The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

Acting:		Partying:		Girls:
Blood:		Language:		Gore:
Violence:		Humor:		Sexuality:
Torture:		Predictability:		Overall:

As the opening credits roll we are treated to a cascade of some of the world's greatest works of art, thus setting the tone for one of Dario Argento's greatest works of art.

This 1996 offering is a bold departure from his previous work. Gone are the gaudy color schemes of Inferno and Suspiria. Instead we have a muted color scheme much like the one in Opera, his 1987 release that was photographed by Ronnie Taylor. The infamous black-gloved killer from The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and numerous other Argento films is also lacking. Dario's trademark camera gymnastics abound, but they are subdued and add more to the characters as opposed to just looking impressive, as many critics have suggested. Technically this film has to be one of Argento's best. The script is understated and suggestive if not a little silly at times, but more about that later.

One gets the sense that there is always something more to be had from all involved, the main characters are drawn well, there is always a hint of something more brewing just below the surface. You don't ever feel like you completely know anyone and that adds even more to the mystique of this film. More importantly I may add, how well do you know yourself? As that seems to be the film's underlying theme throughout.

Argento's camera is given free reign to make love to his daughter Asia, (much as it did in Phantom of the Opera and we can't blame the camera as Asia is stunning) who portrays the film's main character Anna Manni. Anna is a police officer who works with an anti-rape division of the Florence police department and soon becomes all too familiar with what the victims are suffering. On a tip from an unknown source Anna goes to the Uffizi museum in Italy to track down a serial rapist only to fall prey to a medical condition known as The Stendhal Syndrome. As she walks through the museum looking for this man, based on a composite drawn by a sketch artist, she gazes at and seemingly into the paintings on the walls of the museum, which in turn elicits a malfunction in her brain to the point of hallucination and unconsciousness.

One night Anna is attacked and brutally raped and beaten ...

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