Betty Blue (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1986)

In French, Betty Blue's title is 37°2 le matin, which roughly translates to "37.2 Degrees in the Morning," a far better title than it got for its American release. 37.2° C is the body temperature of a pregnant woman first thing in the morning; when I learned this, after watching the entire movie, it was really a really touching and beautiful cherry on this depressing sundae. The film opens with Betty (Beatrice Dalle) and Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) making love; they met three days before, and are in total lust at Zorg's shanty, where he serves as his community's handyman in exchange for his rent. She shows up once during the day with all her bags, and Zorg brings her in. Within days, she's dumped a bucket of paint on his boss' car and set his house on fire, and they leave for a friend's place. This is the beginning of an epic love affair that isn't particularly pretty, but is incredibly passionate and, well, French. Dalle is absolutely radiant as Betty. Her first acting job, she was involved with director Beineix, and his love for her shows through the camera (although, aren't films with the director's lover in it often the best ones?). She is incredibly beautiful and tough, but there's a side to her that's damaged and broken. As time goes on, that side becomes less vulnerable and more dangerous, and the last hour of the film is spent watching Betty's mental breakdown. It's heartbreaking, as Zorg tries to save her. He is absolutely convinced that he can save her, and even attacks a doctor who says they can help her with medications and electro-shock. Betty is possibly a schizophrenic, more likely a bipolar with incredibly high highs and low lows. Dalle almost hypnotizes the viewer in the beginning with her beauty and raw sexuality, and lulls you into a sense of security about she and Zorg until it is too late. The photography is beautiful; as I said, Beineix' camera really loves Dalle. The movie, at almost three hours long, drags for the first half. In fact, if you just watched the beginning, you'd have no idea of the emotional depth the movie achieves at the end. But as much as I think the film could have been cut by about half an hour, I also see why it was made this way, and appreciate the mundanity of this ridiculous love affair leading up to their ultimate tragedy. If you have patience, both for the length of the film and for a movie revolving around a not-always-likeable crazy French girl, Betty Blue is something I can't recommend enough. 8/10

Stumble It!

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (John McNaughton, 1986)

Based on the life of actual serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, John McNaughton's debut film is probably one of the most notorious films of all time. Finished in 1986, but not released until 1990, Henry paints a disturbing portrait of a deeply disturbed man and his effects on the lives of those around him. Henry lives with Otis, a friend from prison whose sister Becky comes to get away from her abusive husband for a little while. Henry is definitely a magnetic personality, and charms both Becky (in a romantic way) and Otis (in a murderous one, although is also somewhat homoerotic at times). He falls in love with Becky, and convinces Otis to join him on his murder sprees. The story pretty much revolves around Henry's murders and those two relationships, as well as the bizarre dynamics between the three of them as between Otis and Becky, as well. There isn't much of a plot, just documentary-style filming the life of Henry. The violence isn't the most disturbing part here; there's very little gore, and it's not particularly well done, either. Henry's complete lack of remorse, or any real human feelings aside from those of lust and anger is the terrifying element here. He convinces Otis to join him in murdering people (after killing two prostitutes without so much as a thought), and they even tape their crimes, and Otis becomes obsessed with watching the tapes again and again. It's a sort of sexual release for him, which, along with the eventual rape that forms the climax (bad word) of the film, is the only kind of sexuality we see Otis involved in, or even Henry, for that matter. The violence in the film isn't romanticized (outside of the heads of Henry and Otis, that is), it's brutally honest and uncompromising. There's no redemptive arc here, just a lot of sociopathy and misogyny (the violence against women was so intense at times that I had to look away to remind myself that it wasn't real). Henry caused a lot of controversy at the time of its release. Some have called this movie exploitative, which I wouldn't agree with. It doesn't have any of the camera effects or fetishization of the violence performed that exploitation films do. Instead, it's extremely realistic, so much so that it is at times uncomfortable to watch. If you're looking for an escapist horror film, this isn't it; but if you're interested in the mind of a serial killer, and all the murder, torture, rape, and incest that goes with it, check out McNaughton's film. It deserves all the infamy, even this many years later. 8/10 RIYL: Last House on the Left, The Devil's Rejects

Stumble It!

Matador (Pedro Almodovar, 1986)

Being a big fan of Almodovar, I was more than thrilled to learn about the Sony Classics 'Viva Pedro!' series, which, along with rereleasing more recent Almodovar such as Talk to Her and Bad Education, was finally rereleasing a few obscure, unavailable on DVD films, like Law of Desire and this one. While I have some issues with the films chosen (why those new ones and not way harder to find others like Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! or Labyrinth of Passion?! But I digress), I appreciate the great opportunity to see a movie like Matador, which both fits right into the Almodovar canon and stands bravely outside of it at the same time. Matador is the story of Angel, an aspiring bullfighter driven crazy by his highly religious mother, Maria, his lawyer (Angel admits to murders he may or may not have committed), and Diego, a former bullfighter and Angel's instructor. All three people have serious obsessions with sexuality and violence, and most of the problems in the movie stem from the inability to distinguish between the two. Violence is sexy, and most sex is violent. There are some very disturbing images, from the first scene of a man masturbating to a slasher film (which reminded me very much of Patrick Bateman's obsession with Body Double), to a montage in Angel's mind of rape and murder. This is the least female-focused Almodovar picture I've seen, and also the most upsetting - coincidence? I don't think so. Although Maria has this obsession as well, Almodovar seems more to be speaking to male sexuality in the modern world. Although it's set in 1980s Spain, it could be present day America. The performances are almost universally very strong - who knew Antonio Banderas could be so believeable (as Angel)? Carmen Maura, whom I have said before I really like, brightens up the second half as a psychologist. Nacho Martinez as Diego is effectively obsessive and creepy, and Eva Cobo as the immature model Diego dates is impressive as well. As always, Almodovar really gets the best out of his ensemble cast. Matador is a movie where not only is the boundary between sex and violence blurred, but that between truth and fiction, as well. The middle of the movie drags a little, as the story is so dense that it's cumbersome to tell, but once the characters' motivations begin to reveal themselves behind the layers of lies many of them hold up, it is fascinating. Matador brings into question the very notions of truth and sanity themselves; do they truly exist, or are they things that are made up by some external force? 7/10

Stumble It!