I had insomnia again last night. I swear, for one week every month like clockwork, sleep eludes me, and I'm forced to turn to the televison for comfort (Teacher, mother, Secret lover). So, I'm sitting in the living room last night, pondering life's great mysteries while watching an old episode of Sister, Sister (What? SHUT UP!)and since Sister, Sister isn't exactly the best inspiration for philisophical musing, I decided I'd watch a movie. I was scanning the digital cable guide, and did you know that 2am isn't the most opportune time in the world to locate thought-provoking film? My choices were limited to soft-core porn, and what seemed to be the entire ouvre of one Lorenzo Lamas, and seeing as how I wasn't currently in the mood for either at that time (I'm NEVER in the mood for Lorenzo Lamas. EVER), I almost threw up my hands in defeat. I perservered, however, and I found a bright, and glittery diamond hidden amongst all the cinematic turds that were on display before me. (I REALLY need to work on my metaphors)
I had never seen Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage) before last night, and it soundly kicked my ass and left me for dead, which was precisely what I needed. The plot, goes thusly:
A surgeon, feeling guilty over his daughter's facial disfigurement--so horrible that she wears a mask--in an accident for which he was responsible, uses his assistant to kidnap young women. He attempts, without success, to transfer their faces to his daughter.
I'm actually grasping for something to say about this film to do it the proper justice. It's not a straight-up horror movie, it's more of an arty rumination on the lengths people will go to for love (in this case, a father for his daughter), the power of guilt, and a good, old-fashioned medico God complex. That's not to say the movie didn't make me uneasy: Witness Christiane (that would be the daughter), sporting her mask:
That's downright unsettling, and I will admit that, the first time it showed her in that mask, I expressed my displeasure at the sight vocally: "YEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!"
The main thing I carried away from this film, is the thought "Would I be capable of something like that, if I were responsible for my daughter's face looking like the BBQ platter at TGI Fridays, would I be able to kill to set things right?" Hmm, perhaps. I think the most disturbing thing in the film though, aside from Ms. Expressive up there, is an exchange between the doctor, and a man who has lost his daughter.
The morgue notifies the doctor that they have a girl, who may or may not be his daughter (he's claiming to all and sundry that she's still missing), and they also notify another father(who's daughter was killed BY the doctor, and left faceless to boot), just to cover their bases. They call the doc in first, and he says that it is, in fact, his daughter. They send the other man away, and he and the doctor cross paths outside of the building. The man asks if he's sure that it was his daughter, and the doctor says, yes, he is sure. The man, obviously distraught, can't let the subject go. The doctor says something to the effect of "I don't know why I should have to comfort you, you still have some hope", then he shoots the man a nasty look, and drives off. C-C-C-Cold-hearted. Snake. I think I could conceivably kill someone, but I couldn't say THAT.
All in all, it was a great movie, but I'm just feeling kind of inarticulate today. If you haven't ever seen Eyes Without a Face, hunt down a copy. Movie good, me like.
I need a nap.
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