Anyone who has never seen a film by Hélène and has seen Bruno Forzani (Amer – The Dark Side of your Dreams) can imagine their films like a walk through an art gallery full of hypnotic paintings. On the works, however, the bloodiest acts of violence, pointed fetish and close -ups of shiny surfaces can be seen.
With reflection in A Dead Diamond, the Belgian couple and director duo are represented in the 75th Berlinale competition. Your latest film represents one Homage to the agent cinema, especially the James Bond seriesand European 60s pop art pulp representative such as danger: diabolics! by Mario Bava. The story about an older ex-spy that slowly loses its mind is a highlight of this year’s film festival.
In reflection in A Dead Diamond, an ex-spy in the delirium of his memories is lost
To make out a clear action in the films of Cattet and Forzani is not an easy task. Somewhere in a hotel on the Côte d’Azur, the 70-year-old ex-spy John pursues his relaxed everyday life to sit mainly by the sea and to have one drink (of course Martinis) brought after another. Fabio Testi plays the main character as if Sean Connery was then After the league of the extraordinary gentlemen in his 007 role again returned.
Look here a teaser trailer for reflection in A Dead Diamond:
Reflection in A Dead Diamond – Teaser Trailer (English) HD
This storyline is constantly interrupted by flashbacks and memories of the agent’s younger years. Here the film, which Cattet and even gives Forzani their psychedelic version of a bond preliminary clamping sequence, dipped into a explosive mission. John and his partner are supposed to win the trust of an oil magnate and protect it from mysterious professionalillers: inside. The order goes wrong, of course, and John loses his partner, who reminds you to Gemma Arterton’s fate in a quantum consumption.
Already after this start, in which the director’s duo is closely realized, memories, memories, visions and illusions, it is clear that reflection in A Dead Diamond again Everything except conventional genre cinema is.
The surreal agent thriller looks like Quentin Tarantino’s own bond film
The new film by Cattet and Forzani, as if Quentin Tarantino had shot its own bond variant in his Kill Bill era, has its own bond variant with wildly broody slumps in violence, very bloody slump in violence and the mixed up of the time levels. However, reflection in A Dead Diamond would be the result if the cult director had 40 degrees fever during the shoot and in the cut room!
Does John really remember real events from his past? Or are women, bad guys and goals of use to a large nightmare from which the ex-agent can no longer wake up?
In truth, John could also be an acting star in retirement who is part of a successful agent franchise within the film act. Or the protagonist in a comic series, through which later in the film. In the end, the villain may be behind it, which holds its victims in a film deception until the end overlay (“Fin”) marks death.
The Berlinale competition film is a pure cinema rush like a roller coaster ride
As with the previous films of the duo, which have cited wildly through genre motifs by the Italian Giallo or Italian and spaghetti western, you should at some point stop following the story. Rather, reflection in A Dead Diamond is Pure cinema ecstasythat does not follow logical rules.
In the most delusional moments, the strip would also have fit as a film-in-film segment in Tarantino’s past cinema work Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood. Exactly between the clips of a Leonardo DiCaprio, which wipes Nazis with the flame thrower.
Reflection in A Dead Diamond is increasingly increasing to the excess of double soils and cinematic meta -levels, through which the film almost threatens to collapse in the last third.
The fact that the film withstood this experimental overwhelming is due to the manual brilliance of the director’s duo. Cattet and Forzani have long since perfected their style and Form every picture of the astonishing, radiant total work of art.
At some point, scraps of skin are torn from faces to literally drop false masks. Behind it suddenly hides a layer and another layer and a layer of another deception.
Reflection in A Dead Diamond means that Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani himself keep being thrown into the next by one layer. Until it is clear that you watch yourself all the time In the labyrinth of this beautiful, hopefully never ending (alp) dreams went.
We saw reflection in A Dead Diamond as part of the 75th Berlinale, where the film is in competition. He does not yet have a German theatrical release.