By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Albert Serra
Original language title: Història de la meva mort
Country: france, spain
Year: 2014
Running time: 148
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3102458/combined
Kyle says: “STORY OF MY DEATH is the work of a true provocateur, and it is much easier to quote what Albert Serra says than to describe what he does. He gleefully quotes a friend saying that ‘this is a film about the beauty of horror, or the horror of beauty.’ He proudly points out that he works with non-professionals, and that there is no casting, no rehearsing, and no acting. ‘I didn’t even have a general idea of what Dracula or Casanova should be like.’ He addresses his doubt about whether he will make another film by quoting ‘a Spanish saying: It is better to stand up dying than to live on your knees.’ Virtually every complex sentence he speaks includes the phrase, ‘I don’t know….’ A further provocation is the fact that Albert Serra is not a ‘New Director.’
“In the event, STORY OF MY DEATH is a series of vividly composed and photographed (this is the one ND/NF event shown on 35mm film) vignettes focusing on Casanova and Dracula as two representatives of a transitional era from Classical to Romantic, from reason to revolution, from politeness to perversion, and from exquisite behavior to imitation of barnyard animals. While Casanova discourses on his memoirs, he crunches and munches his food with bestial relish; while Dracula bites into the neck of a somnolent virgin, he seems to relish an ancient regret rather than a luscious meal. Ultimately the fanciful connection between Casanova and Dracula, and the numerous young women and farm animals, is blood, which to director Serra is both horrible and
beautiful. 3.5 cats
“Seen Saturday, March 29, 2014, New Directors/New Films at the Walter Reade Theater, Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York.”