Le miroir obscène

I finally managed to watch this little-known but highly-praised Franco film via a VHS dub. At first I was shocked by the poor quality of the print but after a while it settled down to being quite watchable, considering the source material at hand.

Unfortunately, the Spanish language-version I saw which is considered to be the 'Director's Cut' was not subtitled in English. I have only the most basic knowledge of Spanish, so I'm afraid that the vast majority of the dialogue (of which there is an awful lot!) – if not necessarily the plot – just went over my head!! Still, here again my source came to the rescue: he e-mailed me and my brother a detailed plot synopsis beforehand that was also peppered with important character traits, developments, phrases, etc. that were essential for a deeper understanding of what the film was all about.

Having watched it, I'm not sure how I really feel about it. It's definitely one of the better Jess Franco movies I've seen but, considering the disadvantaged position in which I experienced AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO, I hesitate to place it near the top spot as some (like Francesco Cesari and Robert Monell) have done. As it stands, however, it has still gained a very respectable fourth place in the 'Ranking Franco' section I keep on my database (!) – after VENUS IN FURS (1968), EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (1969) and THE DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z (1965) but prior to other renowned titles like SUCCUBUS (1967), A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (1971) and EUGENIE DE SADE (1970).

The film achieves a disquieting and haunting quality which is a recognizable Franco trait, but which here becomes even more pronounced than usual for being set in his native country. Despite the obvious low-budget, the film is quite skillfully made (particularly the juxtaposing of images between what is taken to be fantasy and the reality behind it); a fine cast (mostly unknown to me) manages to give life to the multi-layered plot, even in this alien language. Howard Vernon was typically arresting in his brief but all-too important role, whereas the beautiful and effortlessly sensual Emma Cohen (which, unlike most of Franco's leading ladies, she achieves without resorting to copious and exploitative nudity) truly dominates the film with her remarkable performance – certainly one of the finest in the Franco canon I've seen so far!

Aided by very effective use of music (which, as in VENUS IN FURS, plays a very important role here), the film takes us on a journey of self-discovery – a favorite subject with this director – which is likely to provide plenty of interest for any viewer attuned to its particular mood, as well as a few surprises along the way. All the various romantic interludes may be perfunctory and somewhat redundant (as in EUGENIE DE SADE, the girl may well have been happiest in her relationship with her 'unstable' father!) but at least we are treated to three very different yet alluring life-styles – jazz music, classical theatre and the idle rich (these scenes reminded me a great deal of Antonioni's L'AVVENTURA [1960]; in fact, the entire film is more art-house than horror, which is how it is often mistakenly labeled) – all of which, however, end in the same way: a swift and apparently motiveless murder! The pace drops slightly during its last lap (a criticism which can be leveled at VENUS IN FURS as well), but like that film too, the resolution is an unexpected and incredibly complex scene which leaves one baffled (I'd love to have Francesco or Robert explain this one to me!) but at the same time satisfied with the realization of having just watched a genuinely great movie, the likes of which aren't often seen – and the ultimate concession towards Jess Franco being a real talent worthy of our consideration!

The idea of a mirror being the reflection of an alternate and often perverse reality (here prompting an amusing repeated vision of the hanged Vernon with hideously protruding tongue!) has been seen numerous times on the screen, drawing a particular affinity with the work of Jean Cocteau which –as in this case – is infused with references to Greek mythology and the 'underworld', yet Franco manages to give it a fresh angle by making us genuinely care for the leading character from the outset so that we can become eye-witnesses to her gradual but inevitable mental deterioration (impelled by her dead father's 'influence'). The following quote is borrowed from a post written by Robert Monell on the 'DVD Maniacs' Forum while discussing Image's DVD of Franco's A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD:

