Luca Guadagnino
Suspiria

Guadagnino's Suspiria is a strange object to approach with caution.

Too long, many virtues, some flaws (I liked it, let's say it right away). I have read several comments from those who have seen it and I notice that the film has clearly divided opinions, and this is a good thing; you either love it or hate it, therefore.

Trying your hand at a film of such magnitude certainly posed a risk.

The cynics will say that making a remake of this film would surely bring in profits, so it might have just been a sordid marketing operation. I could partially agree with this hypothesis, however, I believe that if it had failed, and the risks were huge, Guadagnino would have ruined his reputation. A reputation that, after the success of "Call Me by Your Name," had somewhat solidified.

Suspiria, the original, for those who might not know, is the best-selling Italian film abroad.

Once, in Japan, where it is considered a cult film, it was screened in a stadium in front of 30,000 people.

Let's clear up any misconceptions: although Guadagnino's Suspiria is also set in late '70s Berlin, there is a boarding school, a dance academy and, above all, there are witches, it cannot be called a true remake, rather a reinterpretation.

If we really want to venture a comparison, let's say right away that visually there's no match. Dario Argento's Suspiria remains aesthetically unmatched. However, Guadagnino seems to have understood this, as he doesn't follow that path, he absolutely doesn't enter into competition from that point of view, and where he tries (and tries) here and there, he fails miserably (I spare you the details because I would have to spoil).

It doesn't present a dark, hallucinatory, and colorful fairy tale; quite the contrary. It adopts a livid, cold cinematography, especially for the exteriors, typically "Berlinese". At times, it recalls certain photography of German TV series, which are rather dull and boring. Put that way, it might seem like a flaw, but instead, it gives the film a defined and credible style in relation to the era depicted. In short, it really feels like being in Berlin of that period.

The set design is also consistent with the place and time period. The set design/choreography becomes even magnificent, spectacular, when we move inside the boarding school and witness the dance rehearsals, training, and performances. Let's immediately play our trump card: all the training and dance sequences are undoubtedly the film's strong point. In this context, we'll witness a breathtaking sequence, from the horror cinema anthology and I know a lot about horror, having seen many, I'm quite demanding. A sequence that alone is worth the price of admission. And it must really be of note, it must really be worth it, considering that if you go to the theater, you'll have to endure a 152-minute film, a lot for the horror genre, which rarely exceeds 100 minutes.

But let's continue with the merits: the witches. Well, in this Suspiria the coven of witches takes on a dominant role. They are very well characterized, they plot and conspire intensely, they work hard, they are very, very wicked.

One of them is M.me Blanc played by Tilda Swinton. Hats off, Swinton delivers an applause-worthy performance. Tall, slender, androgynous (or rather androgynous) and almost expressionless. Icy, she is the dance instructor, strict yet fair as it is fashionable to say online nowadays. But beneath that facade of rigid and severe professionalism, under that clinical sweetness that emerges when needed, we glimpse all her monstrous nature as a witch, and Swinton communicates all this by underplaying, not resorting to hysterics, not contorting her face to deliver malevolent aggression, none of that. It is her stillness that is her stylistic hallmark, and I assure you it is scarier than many BOO! So, She is another reason to see Suspiria.

Then there's Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) who comes to Berlin all the way from America just to be admitted to M.me Blanc's (excellent) school, and she succeeds, she is an outstanding dancer, she is the best, she is number one (congratulations Dakota, I don't know if you were a dancer, but you danced brilliantly, really).

Even the soundtrack by Tom Yorke, which some of you already know, is very good. Sad, dreamy, languid.

I am in difficulty to continue because there is much to say about this film, but it is not easy without spoiling. If I were, for example, to talk about the flaws, I would have to get too specific.

Therefore, I resort to spoilers; if you want to see it, don't read.

SPOILER

In the spoilers you might read, know that here and there I caught references, citations, plagiarisms of other films, call them what you like. The witches leaving the academy screaming reminded me a lot of the uncle and aunt of Betty Elms in Mulholland Drive. When Susie finds the two massacred, tortured girls, well, it reminded me a lot of Martyrs, but maybe these are just connections that I make.

Moreover, there are BOO! Scenes, especially in the dreams that Susie has at night. The nightmares that the witches actually make her have. Although they are very impressive, they rely on clichés that honestly bored me a bit. Sequences of a few seconds, cut, darkness, light, BOO! I found them here and there gratuitous and redundant, but they are nevertheless effective, fear ingredients so to speak. But above all the colored flashes (here's where it fails in color use) that anticipate the nightmares are ridiculous and unnecessary.

The ending: what a pity... really a pity because the delirious finale is of great impact, and again the set design, the setup of the demonic sabbath, is striking. But the monster makeup is ridiculous, and the witch with the man's voice and long gray hair is perhaps even more so.

And then the epilogue completely detached from the maneuver, to use a football term. It rests on a standalone subplot that has no connection with the film; it's there just because. We know it's there because during the film it occasionally peeks, but for this subplot to even become the epilogue (an unnecessary accessory that not only is unnecessary but also completely disconnected) of the film left me bewildered.

In any case, for fans of the genre, it's a must-see film.

I wouldn't recommend it to others, yet I tell you to give it a try because for better or worse it is undoubtedly a complex and fascinating film.

RATING 7 (due to the flaws otherwise I would have given 8)