A 4 Repulsion

8/3/2019 A 4 Repulsion

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rEPULSION

Ar

OmAN

POLANSkI

FILm


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An abso lu te knockout o f a movie in the psycho log ica l hor ror l ine has been accompl ished

by Roman Po lansk i in h is f i rs t Eng l ish- language f i lm. I t i s the Br i t i sh-made, French- p layed Repu ls ion and i t opened here Saturday.

Prepare yourse l f to be demol ished when you go to see i tand go you must , because i t s one o f those f i lms everybody

wi l l soon be buzz ing about . I t s the David and L isaonly be t te r of th is newspaper s t r ike . To miss i t wou ld be worse than miss ing Psycho, i f you ve a taste fo r th is sor t o f th ing .

For i t i s more than just ata le o f mount ing hor rorstha t moves i ts hero inea beaut i fu l , sex- repressed French g i r l l i v ing in Londonfrom a s ta te o f menta l woe in to a s tageo f d i ther ing madnes s andthen to the dark ext remi ty o f murder ing a brace o f fe l lows who happen in tothe lone ly apar tment in wh ich she is h idden.


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I t i s a lso a haunt ing adumbra t ion o f a smal l bu t p ie rc ing humantragedy, and i t i s a lmost a per fect spec imen o f avery specia l c inema- sound techn ique.

Mr . Po lansk i , you l l remember , is the young d i rector who madethe Po l ish f i lm Kn i fe in the Water . In tha t one, he proved h is ab i l i ty to penetra te and expose the a l ien and angry impu lses o f the subconscious mind. Here he goes even fu r ther in to the dank and murky chambers o f the bra in to d iscover

the h ideous demonsthat somet imes take possess ion there .

The bra in o f wh ichthe demons take possess ion in th is p rogress ive ly more hor rendous f i lm is tha t o f a young man icur is t , p layed by Cather ine Deneuve, the s l im g i r l

whose rad ian t b lond beauty is cruc ia l , fo r the we i rd and ag i ta t ing mystery here is why a g i r l o f such fasc ina t ing beauty shou ld be as host i le as she is toward men.


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Creep ing ly , Mr . Po lansk i exposes th is mystery by showing us f i rs t the to r tu red na ture o f h is hero inehowshe ho lds o f f an ardent young su i to r , how she f ie rce ly resents and hates the lust fu l lover o f her o lder s is te r w i thwhom she shares a London f la t ; and then he cont inuesthe exposure wi th a de ta i led

and gruesome account o f the crumbl ing o f her mindwh i le she is s tay ing in the apar tment a lone and how she murders, f i rs t , her innocent su i to r and then the lecherousland lord when they unwi t t ing ly invade the fe t id p lace .

But the f ina l , po ignant reve la t ion is in an o ld fami ly photograph, wh ich shows the

two s is te rs when they were ch i ld ren , tha t is p icked up by the camera a t the end.


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This subt le ty is character is t ic o f the s t ructure and rea l iza t ionthroughout . Mr . Po lansk i bu i lds a tower ing dramawi th a sk i l l fu l mesh o f inc identa l s t imu l i . Thedressed carcass o f a rabb i t on a p la t te r becomes a monstrous symbol as the p ic tu re goes a long. Smal l c racks in the wa l ls o f the apar tment f low in to

crunch ing ind ica tors o f the hero ine s crumbl ing mind.

D is to r t ions in the rooms o f the apar tment tac i t l y revea l her menta l s ta te . Phantom arms tha t punch th rough the wa l ls and se ize her v isua l ize her n igh tmare insan i ty .

And wi th sound, too , Mr . Po lansk i weaves a fabr ic o f t remendous e f fects .


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Miss Deneuve is s imp ly sp lend id in the centra l ro lesecre t ive in nurs ing her obsess ion , ands ta rk ly sad in her insan i ty . YvonneFurneaux, who p layed the mist ress

o f the hero in La Do lce Vi ta , a lso does a sp lend id job as the subt ly conten t ious o lder s is te r , and Ian Hendry is p roper ly crude as thela t te r s lover . Pat r ick Wymark p laysthe land lord vu lgar ly , and JohnFraser is sugary as the su i t o r who isrewarded wi th a c lou t on the head.Wi th in the mae ls t rom o f v io lence and hor ror in th is f i lm, Mr . Po lansk i has ach ieved a haunt ing concept o f the pa in and pathos o f the menta l ly deranged. He has de l ivered undoubted ly one

o f the best f i lms o f the year .


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W e l l , n e x t

t i m e y o u

f o r g e t ,m a y b e

y o u l l l e t

m e kn o W .


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A 4 Repulsion