| Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) |
| aka. Cemetary Man , aka. Of Death, and Love, aka. Of Death Of Love ( literal translation). |
| Directed by Michele Soavi. Starring Rupert Everett , Anna Falchi, Francois Hadji-Lazaro , Anton Alexander, and Mickey Knox. |
 |
| If you can't decide whether to watch Dawn Of The Dead, Taxi Driver, Eraserhead, or an arthouse film, this combines elements of all these films, and is one of those great movies that doesn't really fit into any genre. |
| Dellamorte Dellamore is set in a bizarre town called Buffalora . The cemetary in Buffalora has somehow fallen victim to a strange phenomenon that causes the dead to rise around seven days after their burial. It's up to the caretaker Francesco Dellamorte, and his retarded assistant |
| Gnagghi to despatch the zombies ( who Dellamorte refers to as returners) with a bullet, or shovel in the head. Dellamorte doesn't like this job at all , but although he has a degree in biology it is the only work he can get . He is very lonely, and talking to Gnaggi ( who reminds me a lot of Curly from The Three Stooges) is like talking to a brick wall, since the only word he can say is gnag. One day, he falls for a grieving widow ( played by stunning model Anna Falchi, who keeps turning up in Dellamortes life as different women) , and all is going well until she is killed. Her death, along with blasting zombies every day sends him around the bend, and he has a vision of a pile of leaves turning into the grim reaper, who tells him "stop shooting the dead...they're mine ! If you don't want the dead to come back, why not kill the living...shoot them in the head!". This begins the Taxi Driver style section of the movie, where Dellamorte kills townspeople who have wronged him, and even a nurse who tells him to put a cigarette out. Dellamortes main concern is that the police don't believe that he's behind all the killing, and that someone else is stealing the credit for his murders. |
| As you can see, this is a very strange, very surreal film. Rupert Everett is excellent as the lonely, apathetic Dellamorte , as is Francois Hadji-Lazaro as Gnaghi. One of the funniest moments of the film is when a lovestruck Gnaghi nervously vomits over the Mayors daughter. The great thing about Dellamorte Dellamore is that viewing it is more of a surreal , dreamlike experience than merely watching a movie. It is very eclectic in freely skipping between different themes and genres....if you watched the first ten minutes, went and did something for half an hour, and then returned for the last forty five minutes, you would definitely think you were watching a totally different film. I can't understand how films like Cinema Paradiso can be hailed by critics as arthouse classics, while this is totally ignored. I suppose that they can't handle the very dark gallows humour scenes in this, like the one where Dellamorte tells a prostitute that she'll be "warm forever" before shoving a bar heater under her bedsheets , and can't tolerate mixing arthouse cinema with gore. |
| This is truly a classic film , which is largely ignored, and deserves a lot more attention than it has recieved . It does have some ridiculous scenes, yet they still fit in with the surreal feeling throughout this movie. Even if you don't usually enjoy arthouse films, this really is one that you should try. It's full of incredible scenes , and really is a great mixed bag of entertainment. You'll find yourself watching it again and again, not only for because it's so good , but to try and figure out what exactly is going on.I'm still not 100% sure...... |
| Entertainment : 4 out of 4 |
| Watchability : 4 out of 4 |
| Overall : 4 out of 4 |
| Reviewed by Blake. |