Francesca

Is this the seventies??? nope, but this is a new Italian giallo that if you are a fan of the giallo genre, you would think so. The red gloved killer, the music, all very familiar with giallo films of old. And of course, when the killer is revealed at the end, you were never supposed to guess. The plot is simple, a serial killer is at work, and the police are trying to solve the case. The killings are brutal and very well done, with a great soundtrack to remind us again, this is giallo. I love this genre, and am a huge Dario Argento fan, to me, the grandmaster of the genre. I liked it, it brought back some fond memories of so many Italian movies from that era.

When this film arrived at my doorstep I was pleased while looking at the box and artwork. In recent months I'd begun to be exposed to more giallo films than ever and have begun enjoying an appreciation of them which I hadn't in the past, for the most part because of having less access to them. To think I'd now be exposed to another made me happy. I became a tad leery when I learned it was not one of the original films but a tribute of sorts to the genre. But I plunged in headfirst anyway with some hope. Unfortunately the movie didn't live up to my hopes and expectations.

The film opens with a strange sequence involving a mother taking care of an infant and a young girl who seems to be enjoying stabbing a dead bird. Within moment we see her stabbing into the same stroller the mother was rocking and hear her mother scream. Fast forward to 15 years later.

It's been that long since the disappearance of Francesca, the young daughter of poet/dramatist Vittorio Visconti. Stabbed by her abductor he is now unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair. Visconti lives with his invalid wife who remains in a seemingly state of shock ever since the kidnapping of their daughter. Other than help they live alone.

When a series of murders in the area begins the police are baffled. Notes left at the scenes of the crime leave no clues with the exception that they are lines derived from Dante's INFERNO. Visconti was a scholar on Dante and the two police detectives turn to him for assistance in deciphering just what that murderer could be trying to tell them with these notes.

All of the trademarks from the classic giallo are there. The gloved hands of the killer. The viewpoint of the murders as seen through the killers eyes. The police investigating the murders. And yet the movie feels hollow about best and a poor substitute at worst.

Part of this is the decision of writer/director Luciano Onetti to turn this from a standard giallo into a combination of homage and experimental film. Sequences that make no sense are tossed in throughout. Characters that I either forgot or didn't recall suddenly have important roles towards the end. Clue that should have led us as viewers to a rational solving of the puzzle actually lead us nowhere down blind paths that have nothing to do with a solution or that offer clues that aren't based in reality.

The cinematography for the film felt truly lacking to me. Most of it had a strange use of color giving almost everything a blue tinge. The sharpness was also so intense that everything from beard hairs to skin pores felt like they stood out enough to take away concentration from the story itself. The gore effects were some of the worst I've seen in what should have been a prestige styled film with blood looking more like thinned out jelly.

The acting, even though I understand it was done with a foreign cast, never felt believable to me and it wasn't due to something lost in translation. I've seen far too many foreign films to think that this was the best there was/is to offer from actors in other countries. The death scene of one victim by steam iron strangulation has to be one of the worst death scenes ever filmed and completely unbelievable. The faceless killer felt as unthreatening as possible.

Unearthed Films has a lot of faith in this release. The box art is stunning and great to look at bringing back fond memories of the classic giallo films. It contains not just the blu-ray version of the film but standard DVD as well. It also offers a CD of the film's soundtrack as well, sounding much like the classic Goblin scores from earlier giallo films. A flyer is included inside the box and extras on the disc include a behind the scenes featurette, deleted scenes, an interview with director Luciano Onetti and his producer/brother Nicolas and an Unearthed Trailer reel.

I've read some reviews that have praised this film. Sorry to say I am not one of those. I call it as I see it. I'm anxious to return to viewing the actual giallo films of the past and remain hopeful that the genre will see a rise in new movies that follow the same patterns they established. This one is filled far too much with its own agenda as opposed to being a tribute for my taste. Some may find this new take refreshing but unfortunately I'm not one.

