Le secret de la vie

This movie is hard to categorize. Klaus Kinski has a minor part, so it really can't be considered an important Kinski movie. It is not a horror film, with only one unsettling grave desecration scene. What it is, is an intelligently made sci-fi, that deals with the unique subject of trying to overcome death, by extending lifespans. Beautifully filmed in Amsterdam, the film has sharp editing, and narration that keeps things on track, Hiram Keller is the rather detached American scientist who is trying to unravel a dead colleague's immortality experiments. Klaus Kinski is the Swiss pharmaceutical company owner seeking death control for his own use. Tina Aumont is a love interest for both Keller and Kinski, with her totally gratuitous bondage scene unnecessary except perhaps for some titillating promotion. The ending leaves things hanging uncomfortably, but if you go in with realistic expectations, "Lifespan" will reward. - MERK

Despite the rather lethargic pace, this is an absorbing conspiracy thriller on an existentialist theme. As it was shot in English, even if most of the voices were eventually re-dubbed at a later stage, Fons Rademakers' heavy accent makes his dialogue hard to understand at times!

Anyway, many have found Hiram Keller's inexpressive performance a detriment to the film but I rather liked it (and so, apparently, does director Whitelaw!); the fact that a lot of the exposition is imparted through narration has been criticized as well, but I also thought this worked very well for the film. Much has also been said about the notorious (and oft-censored) bondage scene involving Tina Aumont (well cast here): actually, it's very discreetly done and pretty short in itself! And though Klaus Kinski doesn't get to exert his acting muscles a great deal, his Mephistophelean presence adds to the film's uniquely disquieting aura. Besides, the Amsterdam setting (and Eddy van der Enden's lugubrious photography of it) is a big plus, as is Terry Riley's electronic score.

Whitelaw's rather choppily edited interview and full-length Audio Commentary (moderated by Mondo Macabro's Peter Tombs) are very interesting: the director explains several points which may not have been very clear and draws attention to the irony which is present in his script. Besides recounting many an amusing anecdote about the production (Kinski turning up on set dressed as a Mexican bandit and Whitelaw having to calmly persuade him that his role of "The Swiss Man" was somewhat different!; Kinski's minimal dialogue was also the result of his dislike of the script, whereupon whole chunks of lines he was supposed to say were unceremoniously thrown out!) and the censorship problems the film encountered (the director tried to convince the U.K. censors that the bondage scene was relevant to the main theme by arguing that this kinky act highlighted a woman's breasts which, by storing milk, are themselves a symbol of immortality!). Whitelaw also puts the unresolved and apparently downbeat ending in the context of the film's theme by saying that a picture about immortality, i.e. the desire that one's life doesn't come to an end, could never have a conventional finish as that would mean it was actually embracing death! Interestingly, he mentions too that Roman Polanski (who was a member of the jury where LIFESPAN won an award) had admired the picture a lot - and this was eventually reflected in his own next film, THE TENANT (1976), to which it bears a striking resemblance plot-wise (though itself based on a work of fiction by Roland Topor, of which Whitelaw was completely unaware at the time)!!

'Lifespan' is an interesting and low key film that may put viewers off when it misleadingly appears to be a horror movie starring Klaus Kinski, and fails to deliver just what the audience expects. The plot may deal with death, features a gruesome and creepy grave digging scene, and revolves around (a possibly) mad scientist, but it is in no way a horror movie. Even the description of "thriller" is a little off the mark. Many may find it too slow, but I think it suited the material. The other problem is that despite the video packaging on the old VHS copy I watched the legendary Kinski ('Nosferatu', 'Crawlspace', 'Venom') has only a small, albeit important, supporting role as "the Swiss man." The real star of the movie, though sadly he has little star power, is Hiram Keller ('Seven Death's In The Cats Eye') who plays Dr. Ben Land, a young and driven scientist who takes over the work of a dead colleague who was investigating halting the ageing process. Land becomes increasingly obsessed with his experiments, believing the older man was close to cracking the secret of immortality. While continuing the research he also begins an affair with the dead man's mistress (the sultry Tina Aumont, who played Helmut Berger's wife in the sexploitation classic 'Salon Kitty'), and begins to wonder just exactly what the shadowy "Swiss man" Ulrich (Kinski) has to do with it all. I enjoyed 'Lifespan' a lot more than I expected, especially once I shook off my horror expectations, and got over my disappointment at the relative lack of Kinski, the main reason I watched it in the first place. Keller makes a dull leading man, the ending is a bit anti-climactic and probably not to everyone's taste, but I say give it a go, you might find this odd movie to be as curious and watchable as I did.

As the previous review states, "Lifespan" owes little to the genres of suspense or horror. Instead, it's a brainy, absorbing drama that's rewarding to those who give it a chance. Hiram Keller plays an American scientist picking up on the research of a colleague who committed suicide, and discovers he was on the verge of finding a cure to the aging process. Klaus Kinski is excellent (as always) in a small role as the owner of a sinister pharmaceutical company. The film plays out much like the early works of David Cronenberg (minus the violence and special effects); his fans should appreciate this. The only drawbacks, really, are an ambiguous ending (which actually fits the rest of the film), and the sometimes-corny, self-conscious voice-over narration. 3 stars out of 5.

Lifespan is a paced euro movie that sets your brain thinking after you have watched the end credits. Shot in the Netherlands with some very nice location shooting locations , perhaps because i live in Europe and know Amsterdam a bit i can relate to the film more. Director Sandy Whitelaw seems with this movie offers Klaus Kinski in a more solid more relaxed part playing the Swiss Man with that European style himself asking and wanting and is prepared to pay for it. This movie has a fresh brisk pace rather like a Autumn morning in Amsterdam Centrum.