Sex on film is potentially used as a means of revealing the lightest or the darkest traits of an individual character, primarily, vulnerability, instinct, sadism, and impulse. The Seduction Of Dr. Fugazzi is a good example of a movie using such a controversial dynamic. This is not a film that is going to be easily appreciated. Likewise, this is not a film that is going to be easily forgotten. In time, this film is going to become a timeless, cult classic filled with controversy, affection, and repulsion. It is a surreal vision demanding attention, if not praise.
Set around the life of Dr. Anna Fugazzi, the film is a dark, sensuous mystery involving the doctor's deranged patients, her masochistic boyfriend, and her colorful friends. The film's beautiful but detached surrealism reminds us that we are not immune to the disturbing events which lurk just beneath the surface. There is a darker side of life waiting for us all. And as a French critic recently said "you either think it's dementedly bizarre or a head-trip to nowhere". This film is dangerously imposing, tempered only by the filmmaker's willingness to push all acceptable boundaries, and yet still remain in control.
This movie has a lot of so-called "masterpiece elements" to it. First of all, the way October Kingsley makes The Seduction of Dr. Fugazzi increasingly disturbing is a perfect example of how pristine the dynamics of weirdness and tension are built. Through this process, Ms. Kingsley indeed deconstructs the audience expectations. The film's setting and mood are introduced in an exposition lifted directly from older film-noirs. The film is initially expected to follow a particular path. The way Ms. Kingsley associates and intermingles elements of classic narrative methodology and the "dynamics of noir" appears to be original at worst and "avant gardiste" at best.
Second of all, the opposition between the creepiness of the plot/characters and the beautiful setting of the film is definitely for me a masterpiece element. Ms. Kingsley succeeds in the masterful exercise of controlling the audience's attention through shock, awe, and crass humor. Most of us will not quite know what to make of this film and we can disagree on the value of such a cinematic experience. However, audacious, erotic, disturbing, haunting are adjectives that will always be linked with "The Seduction of Dr. Fugazzi". The cult genre has just been re-invented by the young Ms. Kingsley and right in front of our very own eyes.
Set around the life of Dr. Anna Fugazzi, the film is a dark, sensuous mystery involving the doctor's deranged patients, her masochistic boyfriend, and her colorful friends. The film's beautiful but detached surrealism reminds us that we are not immune to the disturbing events which lurk just beneath the surface. There is a darker side of life waiting for us all. And as a French critic recently said "you either think it's dementedly bizarre or a head-trip to nowhere". This film is dangerously imposing, tempered only by the filmmaker's willingness to push all acceptable boundaries, and yet still remain in control.
This movie has a lot of so-called "masterpiece elements" to it. First of all, the way October Kingsley makes The Seduction of Dr. Fugazzi increasingly disturbing is a perfect example of how pristine the dynamics of weirdness and tension are built. Through this process, Ms. Kingsley indeed deconstructs the audience expectations. The film's setting and mood are introduced in an exposition lifted directly from older film-noirs. The film is initially expected to follow a particular path. The way Ms. Kingsley associates and intermingles elements of classic narrative methodology and the "dynamics of noir" appears to be original at worst and "avant gardiste" at best.
Second of all, the opposition between the creepiness of the plot/characters and the beautiful setting of the film is definitely for me a masterpiece element. Ms. Kingsley succeeds in the masterful exercise of controlling the audience's attention through shock, awe, and crass humor. Most of us will not quite know what to make of this film and we can disagree on the value of such a cinematic experience. However, audacious, erotic, disturbing, haunting are adjectives that will always be linked with "The Seduction of Dr. Fugazzi". The cult genre has just been re-invented by the young Ms. Kingsley and right in front of our very own eyes.