style in terms of shooting, editing and mis-en-scene. Even the grade of the film is very reminiscent of Vertigo as Asia roams the galleries with unease that grows as other tourists stand close by her, literally walking into her shots, disrupting her harmony and her reacting as if they are in violation of her space.

Ennio Moricone provides the score and it has some very Bernard Herman undertones to its swirling tension. The opening scene again is a culmination of all this mastery as we watch Asia’s character being overcome by it all and fainting.

We follow Anna’s delusions which cleverly unravel quite a complex narrative. In one early scene a painting melts in front of her – opening a doorway to the past which sees her walking into a Rome based crime scene, revealing her past and involvement in the case. The bizarreness doesn’t end there, as the moment she comes back from this little trip, she is then confronted immediately by the killer who sexually assaults her. From here it only gets worse as this immediately cuts to the killers next rape and kill with Anna present.

All this has happened by the 20 minute mark and as much as we make fun of the fact that Argento has some corny dialogue and can often let his films be dragged down by some truly awful scenes of exposition, this first 20 minutes is very light on tell and is all about the show. It’s Argento at the top of his game and showing a willingness to be unrelenting – not letting the viewer rest for this opening period of the film.

The film follows Anna as she continues her delusions and slowly becomes ever more embroiled in her case, as well as with the relationship that she seems to have with the killer. The divide between who is the prey and who is the predator becomes as blurred as some of the paintings she views.

There are a few iffy CGI shots in the film, but big budgets have never really been something Dario Argento has managed to get his hands on. This is a minor issue considering the subtext on hand which is deftly handled by Argento’s cameras, the sound design of the more traumatic scenes as well as the sumptuous music score. This film ranks highly in Argento’s canon of work as a result.

Sadly, aside from trailers this disc has little on the extras side.  A booklet with writing by Alan Jones and a poster are as good as it gets. A shame as this film has much in the way of psychological subtext worth discussing.

Steven Hurst