Francesca
Alternative Titles: N/A
Director: Luciano Onetti
Year: 2015
Starring: Luis Emilio Rodriguez,Gustavo Dalessanro, Raul Gederlini, Silvina Grippaldi
Context:
Francesca is second film from Argentinean writer/director Luciano Onetti, who not only continues with the giallo theme but also a few (very) subtle nods to Dante.
Producer and co-writer Nicolas Onetti would go on to win 'Best Production Design' at the Tabloid Witch Awards for his work on the film. The film itself would also go on to with the 'Best Giallo' award at Crypticon in the US as well as being selected for several worldwide film festivals.
Synopsis:
It's been 15 years since the disappearance of little Francesca, daughter of the renowned storyteller, poet and dramatist Vittorio Visconti, and the community is stalked by a psychopath bent on cleaning the city of "impure and damned souls". Moretti and Succo, questioned by the ineffectiveness of the police force, are the detectives in charge of elucidating the mystery surrounding these "Dantesque" crimes. Francesca seems to have returned, but she is not be the same girl who everyone knew...
Review:
Taking influence from across the whole spectrum of 70s gialli with, unsurprisingly, additional weighting given to the films of Dario Argento, FRANCESCA not only looks and plays out like the genuine article but sounds like it as well. Onetti's work is phenomenal, it's as if he discovered a lost score from the golden age of giallo and appropriated it for his own use. Interestingly the use of silence is equally as striking as when utilised it helps elevate the scenes, increasing the tension acting almost as an audio cue for the bodies physiological automated response. It is through these choices of when to keep quiet that highlight Onetti's understanding of the power of sound or its absence in this genre.
Initially setting the scene with a sister stabbing her baby brother in the eye the film quickly transports us to a land of red leather gloves, high heels and music while the recorded voiceover reminds of THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (as well as TENEBRAE).
Like Solange, the eponymous Francesca is both the key to the mystery and also limited in her screen time. Similar to Dallamano's film, but admittedly hardly exclusive in the genre, this tale is one of vengeance against the past transgressions of those who have been either complicit or have sinned previously but rather than prove derivative this still feels both fresh and necessary for the story instead of forced.
Through some standard exposition we learn that the Francesca went missing 15 years earlier and the mystery comes back to light when a note is found on a body on the same day as this anniversary. The note we discover is an exert taken from Dante's The Divine Comedy, of which, surprise surprise Francesca's father is an expert in.
With our scene now set, Onetti gives us not an amateur detective but rather an inspector who sadly does not pull too much screen time. However it exactly this that allows Onetti to show his screenwriting voice, dedicating almost as much time to the antagonist as the protagonist and it is interesting to note that they both share the same end goal but seek to achieve it through rather different means. It could be argued that this leads to the justification of some of the actions taken by members of the police force but the lines are never truly blurred.
As the film progresses and the killer becomes more confident in not only their actions but also their communications we learn that the killer signs off their letters 'Ferocia Illuminati' meaning 'enlightened brutality' adding not only to the sense of vigilante justice but also opening up several possibilities and deeper context as to the killers motives and personality, or even intellectual contempt for those who are not only the victims but are limited in their actions through the restrictive process of the law.
It has to be said that not everything works as the action scenes themselves needed to be a bit more dynamic while similarly some of the murder set pieces lack the stylistic and sadistic intent as often shown by Argento.
Onetti does however craft a few genuinely creepy moments particularly centring around the use a childs doll in the prelude to murder and the film feels like a maturation of his filmmaking talents while the more conventional route taken should be welcomed by those who found his previous effort SONNO PROFONDO too alienating. Although fans of that debut will be comforted to hear that FRANCESCA still displays subtle art-house, contemporary leanings. And despite a conclusion to the mystery genre aficionados would solve relatively early there is a lot to recommend in this film.
Mannequins, J&B, leather gloves, POV shots, creepy dolls and emotional trauma - FRANCESCA contains all the necessary elements and while not quite hitting the heights of the best films from the decade it was trying to emulate it does a solid job, and thankfully despite being packed full of genre tropes it never descends into being a cliché. High on period detail if a little low on narrative substance, FRANCESCA is arguably the best giallo since Puglielli's 2004 film EYES OF CRYSTAL and is worth checking out.
Version Reviewed:
We picked up the 2016 Mad Dimension blu ray (region free) mediabook which a tremendous and fantastic looking release. Discussing high definition picture quality is almost pointless as Onetti pays homage to the seventies in both shots and style but it is worth stating that the film looks fantastic. This release features several extras including a deleted scene which is essentially an alternative opening. Additionally a hidden scene is also included (also featured post-credits on the DVD) along with a 20 minute interview with the fantastic Luciano Onetti and Nicolas Onetti. As stated FRANCESCA is more conventional that the previous effort SONNO PROFONDO and Nicolas admits that this was a conscious decision in order to try and reach a broader audience but through the same genre. Rather interestingly however it becomes apparent that the ideas behind FRANCESCA was actually conceived before SONNO PROFONDO but took longer to develop. This interview is highly informative covering not only the film but also the South American scene and Dante influence across both films.
