Mazeppa

For about an hour, this fever dream fantasized vision of the brief life of the great horse painter Theodore Gericault really held me in it's thrall.

A fictional story with real characters, the film imagines that Gericault ran away to join the circus, but a circus run by Franconi, a great horseman, whose horses and riders in the film perform truly breathtaking feats. Franconi himself is portrayed as a leather mask wearing, frightening presence. But this sounds far more grounded in reality than this surreal film is to experience.

While the story didn't really even try tie together, the images of horses and humans were worthy of the best of Greenaway, as was the exquisite air of mystery.

But somehow the last 45 minutes felt more literal, more forced, and the film lost some of it's power. It felt like the film slowly evolves from a mysterious dream, to a story that needs to be neatly, if surreally tied up, By growing more literal, it lost some power and magic. But it's still a strong film, filled with some truly unforgettable images of horses and humans in various combinations.

Mazeppa tells the story of a painter (Gericault) who is brought into the sensuous and strange world of a traveling "circus" -- not like Ringling Bros., but more of a demonstration of horse training and acrobatic feats on horseback. The story is of Gericault's immersion in the sensual pleasures of the circus -- gorgeous horses, gorgeous music by Ukrainian singers, gorgeous women -- and his transformation by that experience. The main strength of the movie is in the lush visuals, particularly in the portrayal of the sensuality of the horses' bodies and movement. There isn't a lot of dialogue, which allows the viewer to concentrate on everything else, but also leads to some confusion about what is happening and why. It was my sense that this was partly intentional, paralleling Gericault's experience. The film has the visual richness of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, but is not as disturbing (though there are some disturbing scenes at beginning and end). I loved this movie but gave it only a seven out of 10 because even after having seen it three or four times, I can't really say what it's about -- I love the music and the imagery so much I'm willing to overlook that, but it's hard to get anyone else to watch the movie with me.