Histoire de ma mort

Albert Serra always returns to the same themes, but in "Història de la meva mort" (Story of My Death) he forces the famous Casanova (whose "Story of my life" he paraphrases suggestively enough in the title of the film) to die. And not to die anyway but in a tragic way, decrepit and with some form of senile dementia. Always munching on fruit (pomegranates and grapes which are said to be aphrodisiacs) he bitterly meditates on his own past but in a somewhat self-deprecating way, confronting the famous Dracula on his domain in Translivania. Sex and Death could have been called but much happier the title found by Serra. Among the many films about the life of Casanova, this seems to me the most profound, meditative and honest, the actor Vicenç Altaió performing exceptionally in a difficult role. Everything is new in this movie. The demystification of two characters that are part of world culture (more legendary), Casanova and Dracula, their "humanization" reducing them to sometimes caricature dimensions (Casanova's grotesque laugh in the most intimate moments or the unconvincingly satisfied howl of Dracula). It is also the film where Serra's alter-ego, Pompeu (Lluís Serrat), speaks the most, coming somewhat out of the position of "Witness", although his involvement is superficial enough to keep him in a mysterious area. He is a character with a tragic ending who ends up being eaten by wolves. There are a few scenes that "break" the monotony of Serra's films (broken glass during copulation is a bad sign in popular mythology) or the sacrifice of a bull by the small local community. Here Serra practices the night shooting that he will perfect in "Liberté", but the atmosphere is always as if from another world. Serra continues to amaze with his avant-garde, bizarre, unique cinematography.

Director Albert Serra did miracles with Don Quixote and the Three Magi, and dares to juxtapose Casanova and Dracula in this thrilling film. Choosing a leisurely pace, so we can ponder and think while we are watching, the story unfolds and becomes more and more dark. Why does Casanova laughs so much, and why is he almost always in the shades or in the dark, where Dracula can walk around in the sunlight ? This film raises many questions and we are allowed to answer them ourselves, Albert Serra does not dictate anything.

There is no gore, even the bite marks and blood by the vampires are sheer poetry, but the film crawls under the skin. Music is spot on and never in the way of the story.

Lighting is breathtaking. Or better: the lack of lighting... Based on the experiments of our Peers Nestor Almendros and John Alcott, d.o.p. Jim Gimferrer dares to go all the way in low key lighting. It is truly magnificent.

What a film !!

... given that I often get frustrated at films with insufficient lighting, and there's really not much going on for a lot of the time.

However, having seen and enjoyed "Liberte" I felt minded to check this out also, as he has what I'd call a Greenaway-style approach to cinematography that renders individual shots and scenes quite beautifully.

The plot and context is also a bit bonkers, which is often a major draw for me. As a vampire film fan, I really liked the range of tropes employed, even if they were more in support of the narrative than (as is more usual) the driver. The philosophical discussions among the potential "brides of..." were also fun.

Interesting.

I am profoundly impressed with this movie. All the shots are like paintings. The light (or its absence) is incredible and the decorations seem elements of natures morts. The sounds create a mediation flow of its own. The dialogues have amazing rhythm, nobody rushes nowhere and so one can explore the depth of it. The story itself is such a strong metaphor with a genius title - referring to the real Casanova's opus - Story of my life.

A particular praise goes to the main actor - for being able of living this role without overacting, while being extremely natural, both strong and weak, funny and serious, intelligent and silly.