REVIEW - THE STRANGE COLOUR OF YOUR BODY'S TEARS

A scintillating, sensual plunge into the mind of man, as imagined by master stylists Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani. To see the product of their genius is to see cinema manipulated as few, if any, other artists are capable of manipulating. It is not only the immediate effect of each beautifully-constructed shot or scene or sound, it is also the cumulative effect of these elements in expressing primal psychological truths. Here, they employ their astounding array of skills to re-invent the mystery film, through the various veils of detective noir, giallo horror, and then their own, singular style. It is the genre built almost entirely anew, and then itself gradually bled to death, as the action becomes less physical, more cerebral, more interior, more abstract. Any which way, though, those strange colours are divine, the set and costume design luxurious, the cinematography luxuriant. And what vivid, courageously bold sound design, the very definition of the apex of what can be accomplished with this generally overlooked aspect of filmmaking - the coarse shred of metal through skin, the dripping sanguine spill on slick latex. After the female-centric Amer, Cattet and Forzani delve into the male psyche with The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears, and deduce that while man and woman may be equally self-destructive, man is altogether more destructive of woman too. Intrigue is mixed with fear, desire is the primary source of motive, and the quest to satisfy it is the primary source of dissatisfaction. A central, virtuosic sequence which pits several nude Klaus Tanges against one another is one of the most dazzling of the year.