La Maison aux fenêtres qui rient

Yesterday I watched one of the my favourite giallos of all time. The House with the laughing windows(1976) was directed by Pupi avati. I have to admit my ignorance of Pupi avati as a director. I only know he has directed some other cult movie called Zeder. Judging by this movie, he was destined for great things but that potential was never fulfilled.

The plot goes like this. Stefano is a restorer comes to an island in order to rescue the fresco depicting the suffering of St.Sebastian. The artist(now dead) was known to be a disturbed individual who painted scenes of death and suffering. He is somehow given a place to live by a somewhat mentally challenged individual. From this point onwards, he notices the sinister behaviour of the villagers. He doesn't understand it and decides to get to the bottom of the mystery that haunts the village.

This giallo is unique and quite different from other giallos because unlike other giallos, there is not much gratuitous violence or sex to keep the viewer interested. There are no scenes which would shock the viewer or anything like that. That is one reason why giallo aficionados might not appreciate this movie completely. It does not have the usual gimmicks and over the top acting performances that are generally expected from giallo actors and actresses. The leading man(Lino capollichio) is amazingly capable of carrying the whole movie on his shoulders with a restrained performance of a man who is puzzled and somewhat disturbed by the village and its environment.

The ending is one of best aspects of the film. It is the perfect payoff for patiently building the atmosphere throughout the movie. Another aspect is the creepy atmosphere throughout the movie. It is almost downright scary sometimes. In this aspect, this movie is similar to a movie like Don't look now or Japanese horror than generic giallo films or slashers.

The negative aspects that may turn off some giallo lovers is that it is quite slow but the slow buildup in fact increases the tension and that makes the ending all the more worthwhile. The best scene(according to me) is the scene in the dark room where the hero walks through the room slowly. There is absolute silence in the room which is very unlike other giallo films.

Final rating: 10/10. Yes, it may seem very high but it is worth the high rating. Anybody lucky enough to be able to get a copy of this movie should watch it.

"The House With Laughing Windows" is a very European film. Unlike the gialli of, say, Argento, this film is not 'Americanized' at all. It reminds me more of films like "Don't Torture a Duckling" in that it takes place out in a small town in the Italian countryside. It adds to the ambiance and I really like that.

The plot is very slow-moving. I'm not even sure if I'd call this film a giallo, but reading other reviews on here, it seems that it is in fact classified as such. It was hard for me to watch this for the first hour or so. I was wondering when it was going to pick up. Not many people get killed. But, I stuck with it and I recommend doing so. If you can stick with it, the ending is freakin' awesome. I was shocked by it; it really delivers. And it gets nice and bloody too. I had no idea who the killer was, and by the time I found out, my head was spinning from the progression of the final few scenes. It ends abruptly and it feels great. It more than made up for the sluggishness of the first 2/3 of the film. It's not unlike many of the newer Asian films in that regard: it moves very slow but the last few minutes are like a twisting train wreck.

In short, I recommend this film to those of you who have patience and enjoy Italian horror.

8 out of 10, kids.

This is a great film. A slow-moving, ultimately very scary experience. It is the 1950s and our protagonist has come to an isolated Italian village to refurbish a fresco of St. Sebastian, painted with a creepy realism by a local artist, dubbed the "painter of agony" due to his fascination with painting the dead and the dying. This is a real backwater of a place, with little to do and little in the way of culture. When a friend of our protagonist's is mysteriously killed, before he could share what he knew about the mystery of the fresco, events are set in motion that ultimately lead to a very shocking climax.

This is a rather slow-moving film, but be patient and you'll be rewarded. It builds to a frightening conclusion and is a pretty nihilistic experience when all is said and done, not too far different from Avati's other masterpiece, _Zeder_ in tone. Now available in an Italian-language DVD with removable English subtitles!

*Minor plot details, no actual spoilers*

Antonio, recently reacquainted with his friend Stefano who has come to renovate a fresco in the local church depicting the Martyrdom of St Sebastian, has discovered something he shouldn't. Something is rotten in the Italian backwater, but before he can divulge his suspicions he finds himself on the wrong side of a top floor window and plummets to his death while a shadow lurks behind the curtains. So far, so giallo. The gruesome work of art is apparently key to uncovering some secret harboured by the town's residents, so the bulk of the film is then devoted to delving into the bloody back-story of the deceased Artist and his two insane sisters. The main problem here is that the film finds the central mystery much more mysterious than it actually is, and doesn't seem to realise it's given most of the details away. As the Painter's story unfolds - murky as it is - the important stuff (that the gruesome acts depicted in the artist's work might be real) is either implied by the promotional blurb, the opening credits sequence or already anticipated by our over-active imaginations.

