Bluesy and Trap Review The Festival Flicks

Three Lives and Only One Death
Directed by Raul Ruiz, written by Raul Ruiz and Pascal Bonitzer, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Galiena, Marisa Paredes, Melvil Poupaud, Chiara Mastroianni, Arielle Dombasle, Feodor Atkine, Jean- Yves Gautier, Jacques Pieiller, Pierre Bellemare

Trap: Well, I learned one very important thing from this film. They have product placement in Europe, too – at least that’s what I’m assuming, since Marcello Mastroianni’s wardrobe got second billing in the end credits – after Marcello himself, but well ahead of the rest of the cast, his daughter Chiara included.

Bluesy: I could say that perhaps the top billing of suits by Cerutti had something to do with the metaphorical view of how our wardrobes define ourselves, since we’re talking about a surrealistic version of Sybill with this film… but, I think Marcello just likes to look good and it was probably part of his contract (he does look good by the way… he’s aged much better than his Egyptian counterpart Omar Shariff). I was pleased as punch to see him still finding new, exciting material like this film, shot in a throwback Salvidor Dali-like style. And I honestly don’t know of a better choice for someone to play 4 completely different characters in one body -- each with women who love and want to take care of him. It almost makes his Fellini days look pale in comparison. Maybe those suits have something to do with it after all.

Trap: I’m not sure throwback is quite the word I’d use. Certainly, Ruiz is the legitimate heir to the great Spanish director Luis Bunuel, and his films – over ninety to date (he’ll probably have shot another one by the time we finish this review) – are rife with the sort of imagery and situations beloved by the surrealists: dreams, fantasies, black humor, the sudden eruption of the irrational into the everyday world – not to mention the sort of primitive, on-the-fly special effects that remind one more of Georges Melies than George Lucas, but at the same time there is something profoundly modernistic about them in their concern with – not to mention suspicion of – narrative, that puts him in the same class as fellow South American fabulists like Julio Cortazar. His films are full of puzzles, games, stories within stories and unreliable narrators, even when dealing ostensibly with the most hackneyed and old-fashioned genres, such as boy’s adventure tales, pirate stories, or, as here, the tale of a man with multiple-personality disorder, who lives four different lives. Ruiz continually backtracks and retells the Mastroianni character’s story, forcing you to reconsider what you’ve seen and realize that you can never quite trust what you’re being told.

Bluesy: Well, I’m not that familiar with Ruiz, and this being my first foray with his style all I know is that I really liked it. It did remind me of some of the stuff I saw in film school that really knocked my socks off, like Bunuel and Renoir and all those guys who WOULD try something like off the wall fish- eye shots, zooms that are so perilous they could cause Vertigo… and, of course, moving floral wallpaper. (I wonder if they sell that at Bloomingdales?). Unlike some of the naturalist, improv-like movies that we’ve been seeing at the festival, like Secrets & Lies and Breaking the Waves, this movie was so painstakingly scripted and crafted - it looked like Ruiz revels in getting each and every of his bizarre thoughts and ideas across in a very careful manner.

What I liked most about Three Lives and Only One Death (there’s actually four lives, but Ruiz said the last one came to him too late in the scripting to change the title), was that it wasn’t a movie you sat there saying “great shot,” over and over. It had a very unique and interesting story that, though confusing at times, really kept you in that hypnotic off-kilter state that can be so damn fun in a movie. I’m sure I missed some really good Carlos Casteneda jokes too, since I’m not up on my Don Juan like I probably should be… but all that really doesn’t matter. I think the film succeeds because it brings up themes and ideas that are applicable to everyone and gives you a nice little feast for the eyes at the same time. It was like… marbelized designer popcorn… with Mastroiani in a Cerutti, of course.

Trap: Thanks for pointing out one thing that I neglected to mention -- that for all of Ruiz’ intellectual gamesmanship, the film is first and foremost a well-told, very entertaining yarn. He clearly enjoys playing with his audience and the playfulness and good humor are evident in every scene, from the goofball trick shots to the outrageous coincidences and narrative twists that propel the plot to the relaxed and charming performances he elicits from his cast, particularly Mastroianni, and his daughter Chiara (by Catherine Deneuve – with those genes, how could she NOT be gorgeous?), who plays his daughter – or the daughter of one of his personalities, at any rate – in the film as well.

Bluesy: Chiara is a natural beauty, and a fine actress like both her parents. Her fiance in the film reminded me a bit of a French Keanu, what did you think?

Trap: Jeez, that’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?

Bluesy: What? What did I say? You got a problem with Keanu? He’ll probably be showing up as the lead in the French Version of Speed 3, where le metro goes amuck.

Trap: You mean and then they sit around smoking cigarettes and discussing at length the ultimate futility of doing anything about it? Hey, I can’t wait! I’ll be sure to save you a seat!