A Rosa de Ferro

The beginning of the film - deserted town and railway station sequences are a delight. When the characters eventually enter the cemetery, 'The Iron Rose' gets somehwat tedious, with the heroes merely wondering amid the tombstones, uttering nonsensical lines from time to time. There's little for them to do there. The film was clearly made purely out of Rollin's love for cemetery ambiance,its decay and desolation: multiple shots of crosses and tombstones, strange characters who don't understand each other. Conversations they have lead nowhere and end abruptly. Rollin populates the cemetery with his favourite heroes: a vampire is seen entering the crypt, and a creepy clown bringing some flowers to one of the graves. The acting is rather questionable, also because the script doesn't provide the leads who actually seem to be quite capable actors, with any material to work with. Therefore their behaviour in the film seems really weird as they switch from nearly catatonic state to mad fury for no reason and then become mild and gentle again within seconds. Rollin never ever tells conventional stories with his films, instead he just films what he wants to see, and then puts it together in editing, as a result his subconscious is on display. There's no such thing as pace in his films, he doesn't try an give his films rhythm and structure via editing, he only uses it to put the scenes together (hence the frequent jarring cuts in most of his works). The director's aim is to put you in a particular mood, not to deliver some concrete message. Atmosphere is his ultimate aim, for Rollin admits his films are moving paintings. I was disappointed when I first watched the film, but I rewatch it often. Although lacking any dramatic tension, 'The Iron Rose' is a very beautiful and atmospheric film.

Iron Rose, The (1973)

*** (out of 4)

A man (Hugues Quester) and woman (Francoise Pascal) meet at a wedding reception and sneak off to talk where they agree to meet the next day for a bike ride. The two ride past a cemetery and decide to enter so that they can have sex in an underground tomb but when they come up it is now dark and they soon find themselves lost and unable to get out. This is considered by many to be the best film Rollin ever made and I might not disagree. The film has received a big cult following over the years and the strange thing is that it has been sold as a horror film but there's no horror anywhere in the film. This is certainly an art house film and a departure for Rollin as there are no vampires, zombies, lesbians, gore and even the sex is tame and there's only one sequence of nudity. The film runs 75-minutes and not too much happens in that time. The two just walk around trying to find their way out while their minds start to be filled with paranoia. The film is very slow paced like every other Rollin film but this works in the films favor. The cinematography is terrific and they used a real cemetery to shoot in, which adds great atmosphere. I think the final eight minutes could have been edited down but this is certainly a surreal little gem.

I cannot claim to be a connoisseur of the man's work so far, but personally I do not even nearly understand the enthusiasm that many of my fellow Eurohorror/cult fans seem to have about the films of Jean Rollin. Since this film is not one of his countless lesbian vampire flicks, but supposedly a Gothic chiller that many of Rollin's fans seem to regard as his masterpiece, I was looking forward to the film. Sadly, "La Rose De Fer" aka. "Rose of Iron" (1973) turned out one of the most nonsensical and insufferably boring European Horror productions (if one can even call it Horror). At least Rollin's lesbian vampire films were entertaining and made up for a lack of substance with gratuitous female nudity. "La Rose De Fer" is almost event-less. In one aspect, however, the film is phenomenal: The film is fantastically shot in a an old cemetery, which is arguably one of the most beautiful, eeriest and most fascinating Horror settings of all time. The film is visually overwhelming, thanks to this fantastic setting and a beautiful photography. Yet, a mesmerizing setting is no excuse for making a film in which NOTHING happens! The film begins when a creepy-looking guy and a pretty girl fall in love and make arrangements to go bike-riding the next day. They stop at an old cemetery, fail to find their way out and get locked in. As night falls, both of them begin to act strangely (or should I say: annoyingly)...

As said above, the film's setting is fantastic, eerie, and unspeakably beautiful, and I would certainly like to visit the depicted cemetery some day. This is arguably why so many people seem to love this film - it is visually flawless, the trees and the beautiful tombstones and grave statues create a wonderful, fairy-tale-like atmosphere. The stunning visual style may overwhelm, but I cannot imagine whose attention it is going to uphold for the length of a film. "La Rose De Fer" is only 77 minutes long, and yet it seems endless, since there are no real events, just a compilation of weird, but nonetheless boring nonsensical sequences. Everything the protagonists say is nonsense, everything they do is nonsense, and the fact that the nonsense takes place in a great setting only makes up for a tiny part of the boredom. There is no suspense, no blood and very little nudity to make up for the lack of a plot. The film is apparently based on a poem by Tristan Cobìere, which may be the reason that people call it 'poetic'. "La Rose De Fer" may be watched for the stunning visual style, but its lack of events makes it one of the most boring affairs I ever sat through. In fact, it took me three takes to watch the complete film since I fell asleep twice. I'm giving it a rating of 3 out of 10 ONLY for the fantastic visual style, otherwise the film is a disaster.

First off, I was shocked at the low rating this film got. Probably because not many people have seen it. Jean Rollin is mostly known for his violent and sexual vampire movies. That's why I've never seen any of his films till now. Maybe I'll have to see more of his movies. La Rose De Fer (the Iron Rose) is one of the most sensual and beautiful horror films I've ever seen. The plot is simple yet effective. A beautiful french women meets a guy at a wedding. He asks her out. They decide to take a romantic walk in the cemetery. The couples bright yellow and red outfits add a contrast to the dark setting. They decide to make love in a tomb, and when they get out they discover they are trapped in the cemetery. They keep walking, but end up in the same spot. The cemetery almost becomes never ending and it seems there is no way out. This leads the couple to slowly loose their sanity. The girl almost enjoys the cemetery too much. Although the movie doesn't have much nudity, it has a very surreal and sexy feel to it. There really isn't any violence in the film either, but that doesn't stop it from being creepy. The dialog flows like poetry, and the Gothic atmosphere almost paints a picture. It's definitely a film thats visually rich with compositions as breathtaking as anything done by Antonioni or Greenaway. Fans of bizarre art-house films will definitely find it worth watching. Although the film moves slow at times, it's still flawless in it's vision. A perfect horror film to watch on a date.

Rose of Iron, as it is known in English has been difficult to find and largely neglected up until this point. Not only has it been subtitled into English, but the video I own includes a brief introduction by the director, Jean Rollin. He claims the film was inspired by a real life incident.

Rollin refers to Rose of Iron as an art film. Why it has garnered the label of horror can only be because Rollin is largely a director of horror movies. This one isn't. Not really.

The plot concerns a young couple who decide to take a stroll through a quiet, seemingly unending cemetery. When night falls, the lovers realize that they cannot find the way out. As time progresses, fear gives way to madness.

There is much to recommend this film. It is beautifully shot, the cinematography almost having a surreal, dreamlike quality. The performances are quite good also for relative unknowns. If you have the patience, give this one a try. That is, if you can find it...