What the film sorely needs in the absence of any real action is some clarification as to what it is we're actually supposed to be intrigued by while we wait for the body count to rise. There is a throwaway line later in the film which goes a long way to informing the story as a whole, and cements in our minds the very real danger at hand, but it comes a bit late in the day. Used earlier it would have given Stefano's amateur sleuthing some much needed impetus (Antonio's is too mundane and isolated a death and seems forgotten almost immediately). What lies at the heart of the film then, once the back-story has been told (and after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing) is Stefano's failure to deduce the identity of the sisters and the consequences therein. So everything depends on the final reveal. These are obviously characters we've already met - that's how these things work - but a real rapport needed to be established between Stefano and the peripheral players to give the nature of the revelation (which has been sketchily sign-posted) a much greater emotional punch when it comes. As a result the effect is diluted. Ultimately the biggest mystery is why the town is keeping its secrets in the first place.

On the plus side, coupled with the brooding atmospherics, it is lovely to look at. The camera work isn't overly elaborate but understated works in the film's favour. There are some nice shots - one in particular where Stefano walks round the side of a house with his back to it, so we discover, a moment before he does, that the title isn't simply a metaphor. A palette of greys and smoky blues blends with the thin winter light, with sparing splashes of crimson and orange ochre (emulating the look of Hitchcock's Frenzy). The artist's monologue which accompanies a retrospective sepia-tinged slaughter during the opening credits and used again later on is effectively lurid (you'll need a shower afterwards, followed by dinner and flowers) and the full extent of one haunted local's involvement with the murderous trio some thirty-odd years earlier lends the film some much needed emotional resonance. Most of all Avati deserves credit for the St Sebastian reference. It seems a pretty innocuous stylistic choice, but there is a significance here which, though not essential, provides one of the true, subtle revelations of the entire film. Provided you put two and two together and know your saints.

The House with Laughing Windows was for so long the 'lost giallo' and consequently it seems a bit of giallo envy has bolstered its reputation as a forgotten masterpiece. In terms of pure film-making that's short of the mark. There are too many uneven moments. Characters disappear ominously, then reappear without acknowledgement. Things go bump in the night which we discover second hand rather than getting to witness, and there's a curious did they/didn't they? (have it off) tryst between Stefano and the town's departing school teacher (if they did he apparently likes to keep not only his socks on but his entire dapper three-piece). That isn't to say it's a total bomb by any means either. It depends how invested you find yourself in the Painter's story, and to some extent how prepared you are to suspend disbelief. If you approach with expectations suitably tempered it'll probably do the business. Just sit back and soak up the quietly unsettling atmosphere without thinking too much, but be warned, a great time is not assured.

The restorer Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) is hired by the Mayor Solmi (Bob Tonelli) of a small village nearby Ferrara to restore a painting of St. Sebastian, made by the mentally disturbed painter Buono Legnani in the local church. Stefano was recommended by his friend, Dr. Antonio Mazza (Giulio Pizzirani), and he learns that Legnani was known as "The Painter of the Agony", since he used to paint near-death people. Further, he was presumed dead many years ago but his body has never been found.

Stefano works in the church, where he meets the weirdo Lidio (Pietro Brambilla), and he has one night stand with the local nymphomaniac teacher (Vanna Busoni) that is leaving the village. Meanwhile Antonio investigates the life of Buono Legnani and tells Stefano that he had found a dark secret about the painter and the villagers. However, Antonio dies before meeting Stefano and the police conclude that he committed suicide.

Stefano is intrigued by the mystery surrounds Legnani and decides to investigate more about the deranged painter. However, he in evicted of his hotel room and Lidio brings him to the isolated house of a paraplegic woman (Pina Borione) where he lives. Meanwhile, he meets the teacher's substitute Francesca (Francesca Marciano) and they have a love affair. Francesca moves to Stefano's room and they are affected by the strange atmosphere of the place.

When the restoration is damaged by acid, Stefano decides to leave the village with Francesca. However, he meets the alcoholic driver Coppola (Gianni Cavina) that decides to disclose to him the secret of the house of the laughing windows. But now it seems to be too late to move out of the mysterious village.

"La Casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono" is a dark film developed in a creepy nightmarish atmosphere and visibly inspired in "The Wicker Man". The lead character seems to be trapped in his morbid curiosity of discovering the hidden secret of the village and never leaves the spot. Like many Europeans movies, the plot has many open questions, maybe with the intention of discussing them among friends or in forums and board like the one in IMDb. After watching the film, it is worthwhile reading the interpretations of other Users to improve yours or find some missing detail. Last but not the least, the beauty of Francesca Marciano is really impressive. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa com Janelas Sorridentes" ("The House with Laughing Windows")