Thursday film: "Don't Look Now"

Published on Tuesday, 07 January 2014 08:55

"Don't Look Now", directed by Nicolas Roeg (1973), is an independent British - Italian film, which is usually described as an occult thriller, but it certainly transgresses the conventions of the genre, concentrating on the psychology of grief.

A married couple travels to Venice following the recent accidental death of their daughter, after the husband accepts a commission to restore a church. They encounter two sisters, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their daughter is trying to contact them and warn them of danger. The husband at first dismisses their claims, but starts to experience mysterious sightings himself.
Don't Look Now is renowned for its atypical but innovative editing style. The film often employs flashbacks and flash-forwards in keeping with the depiction of precognition, but some scenes are intercut or merged to alter the viewer's perception of what is really happening. It also adopts an impressionist approach to its imagery, often presaging events with familiar objects, patterns and colors using associative editing techniques.
The films miss en scene definitely takes after Alfred Hitchcock, while quite a few critics find parallels with Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil".
This film continues the thematic program "Winter Satantango" by "Meno Avilys" in Nida Art Colony.