Maybe it was just the whole "creepy movie set in Venice" aspect of it. But did this remind anyone else of Don't Look Now?
Also, I just saw a print of this film yesterday, and I swear it looked older than 1990... odd.
Not exactly, but I can see how it might.
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***You must be old and wrinkled to have that type of reaction. - Liana***
Yes, I think your observation is dead-on.
There is a feeling of doom and decay looming over the characters as they find themselves lost and confused in the alleyways of Venice just like those in Don't Look Now.
The novel was not originally set in Venice, but in an unnamed city. Schrader choose Venice, and I believe it was the influence of Don't Look Now, which influenced this decision.
Of course the novel was originally set in Venice. Does the author need to spell it out any more. The whole description of the city is of Venice. Ian McEwan goes into great detail to describe Piazza San Marco, right down to the orchestras, pigeons and the clock tower and the "celebrated cathedral". He also gives other clues, if not outrightly naming the city. The hospital which is located on the Venice waterfront and overlooks the island of San Michele etc. I'm not sure how you could draw any other conclusions.
shareYeah, DLK was the first one that came to mind. Another one is The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover. That film also features Mirren, but both films also seem to depict their own slightly off-key universe with weird characters, opulent settings and gliding camerawork.
I know you are, you said you are, but what am I?
The Talented Mr. Ripley was also set in Italy, with some of the same sense of menace and foreboding.
Even though it's Americans who are doing the evil, you have a sense that it's the place as much as the characters which is evil.
Things aren't reliable in Italy. It can be very luxurious, but then something goes wrong and you feel very vulnerable. Our rental SUV died at a big intersection in Carrara, suddenly the local police were trying to arrest us for not being able to get the car started--then Italy Hertz charged us $500 for a tow to Pisa. Madness!
Also, I just saw a print of this film yesterday, and I swear it looked older than 1990... odd.
reminded me of Don´t Look Now too. Not just the setting but the way the way the same creepiness was achieved, they get lost in the alleys, feels like someone is watching them etc. etc. Don´t Look Now was definetly an influence.
shareThis is so Don't Look Now all over it - the general setting, of course; the fact that they are on holiday with children left behind; the interactions with hotel staff; the scenes in cafes, including scenes in which they meet/interact with very weird people; looking around in churches; the shaving scenes; the sex and nudity; the getting lost at night in the dark backstreets of Venice; the unhelpful interrogations by the police; the sense of foreboding and doom that hangs over the whole films.
shareVenice is full of strange characters and weird experiences. If you've never been there, you shouldn't judge.
Bored now.
I just saw a print of this as well, and when it was introduced it was mentioned that this is like another chapter in Don't Look Now, though I found that film to be boring and almost impossible to watch, while this one was enjoyable, in a sort of obtuse way.
As for the film looking older than 1990, I agree 100%, I thought this film was much older and I was shocked when the 1990 date showed up at the end.