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Rating: A decade exactly separates Eyes Wide Shut from Nightmare in Venice (title chosen for the film's foreign distribution).
The third director is preparing to use Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnitzler as a pretext to create - in this case - yet another erotic film made in Italy. This is Mario Bianchi, a director by tradition, who following this experiment will devote his energies entirely to the world of pornography; I consider it a wise choice.
Defining the dialogues and acting within this film as surreal is an oxymoron, and unfortunately, diminutive.
The usual family man dealing with lust and obsession is, in this episode, Riccardo, played by a Gerardo Amato coming from a sufficiently known filmography (Zappatore above all). Accompanying him is Tinì Cansino from Drive In and Pier Maria Cecchini.
The plot unfolds, of course, by seeking some solutions from the novel, but the idea is to blatantly criminalize the organization behind the "masked ball", annihilating every kind of intrigue that the viewer would expect from the film. Unlike Kubrick’s masterpiece to come, here there is no air of mystery, except for that - which still doesn't engage - of the phone ringing in the final scene.
The adventurous cardiac surgeon, in the beautiful nocturnal Venice, seems to aspire only to coitus. We find him multiple times overcome by hormones - even here - while his behavior strays greatly from Fridolin. The inner dialogue, the backbone of the novel, is ignored. When he recognizes his old pianist friend, he almost leaps at him in eagerness.
The scene of the gathering is unforgettable:
The password to enter is revealed, but a phrase (still passed off as a word) is provided, which is the title of the work itself.
A dozen hooded figures reach the castle on a ferry labeled "Mario", and they do so brandishing torches (just so as not to be noticed).
When reaching the reunion scene you would expect the worst depravations from a director of such fame, and instead, nothing; talk about consistency. The protagonist is identified as an intruder, threatened, and ordered to perform particular actions.
Ad un passo dall'aurora is recommended for the sake of completeness to those who want to retrace the Schnitzlerian path.
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