Litan

I recently watched the French film Litan (1982) on Shudder. The story follows a couple on vacation in a strange seaside town when the husband suddenly disappears. As a mysterious festival begins, the woman encounters a series of bizarre characters-each one raising more questions than answers about what happened to her husband.

This picture is directed by and stars Jean-Pierre Mocky (Kill the Referee), alongside Marie-José Nat (Night of Destiny), Nino Ferrer (Delphine), and Bill Dunn (Double Team).

Litan is one of those films that seems to have all the ingredients for success but ultimately falls short. The foggy, coastal setting gave me strong Venice vibes, and the eerie costumes and masks worn throughout the city added to the film's visual intrigue. Some of the lab sets were a fun touch, and there's even a cool motorcycle high-wire act. The atmosphere is thick with mystery from start to finish.

Unfortunately, as the plot unfolds, the special effects start to feel dated, and the ending doesn't deliver the payoff the buildup deserves.

In conclusion, Litan had a lot going for it but couldn't stick the landing. I'd rate it a 4.5/10.

This is probably the best movie from Mocky. There is his weird humor, a fantastic story. The images are also something you can't forget. I'm just waiting to find it on DVD, in a few hundred years. I would even settle for the VHS.

I have watched a film in a language I do not understand, without subtitles and still managed to follow it and I have dropped off for a section of film and still managed to make sense of it and I have watched films that only partly made sense but this is the first film in which absolutely nothing, from beginning to end, seemed to make any sense whatsoever. The captivating look, complete with masked villagers, a hillside village with tottering buildings and underground caves, is visually entrancing and the constant chasing, being chased, attacks, killings and survival help maintain a level of interest even if we know not why. There are hints and pointers toward dream and the afterlife and of the uselessness of the bureaucratic administrations, the hospital looks more like a prison and the inspector believes nothing and nobody. I notice that the director plays the hero, if that is what he is, at least he is still standing at the end.

"Litan" takes place in a strange French town Litan full of masked citizens and off-beat characters.The coffins are flowing in the stream,the cemetery crosses are on the rocks and the funeral orchestra of silver masks is playing some weirdo music.Add also a lot of running and screaming and some bloody murders and you have a winner."Litan" is a surreal and dreamlike assault on viewer's perception.The script is utterly outlandish as it mixes black humour with some fantasy and horror elements.I'd like to spend some time in Litan among crowds of masked weirdos.I have seen other French surreal horror movies from early 80's like "Devil Story" or inept "Mad Mutilator",but "Litan" wipes the floor with these two.8 out of 10.

1 more month until the first death anniversary of the legendary Mocky, it's been a year already and just 3 days back was his birthday. I decided to revisit my favourite films of Mocky and "Litan" will be the best followed by "Love Hate." This movie is a surreal Gallic folk-horror fantasy set during a peculiar town's Festival of the Dead in the city of Litan which works as a cross genre hybrid like one-part Lovecraft one-part Jean Rollin/ Alain Robbe-Grillet. A couple is on vacation where the traditional mask festival is taking honoring the dead like Mexico's "Día de Muertos." But soon it can be observed that there are numerous deaths among the inhabitants, behind which there appears to be a mysterious power. Meanwhile, a premonitory nightmare, mysterious disappearances and the inhabitants begin to act more and more strangely. The mist-shrouded passages give it a Wicker Man-meets-Don't Look Now atmosphere. Director Jean-Pierre Mocky has showed a good eye for atmospheric pictures and sceneries Amidst doing the role of Jock in the film. The swift editing, the pig masks, the Nietzschean metaphor avoiding intrusive showmanship in favor of subtle surrealism is also the highlights of the film. You will experience a highly unusual film, which also reveals once again what diverse cinema is commonly referred to as "horror", with "Litan" so much more than just "just" a horror film. The movie does not step too deep into "the usual" horror tropes and what is going on in "LITAN" is impossible to describe in words, you must look at it yourself. Highly Recommended for the fans of Harry Kümel's Malpertuis (1971), Dario Argento's Profondo Rosso (1975), Lucio Fulci's The Beyond (1981), and Janusz Majewski's Lokis (1970). RIP Jean-Pierre Mocky.