Marmorera, le village englouti

This utterly stylish and captivating Swiss mystery-thriller probably won't ever become world-famous or even very popular among genre fanatics, but it's something totally unique and definitely worth checking out in case you have a soft spot for old-fashioned & story-driven European folklore tales. "Marmorera" is the name of a small village in the Swiss Alps that disappeared under the water of a large lake during the 1950's as a result of a malfunctioning dam. With the return of Dr. Cavegn (whose roots lie in Marmorera) to a nearby city, the sunken town's restless spirit comes to life again and spawns a gorgeous but silent young girl to the surface of the lake. Shortly after, the last original inhabitants of Marmorera – which fled to the new village – start to die in horrible and mysterious accidents. Dr. Cavegn is convinced there's a connection between the deaths of the villagers and the young woman, especially since the riddles she speaks refer to the accidents. Simon quickly becomes obsessed with the patient he named Julia and nearly loses his wife, job and life during the research he does. Markus Fischer's "Marmorera" is a complex film with an extremely confusing script and I honestly have to admit I didn't fully understand everything that was shown on the screen. Especially the end sequences remained frustratingly vague and don't reveal anything you hadn't figured out already. But I do know "Marmorera" is a beautiful and haunting supernatural mystery that effectively combines horror elements with subtle drama and mythical fantasy elements. The atmosphere is constantly ominous and Fischer creates an almost unbearable level of suspense without reverting to any kind of special and/or computer engineered effects. The characters – apart from the luscious mermaid Julia – come across like real people with dark secrets and sincere emotions and you're honestly interested in figuring out their backgrounds. Sadly the script is very sparingly with clues and it almost feels like Markus Fischer doesn't want his audiences to try and unravel the mysteries of Marmorera themselves. The music is staggering and even the dialogs are fun to listen to, as the Swiss language more or less sounds like a mixture between Dutch and German. The acting performances are far above average. In her film debut as Julia, the Belgian dancer turned actress Eva Dewaele doesn't have to speak a lot, but her appearance is enchanting and almost magical. Anatole Taubman is excellent as the obsessive investigator Simon and Mavie Hörbiger – as his loving and understanding wife – is even better.

I looked around some for this movie, and everything I located was in a language other than English ==After reading the reviews written in English I was left with the impression that the movie could be found with English subtitles some where, this appears to NOT be the case

I felt obligated to write this review so others coming along would not be trapped by the prior reviews done, as I was. ==Thats about all i have to say, I can't give a plus or minus for the different qualities the movie may or may not have, as i cannot understand anything being said and sung

How so many people can check the prior reviews as being helpful is beyond me, unless those checking are bi lingual for the language the movie is in --Since I cannot understand the movie, and feel as if I was somehow trapped by misleading reviews, I gave the movie a one.

I saw this brilliant film in the early hours of this morning when it was broadcast on the Franco- German television station Arte. Unlike Coventry who found in (his?/her?) review that the script was confusing, I found it perfectly understandable though suitably complex, with a suitably horrifying logic of tragedy and supernatural revenge - in any case one cannot afford to let one's attention wander!

One should also remember that in many mountain regions of Europe there was a deep sense of loss from the dangerous and obliterative dam-building that went on between the late 1940s and the 1960s, and indeed earlier, and there were many tragedies and accidents. The fact that this is common to nearly all dams all over the world is no consolation to the victims.

I also found the somewhat dark and brooding photography helped render the oppressive atmosphere, complete with gloriously dark grey skies, and the final two scenes (which I won't spoil by revealing) are also memorable.

The music also contributed greatly including the use of a (Schubert?) song I didn't quite catch but which was key to the plot, and Marlene Dietrich's "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt" from Josef von Sternberg's "Der Blaue Engel".

I thoroughly recommend this film - see it if you can!