IN A GLASS CAGE
D: Agustin Villaronga; with Gunter Meisner, David Sust, Marisa Paredes,
Gisella Echavarria.
Cinevista Home Video
In a Glass Cage is one of the most disturbing films these jaded
eyes have ever witnessed. This brilliant psychological horror film has left
many a viewer emotionally scarred by its hypnotic power, burning any number of
its unspeakable, haunting images into the mind that last long after the picture
has ended. The story, a kind of reworking of Stephen King’s novella Apt
Pupil, should give you some idea of what to expect: An ex-Nazi doctor has,
in his own words, become “addicted to killing.” In an attempt to put an end to
his own helpless urges, he tries to kill himself by leaping off a roof, only to
wind up a helpless invalid in an iron lung, kept alive by his wife and
daughter, neither of whom is aware of his nefarious past. But someone else is:
A twisted, but charismatic and attractive, young man named Angleo, who is
seemingly obsessed with the doctor’s past exploits. As Angleo, who serves as a
live-in nurse, enters into the lives of this already unstable family, the
terror begins, setting in motion a chain of depraved events that run the gamut
from sickening sexual abuse to unmerciful psychological torture and the murder
of children. Despite its lurid subject matter, there is nothing exploitative about In a Glass Cage, a fact that doubles the film’s
troubling power. The direction, acting, writing, music, and photography are all
far too good to simply dismiss the picture as a reprehensible sickie crafted by
deviant minds. Villlaronga’s film is clearly the work of a talented artist,
which raises the inevitable question: Why? Why make a film so harsh, so devoid
of any “entertainment” value? To quote the film itself – “Horror, like sin, can
become fascinating.” Villaronga has made a “horror” film in the purest sense of
the word, for In a Glass Cage is truly a horrifying work, totally
lacking the useful catharsis or voyeuristic thrill usually found in the genre,
forcing the viewer to be truly repelled by violence and terror, rather than
entertained by it. This is far from an easy movie to watch, much less
understand, so it goes without saying that this picture should probably be
avoided by most mainstream, as well as arthouse, film enthusiasts. But it
shouldn’t be ignored, and for those intrigued by so-called “confrontational”
cinema, this movie should prove highly challenging. Indeed, despite a
smattering of glowing critical reviews, the movie failed, not surprisingly, to
find an audience. (For some bizarre reason, the picture’s stateside distributor
briefly tried, offensively, to sell it to the homosexual crowd by placing the
picture in various gay film festivals.) I saw In a Glass Cage years ago,
and have never been able to forget it, for it shocked and disturbed me in ways
I cannot totally describe, and since I have seen literally hundreds and
hundreds of horror films, that stands as quite an accomplishment.–
Joey O’Bryan
THE ADVENTURES OF
BARON MUNCHAUSEN
D: Terry Gilliam; with John Neville, Sarah Polley, Robin Williams, Eric
Idle, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman.
Voyager/Criterion Laserdisc
With this brilliant presentation of an equally incredible movie,
Criterion has added yet another title onto their long list of “must have”
discs. Terry Gilliam’s fantasy masterpiece, The Adventures of Baron
Munchausen, is a heartfelt tribute to the wonders of the human imagination.
Gilliam sells himself short on this disc’s commentary track when he refers
repeatedly to Munchausen as a “special effects” film, for while it is
undeniably packed with mind-blowing F/X sequences, they never overshadow the
human elements that ultimately make the film so memorable. John Neville stars
as the Baron, a famous 18th-century liar who is well known for his outrageous
tall tales of derring-do. He teams up with a spunky little girl (a brilliant
performance from young Sarah Polley) to set out on a quest to locate his
super-powered companions (a quartet of quirky and remarkable individuals which
includes the fastest and the strongest men alive) in an attempt to put an end
to a brutal war being waged through “logic and reason.” The CAV frame-by-frame
access is very rewarding for viewing the picture’s many spectacular setpieces,
while the droll commentary track by Gilliam is revealing, yet depressing, as
the toll of the film’s torturous production history has clearly left him
disenchanted and weary with the final product of what is arguably his finest
cinematic achievement. Munchausen‘s well reported production nightmares
are the stuff of legend, and by the time you’ve heard the whole of Gilliam’s
commentary and managed to plow through the extensive tell-all supplement,
you’ll understand why. However, the supplement is more than just a
documentation of production setbacks, as it also provides a look at deleted
sequences, unfilmed storyboards, actor information, foreign movie posters, the
theatrical trailer, and more. Highlights include outtakes of a furiously
ad-libbing Robin Williams, a number of vicious memos detailing Gilliam’s
correspondence with the studio, and, most hilariously, a handful of inane
audience response cards from a particularly lousy test screening. Suffice it to
say that by the time you’ve finished with this exhaustive disc, you’ll know
everything you ever wanted to know about the making of Munchausen, and
then some. In the end, the truly amazing thing about Gilliam’s film is that
nearly everything about it feels so innocent, na�ve, and effortlessly
charming in spite of the hellish goings-on behind the scenes, causing us to
further appreciate the creative strength of Gilliam and his talented cast and
crew, in the face of adversity from the “rational and logical” men in suits.
And just like his hero, Gilliam triumphs through his imagination, having made
an impossible story come to life despite all odds… a very fitting end to this
particular tall tale. – Joey O’Bryan
This article appears in June 9 • 1995 and June 9 • 1995 (Cover).