A mysterious veiled woman, who's obsessed with The Divine Comedy (a poem that is widely known for its first part, "Dante's Inferno") is going around killing sinners, and people who she deems sinners, in horrific, violent ways. Her calling cards are a quote from the divine comedy and some coins she places on her victim's eyes. Coincidentally, these crimes started happening 15 years after a mischievous little girl was kidnapped. It is up to the police inspector to find the connection between these recent crimes and a crime that happened oh so long ago.

This is a creepy yet artsy giallo film. From the camera effects to the editing, and, while watching it, I had to remind myself a few times that this was made, like, 10 years from now. I love the soundtrack, the mysterious killer, and just the overall vibe it gives off.

However, this movie does have its flaws and questionable moments.

For example, the inspector of the film feels ... I don't know, flat I guess. He doesn't have a full personality. All through the film, he is trying to solve the case, and ... that's about it. We don't see him have any character development and, like I said before, he doesn't have any personality. Another example is when the inspector doesn't fully explain why he thinks this series of murders is related to a 15-year-old kidnapping case.

Another thing I've noticed that's questionable is the soundtrack.

See, during the beginning of the film's opening credits, we hear some music that came/was clipped from Edgar Froese's "Drunken Mozart In The Desert (1979)". And, whenever a character plays Francesca da Rimini, the music itself isn't being played by said character, nor was it prerecorded by the staff. Instead, the music itself was from a real-life piano concert performed by Karen Kornienko.

Nonetheless, this film is great and, if you ask me, is completely underrated.

"Francesca" was my first acquaintance with the works of the Onetti brothers; - Luciano and Nicolás. As a major fan of the Italian Giallo, I instantly fell in love with the DVD-cover, bought it, and then put it safely away in my honoree-closet for more than three years because I waited for a special occasion. During these three years, however, I saw two newer and truly disappointing films of the Onetti brothers that gradually made me wary. "What the Waters Left Behind" is a dreadfully uninspired "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" clone, while also their other giallo-homage "Abrakadabra" was a serious misfire. Maybe, just maybe, it was best to lower my expectations for "Francesca" as well.

Happy to say that "Francesca" is definitely the best, or at least my personal favorite, of the Onetti tribute thus far! Still, the giallo is such a periodically and culturally specific 70s sub-genre that it simply doesn't this current post-Millennial era. Even though I admire the Onetti brothers' goodwill and enthusiasm to pay tribute to these unique films, "Francesca" just didn't evoke any feelings of nostalgia or excitement. Exceptions aside, the true Gialli came from Italy and were released between 1969 and 1975. They are wonderfully deranged movies with convoluted plots, absurd twists, graphic violence, gratuitous sex and experimental stylistic aspects. The Onettis most certainly did their homework in terms of look & feel, as "Francesca" features chaotic color patterns, a psychedelic atmosphere, perverted characters, theatrical death sequences, and bloody bizarre imagery. For some reason, however, they also assumed that an incoherent plot and a horribly slow pacing were also mandatory trademarks. That's not the case, or at least I never felt so! I honestly don't understand why a film with such a solid basic plot (a series of grisly murders leads back to the disappearance of a young girl 15 years ago) must suffer from so many needless pacing-interruptions and premature plot revelations. There are some really great aspects, like the soundtrack and certain murder sequences, but overall "Francesca" is not as awesome as that cool film-poster suggests.

This homage to 1970s era giallos is on-point. I disagree that you can't tell the movie is not 40-50 years old - there are some visual clues that expose Francesca as a 21st century film that may actually be editing or cinematographic flaws - BUT it pulls out all of the stops to closely resemble the best of 70s Italian gialli flicks otherwise.

Francesca has plot twists and fabulous color, even antique furniture and accessories are used on the set. The killer's gloves are red instead of black, but elements ranging from the creepy usage of mannequins and dolls to haunting dream sequences hearken back to very specific giallo directors. I found one scene particularly disturbing in its usage of psychedelic visuals combined with auditory cacophony.

I have no idea why this does not have a higher overall rating, I know some giallo fans are sexploitation hounds and actually give higher ratings to frankly stupider giallos as long as they pile on the nudity and suggestive misogyny, so beyond a single scene of masturbatory titillation for our killer those individuals are surely disappointed. Oh well. Too bad for the misogynists, fake frowny face.