Homicide parfait au terme de la loi

Ivan Rassimov has been in some of the best giallos ever made. And after watching this disappointing giallo, I can say that he has also appeared in some of the worst giallos ever made. What a career! But seriously, he also appeared in The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh which was released the same year as this film. Talk about ups and downs!

The actors are not to blame here. I recognized many of the actors here from other films, and they can all act (with the exception of the doctor who was utterly unconvincing). This film is primarily so bad because of the director - Tonino Ricci. Many shots feel like this is a made for TV movie or a soap opera. The overuse of zooming almost had me unintentionally laughing. I think in another director's hands this could have been a middle of the road giallo. But as is, it's a pretty bad one.

I never thought I'd get to see this one! Tonino Ricci injects the genre with a welcome dose of daftness, nonsensical events, and a general half- arsed approach to storytelling that he would also bring to the Rambo-rip off genre (with Days of Hell), the horror genre (Panic – the one with the mutant guinea pig) and worst of all, The Close Encounters of the Third Kind rip-off Encounters in the Deep.

This time we have Phillipe Leroy as a super-rich power boat pilot who crashes during a race (one that drags on forever as this is a Tonino Ricci film), gets some brian surgery, then comes home having forgotten just about everything about anything. Except that tree outside…that tree…there's something about that tree…the tree…something…something about the tree…that tree, plus his wife, business partner (Ivan Rassimov), potential possible mistress, and the combover guy from Sabata! Don't forget the tree as Phillipe spends an awful lot of time staring at it, and Tonino spends an awful lot of time showing us the tree from various angles.

So apart from all the times where Phillipe is staring at the tree (that tree….something about it…) or scaring the crap out of people with his remote controlled hi-fi system, he's also got to contend with the strange phone calls from ex-employees who then show up dead instead of meeting him as planned. But who is the black-gloved killer going around killing folks and how is Phillipe supposed to recover from his surgery while all the killing is going on?

Tonino throws in a bit of everything to keep you going – a punch up, a car chase, some gore (cheap and fleeting), an arse, and a disco scene (dancing to "Yellow River" by Christie!) – these were the days where the lady would do the dancing in a mini-skirt while the man sat smoking and drinking whiskey, until the slow song came on and the guy could get up close and rub a semi on.

As you can imagine, not everyone is as friendly as they seem and things start twisting all over the place in the last half hour, including a slow motion gun-slaying which was rather good, and an ending that had me scratching my head as I was presented with a harsh "FINE" all of a sudden. Good stuff.

When I learned that this giallo featured a speed boat racer, I was less than enthusiastic and when the film opens with a prolonged speed boat race, my mind is already wandering. The music and strange sounds that make up the soundtrack are very good, the crazy architectural weirdness that is the villa where most of the subsequent action takes place, is great and once Elga Andersen and Rosanna Yanni appear things are starting to look up. The ever reliable Ivan Rassimov also helps and yet having got over the rather slow start the film begins to throw up confusion. Maybe it was the dark print and misleading English dub but I certainly became confused and when later we begin to realise what we are supposed to believe it is no wonder! But almost as I began to despair, the picture improves, clothes become loosened, murder is to the fore and things generally brighten up for a glorious last half hour or so.

Cross Current features all the things that usually make Giallo's successful, but somehow it just doesn't gel together well and in spite of the gory murders and twisted plot, the film always feels like it isn't really going anywhere and that unfortunately harms it. Tonino Ricci directs with flair and style and this is a definite asset to the film. Cross Current has a lovely foreboding atmosphere and the way that the director keeps the focus on the lead characters helps to build claustrophobia and this helps to make sure that the film always remains interesting. The plot focuses on Marco, a boat racer who has an accident. He wakes up in hospital and finds out that he has to have brain surgery. After the operation, he begins recovering at home and is cared for by his wife Monica, his friend Tommy and a woman named Terry. Shortly into his recovery, people around his home start to get murdered; beginning with the gardener who had previously requested a private meeting with Marco. More murders follow and the police get involved...

It's a shame that this film wasn't better as some of the murders rival the best of the genre. The intestine spilling scene is excellent, while a slow motion sequence in which a woman is shot oozes coolness. But unfortunately it just doesn't gel together well and feels obvious that the director was trying to make a film that emulates the successful Giallo's of the time. The acting isn't bad, with experienced Italian film actor Philippe Leroy taking the lead role and doing well with it. Rosanna Yanni and Elga Andersen look nice as the female leads, while the always excellent Ivan Rassimov rounds off the central cast. The house in which most of the film is set dominates the atmosphere of the film and proves a good location for a film like this to be set in. It all builds down to a nice twisted ending which just about makes the rest of the film worthwhile. The final ten minutes are really well put together, and this may have been a classic if the rest of the film were as good. Overall, I can't really say that this is essential but, if you can find it, it's just about worth seeing.

This rare giallo visibly has a bad reputation all over the planet, and I can't really understand why; probably because no one has seen it...

Here we have a rich playboy doing boat races, and at one of them he has an accident - his boat shatters and explodes, but he's thrown in the nearby water and rapidly picked up by the medical crew, and after an operation to the brain returns home safe and sound, with some memory loss and a prescription of calm, peace & love for recovery. However, his surroundings - including luscious Rossana Yanni, constantly mini-skirted and looking ready to seduce - stick to his incredibly designed villa, and the killings begin.

First the gardener, and then some other individuals whom I won't name not to spoil anything. The deaths aren't spectacular and we never get to see the killer, so that's a change from other well known gialli... but the plot doesn't really make sense here.

Especially when the end credits roll, we're left with a huge question mark : "What the hell just happened ?" With about 5 writers working on the script, I guess it's just unexplainable. Or it perhaps can be the horrible english dubbing that made me lose some parts...

Confusion aside, this movie is visually gorgeous, with amazing architecture + actors + landscapes. Ivan Rassimov plays his usual self, evil eyebrows included. And there's never a dull moment. In trying to include twists so often, the writers may have forgotten that in the end, it all needs to make at least a bit of sense, but they're forgiven for carving a real impressive mood for the ensemble of the movie. Highly recommended !