Léonor

The combination of "slow," "arthouse," "surreal" and "horror" is very appealing to me, so it was disappointing upon finally seeing this mid-70s flop to find out that it does actually deserve its rep as something of a lifeless slog. The problem isn't the lack of overt "horror" content (at least that's not a problem for me), though if you're expecting more, it will no doubt be disappointing that Ullmann's quasi-vampiric slayings of children are no more explicit than her enfolding them in her cloak. But the film simply lacks style and atmosphere, as well as verve, so the human aspects are as limp as the supernatural ones.

We only meet Leonor on her deathbed, so we get no sense of her (before her revival from the dead), or the Piccoli character's supposed great love for her. It's a bit hard to believe in the latter, as the very day she's buried he demands to marry young Ornella Muti, to the bafflement of her, her father, and the viewer. Nor does he express any notable emotions (beyond eventual impatience and hostility) towards his new bride, either. Ergo we feel nothing about the passion that supposedly leads him to resurrect one wife and neglect, then destroy another. He's a selfish, combative, unappealing character. That element might have provided its own social commentary, but the film doesn't seem to be saying anything in particular with it. The two women are beautiful, but their considerable acting skills are put to little use here. (Nor does it help that both are dubbed by others in the English language version I saw--it's particularly weird to be deprived Ullmann's familiar voice.)

The film is not so much badly as indifferently made, which is odd considering the director's pedigree (and the fact that it was his debut feature). It's watchable, but stubbornly refuses to become hypnotic, frightening, insightful, or any of the other things you might hope for. I saw the longer original cut, presuming it would be better than the shorter (by about 15 minutes) U.S. version, which was very poorly received. But I suspect the shorter edit simply made the story less comprehensible, without making it any livelier, and the long version isn't exactly dull, just very flat. If a director with more visual and atmospheric flair, say anyone from Bava to Herzog, had made this around the same time, it might have turned out brilliantly. But the best you can say about Juan Bunuel's handling is that it is technically competent if uninspired--not what you want from a film about a love that defies death itself.

Michel Piccoli plays Richard, a nobleman whose wife Leonor (Liv Ullmann) dies fairly young. Some years later (although the film doesn't make this clear), he impulsively marries a much younger woman, Catherine (the luscious Ornella Muti). But he simply cannot get over the memory of Leonor, entering into a forbidding bargain with a charismatic stranger whom he meets near a bridge. The ramifications of the resurrected Leonor are chilling, as the local children start perishing. And all of this while The Plague is decimating the populace.

The fact that director Juan Bunuel is the son of the legendary Luis Bunuel will ensure that curiosity is raised among many interested viewers. The result here is one of those slow, stately foreign films that straddles the line between art house cinema and (not so traditional) horror stories. It has plenty of atmosphere and a very melancholy feel, so it's not something that one can just easily dismiss. Its wonderful international cast is very easy to watch, especially the enchanting Ms. Muti, whom many people will likely know best for the 1980 "Flash Gordon" feature film. Antonio Ferrandis is also excellent as the despairing Father Thomas.

"Leonor" is provocatively designed (by Enrique Alarcon), photographed (by Luciano Tovoli), and scored (by the great Ennio Morricone). It makes for rather potent entertainment, but people should be aware that the cheesy poster art does not really indicate the nature of the story. This is something far more serious and portentous. The bottom line is that if one admires the European art / horror films of the 1970s, they will find much to enjoy here. Leonard Maltin may have saddled it with his bottom-of-the-barrel "BOMB" rating, but in no way does it deserve that level of scorn.

Eight out of 10.

There are no vampires here, the synopsis given here is incorrect. What you get is a devastating film that details a love lost but never forgotten, and what happens when that lost love returns 10 years later resulting in murder, chaos and violence. Even more impressive, the film does not resort to nudity or gore to keep the viewer's attention. The cast is excellent, the script and story are fresh and inventive, and the direction hits all the right notes. Truly a one of a kind horror film, absolutely NOT for the slasher / torture porn crowd. The Magnetic video from 1980 contains the 85 min English dubbed version. The IMDb lists 100 min for the Spanish version, which is set for DVD release in June 2008. The dubbing is above average and nothing seems missing from the 85 min version, but I'm curious about the Spanish DVD when it comes out. This could be the ultimate art house horror!

If anything, LEONOR is a very Grimm fairy tale of love, loss, sorrow, and horror set in the Middle Ages during the time of the black plague but unfortunately, it's also less than the sum of its parts. Feudal lord Richard (Michel Piccoli), mad with grief over the death of his beloved wife Leonor (Liv Ullman), tries to assuage his torment by marrying a village girl (Ornella Muti) who eventually bears him two sons. Ten years pass but the pain doesn't ease and when Richard gets the chance to bring his lost love back, he takes it. His dream comes true but soon animals can't be tamed, crops won't grow, and children begin disappearing from the village...

Filmed among the mountains and crumbling castles of Spain by Luis Buñuel's writer/director son Juan (who worked mostly in TV after this), LEONOR is a vampiric variation on "The Monkey's Paw" and "could have been a contender" since dark romantic horror can be just as potent as erotic horror in the right hands. The sweeping vistas and medieval tableaux by Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA cinematographer Luciano Tovoli and the moody Ennio Morricone score both serve the story well but the Gothic, Poe-like tale (based on a 19th century work by J. Sheridan Le Fanu contemporary Matthew Gregory Lewis) is slow moving and the horror implied rather than explicit. Both factors work against the film but the casting of Liv Ullman in the role of "Leonor" is the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. Ingmar Bergman's muse may be a very good actress but as someone quipped to Katharine Hepburn when she said she wanted the part of Scarlett O'Hara, "I can't see anyone chasing you for ten years" and if Liv and ravishing Ornella Muti had switched places this would have gotten a 8/10 from me. As is, it's a 7.

This film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the Gothic short story "Wake Not The Dead" by Ernst Raupach (which is misattributed to Ludwig Tieck in many sources, including the opening credits of this film). Definitely read the source material before you watch the film, and your enjoyment of the film will be much greater. Of course, as is often the case, the short story is better, and the few ways in which this film diverges from the original story are detrimental to the film. Nevertheless, it is overall very faithful to the tone and message of Raupach. It has a lovely Medieval setting and Gothic tone.