'Franco was working on a modern mythological cycle obscured by the requirements of pornography with VIRGIN, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR and LORNA... which deal with real or symbolic incest destroying the protagonist and the possession of the living by the dead. Ana is led by the hanged father into the mirror where she discovers another dimension. She can walk down the hallway and appear in any locale: the park where she murders Robert Wood or the theatre where she stabs Ramiro Oliveros. It's always the stabbing of the male, relating to the execution of the bull in the corrida and the Spanish Catholic obsession with iconography. Franco understands that the camera is the dreaming eye [THE DREAMING EYE] so we look down at Ana in the park and realize it's HER watching herself kill. The zoom lens becomes the way to focus her attention within the zone and the affect of THE FATHER is translated by a sort of electro magnetism through the zoom as she picks up the knife to kill Wood. It's both mythological (Styx) and psychoanalytic (Lacan) at the same time. One can feel that Oedipus has NO choice and that's the comparison. The TRUTH is always the TRUTH, and it is usually hidden from view by APPEARANCES, which are always deceptive. The world we have created is a sham to escape the truth and Jess Franco's films take us back to the truth by penetrating the sham which is fortified by popular culture, the media and the codes of representation familiarized by Hollywood. The only other film directors able to achieve this are John Ford and Jean-Luc Godard, both prolific and widely misunderstood.'

And this from Monell's review of the film on the 'Dark Waters' website:

'Most fascinating is how Franco relates Ana's problem to religion, visually correlated by repeated shots of churches, religious statues, and evocative paintings. Ana's father is shown to be a devout Catholic who uses faith to hide from his darker impulses. The plot's mystery is never really solved, but a final 'vision' in the magical mirror suggests a possible explanation.'

Not only perceptive but beautifully written, too! I wasn't immediately aware of some of the concepts mentioned here but, having just read the 'How To Read A Franco Film' article, I felt decidedly more 'in tune' now with what the director intended. In the end, it's a real pity this film is so hard to come by, for I would really love to own it on DVD in an English-subtitled version (NOT dubbed) – though the available source material would seem to need a lot of work. It would definitely enhance the experience for me, and doubtless gain new admirers in the process.

This is a Jess Franco film which seems to have garnered something of a good reputation amongst the vast array of his output. While I perused through the user reviews here I couldn't help but wonder if I had seen the same film, as from the plot synopsis offered by many of these I found there were several very key things I couldn't recall even happening on screen. I soon discovered that the reason for this is that there are three versions of this movie - the Spanish being the definitive cut it seems – and I saw the Italian variant which, like several other Franco films from the period had been turned into an adult film by way of some hardcore scenes being spliced into the flow. I think it would be only fair to guess that this version is not the best out there and compromises Franco's original vision somewhat.

The story is about a woman who goes into a downward psychological spiral after the suicide of her sister. She subsequently sees visions of her dead sibling which leads her to go out and murder men.

One of the chief differences between the versions is that in the Spanish one it is her dead father (played by Franco regular Howard Vernon) who she sees from beyond the grave, as opposed to her sister in the Italian version. This change seems to have been made principally to allow for the introduction of Lina Romay who, in her role as the sister, spends the whole time frolicking around naked and is at the centre of all the hardcore scenes too. These scenes, incidentally, are fairly half-heartedly executed and seem to be there simply as a means of selling the movie as an adult feature. However, unless I simply wasn't paying very good attention, this change also means that the whole mirror idea seems to have been more or less eradicated aside from a scene late on where it is smashed resulting in the breaking of the supernatural spell. Up to that point however, it seemed to me that all of this malarkey was going on in the head of the main actress, not playing out in an actual mirror! Despite these issues with the Italian version, this still made for interesting enough viewing. Despite its definite sexploitation angle, it is in essence quite a haunting tale. It's quite hard to reasonably categorize in actual fact because it has several feet in different sub-genres without truly focusing on one thread fully. I can only really comment on the version I have seen and going by that I couldn't put this in the upper bracket of Franco features; it's in the top half of his output though for sure. Like most of his films it has that rushed look and feel, while the production values are pretty limited. But it would seem that the Spanish version is the one to see if you want a proper reflection of this one's merits.

This average-budget film contains thrills , a criminal intrigue and various murders . It's a passable slasher movie directed by prolific filmmaker Jess Frank concerning a nightclub singer is haunted by the ghost of her late dad . Anetta(Emma Cohen) is a pianist in cabarets and nightclubs , she's very close to her widower father (Howard Vernon) after their mother's death . Anetta suffers a tragedy on the eve of her wedding to Arturo (Wal Davis) , as his father is extremely opposed to this marriage , that's why he commits suicide by hanging . Later on , the dead man summons her through a mirror , forcing her to commit a series of violent crimes . This becomes a nightmare for her when she starts seeing him in all the mirrors making signs.

Austerily slasher film revolving around an unsettling , deranged young woman who suffered an emotional crisis that is torn between death and pain expressed in the reflection of the windows . It contains thrills , chills , haunting poetic fantasy , nudism and grisly killings . Here Franco manages to give us an adequate ambient , evocative production design , being regularly narrated , including a murders plot enough to keep you intrigued throughout the flick . In this passable as well as eerie yarn , Franco established his ordinary poetic and visually striking style . There are other versions in which Annette and Mary are sisters , and the latter haunting Annette on the mirror and another hardcore retelling with Lina Romay , Franco's muse , playing the erotic scenes , as usual . Emma Cohen gives a decent acting as singer/pianist Ana who will kill all men who feels sexually attracted to her by fulfilling the wishes of the late daddy . She's well accompanied by a good cast , some of them Franco's regulars , such as : Robert Woods , Alice Arno , Françoise Brion , Philippe Lemaire , Ramiro Oliveros and Howard Vernon as the father incites her to an unprecedented massacre. And Jesus Franco or Jess Frank cameo as a pianist at a bar .

One of the slasher movies by prolific writer/producer/director Jesús Franco , one of the kings of the ¨Spanish Fantaterror¨, and considered to be one of the best films from his second period . Jesús Franco who never considered the film to be a horror story , but instead felt it was tale of "anguish". Being produced in short budget by Robert de Nesle and José María Forqué . It packs evocative cinematography by Antonio Millán, filmed on Portuguese locations in Lisbon, Madeira, Tobis Portuguesa, Lumiar, Lisbon, (studio) . Likewise, atmospheric musical score by André Bénichou and Adolfo Waitzman, including Jazzy soundtrack and catching songs . The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Jesus Franco. However , here he doesn't use his trademarks , as he carries out a traditional narration , without excessive zooms , neither lousy pace . Jesus uses to sign under pseudonym , among the aliases he used, apart from the names Jess Franco or Franco Manera, were Jess Frank, Robert Zimmerman, Frank Hollman, Clifford Brown, David Khune , Toni Falt, James P. Johnson, Charlie Christian, David Tough , among others . Franco used to utilize usual marks such as zooms , nudism , foreground on objects , filmmaking in ¨do-it-yourself effort¨ style or DIY , double-versions , and managing to work extraordinarily quickly . In many of the more than 180 films he's directed he has also worked as composer, writer, cinematographer and editor. His first was "We Are 18 Years Old" and the second picture was ¨Gritos en la Noche¨ (1962) , the best of all them , also titled "The Awful Dr. Orlof" , it's followed by various sequels such as El Secreto del Dr. Orloff (1964) aka "The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll" , " Orloff y el hombre invisible (1970) aka "Dr. Orloff's Invisible Monster" and finally "Faceless" (1987) . He also directed to the great Christopher Lee in 4 films : "The Bloody Judge" , ¨Count Dracula¨, ¨The Blood of Fu Manchu¨ and ¨The castle of Fu Manchu¨ . Jesús's influence has been notable all over Europe . From his huge body of work we can deduce that Jesús Franco is one of the most restless directors of Spanish cinema and often releasing several titles at the same time. Many of his films have had problems in getting released, and others have been made directly for video. More than once his staunchest supporters have found his "new" films to contain much footage from one or more of his older films . Jesús Franco is a survivor in a time when most of his colleagues tried to please the government administration. He broke up with all that and got the independence he was seeking. He always went upstream in an ephemeral industry that fed opportunists and curbed the activity of many professionals . But time doesn't pass in vain, and Jesus' production diminished since the 90s ; however he went on shooting until his death . Al otro lado del espejo (1973) rating : 5.5/10 . Mediocre but passable.

Here is another of those elusive Franco films that in its proper context is neither horror, nor porn or sexploitation, in spite of the hardcore inserts, but wandering around urges.

Now I appreciate Franco in the way you do with a friend or co-worker you have known forever. I appreciate him, in part, because of how familiar his flaws and habits. So I won't mollycoddle him or pretend in his face: he was often sloppy, charmless as a thinker and embarrassing in a number of ways. Whereas some fans read profundity in this film, for me all the stuff about mirrors, madness and theater as staged inner life are as sophomoric as it gets, for instance that whispers of a damaged mind will issue from a mirror.

Let me say here that it's not the elements themselves, which others like Rivette, Resnais and Ruiz have used to similar effect, but the narrative distance they are placed away from the viewer, distance that leads up to them and away from.

But I accept it as part of the experience of shared intuition that is possible with a good friend; Franco is worth knowing because, going past conscious narrative impositions, I can relax in a fluid fabric of images which he seems to spontaneously stir up from life as he walks through it. The more of his films I watch, the more I relax because I have shared in previous travels.

It's all in the last scene here.

Leading up to it we have obviously layered madness about a woman reliving guilt from her past, inserts of incestual cunnilingus and hardcore sex (in the Italian version I saw), and relaxed wandering around bars and later exotic Madeira. As a whole the film evokes Franco's films with Soledad, She Killed in Ecstasy and Eugenie. It is not as 'pure' as Female Vampire, nor on the other hand as testing.

The idea, tremendously simple, is that a woman wanted to get married, but her beloved sister killed herself out of desperation and perhaps spurned love, and she carries this burden in unfulfilled affairs with men.

The Spanish version without the inserts may flesh out the story a bit more, but story is not the main point, it's swimming across to where images acquire life of their own.

In the last scene we have all this, the wandering, madness, and repressed emotion, coalesce together in a beautiful way as a bridal veil fluttering in the wind.

For years and years, I fanatically defended the work of writer/director Jess Franco, but with every film of his that I watch, I wonder why I ever bothered. Maybe I should accept the fact Franco only made a handful of influential and genuine exploitation classics ("The Awful Dr. Orloff", "The Diabolical Dr. Z", "Faceless"), whereas the vast majority of his excessively large repertoire is just utter garbage.

And yet, for a good 15-20 minutes, it really seemed as if "The Obscene Mirror" would become another Franco-winner! The first quarter is definitely promising, with the introduction of a widower (Franco-regular Howard Vernon) and his two beautiful daughters Annette and Marie. Annette is head over heels in love with archeology student Arthur, but Marie is so jealous of her sister's happiness that she commits suicide by ramming a sword in her stomach one day before the wedding. Following the tragedy, Annette is so confused that she abruptly calls off her wedding and starts a new life as piano player in a raunchy bar. From this moment on, Annette hears and sees her sister appearing in an antique mirror, and Marie's vengeful spirit commands her to brutally slaughter every man she's sexually attracted to.

At least, this is the plot of the version I watched, because - apparently - there also exists a version in which it's Annette's father who commits suicide and commands her to kill. Oh well, just another typical flick in Jess Franco's bizarre universe.

With the exception of the compelling first 15 minutes, "The Obscene Mirror" is a dreadfully boring and frustrating film. Franco reverts to his bad habit of inserting overlong (and very un-sexy) hardcore footage, which absolutely doesn't have any added value. During countless of times during the film, you'll find yourself staring at extreme close-ups of a vagina (probably Lina Romay's), and listening to the sounds of either monotonous moaning or jazzy musical tunes. I don't know which of the two was more irritating.

For some strange reason I will never comprehend, "The Obscene Mirror" - in whatever version - is regarded as one of Franco's finest films, and this also gets confirmed by most of the user-comments on this website. Maybe it's fanstastic if endless close-ups of female genitalia are your thing, but it seems to me there are more effective channels for that.