Lost Soul (1977)

Fresh and Exciting

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

A Gothic tale ,which shows a strong RL Stevenson influence ,which should not be missed if ,by chance ,you had the opportunity to watch it;in Risi's huge filmography ,it is one of his most overlooked (and underrated) works;whereas "Il Sorpasso" is known and praised around the world,quite rightly so,"Anima Persa" remains a sleeper .Let's forget the bland young couple ,the weakest side of the movie.Risi put the weight of his movie on Gassman and Deneuve and they carried it brilliantly.Deneuve seems cast against type in this part of a still attractive but jaded faded woman;her last sequence has got something of Bunuel's "Tristana" .But the stand out is Gasman -who shone in "il Sorpasso" fifteen years before- in a thankless part ,who achieves the incredible feat of having us believe the unbelievable ;such is the talent of the man!Set in a baroque decadent palace in Venice,where the couple seems mummified ,in an atmosphere which sometimes recalls Roman Polanski's "Le Locataire" released the same year.Risi's movie triumphantly renews the hackneyed subjects of the split personality ,of the mysterious closed door leading to the forbidden room ,and of the fall of the House Usher.

Tino is an art student.He arrives to Venice to paint and live with his aunt and uncle in their old-school antiquarian mansion.Not very long after his arrival he hears strange sounds coming from a room upstairs.Somebody is living in the attic.A lunatic brother of Tino's uncle,who is kept locked in the forbidden room and is not allowed to leave.Very subtle and quiet mystery drama set in beautiful Venice.The performances of Vittorio Gassman and Catherine Deneuve are excellent.The final twist is utterly surprising and incredibly sad.If you are a fan of "Don't Look Now" or "La Residenica" you can't miss "Anima Persa".It's a tightly written and extremely memorable film with lots of atmosphere and some perverse psycho-sexual overtones.8 out of 10.

Amina persa is sometimes considered to be a Giallo by cult fans; in my opinion, it isn't although there are shades of the genre thrown in. The film is more along the lines of a Gothic mystery and reminded me a lot of the classic Spanish film The House That Screamed. Amina persa is a very high quality film; the acting and production values are superb, and while the script can go a little over the top at times - the whole thing comes off very well and the film could easily go toe-to-toe with any art house flick. Like Nicholas Roeg's earlier classic, Don't Look Now, this film takes place in Venice. We focus on a young man named Tino who is taking an art class in the city and goes to stay with his aunt and uncle that live there. It soon becomes apparent that all is not quite right with the pair, and the mystery deepens as the young man begins hearing strange noises at night. It's not long before he considers the out of bounds staircase and the room at the top of it, and discovers that in fact there is someone else living upstairs...but that is only the start of the shocking revelations.The film is very slow build, but director Dino Riso keeps things interesting thanks to the tension emanating from the three central characters. Contrary to the pace of the film, the first twist is revealed very early as we discover the identity of the person living in the 'forbidden room' upstairs, but the film has much more than just that up it's sleeve and the revelations get more interesting as the film moves along. Amina persa is bolstered by a trio of great performances from its lead stars. Vittorio Gassman is excellent as the imposing uncle, while the beautiful Catherine Deneuve is convincing as the melancholy aunt. The central cast is rounded off by Danilo Mattei, who is good in the lead role though is overwhelmed a bit by the two more experienced performers. The atmosphere of the film is fantastic and without doubt one of it's strongest elements; the house in which everything takes place cuts an imposing figure and provides an excellent location. The final twist does become obvious just before it happens, but the film keeps it's cards close to it's chest up until that point and overall; this is a fantastic mystery horror film and comes highly recommended (if you can find it!)

This Italian-French co-production could easily be thrown into the Italian giallo genre of the time, but it is really a pretty unique film that differs from other films in that genre in several major respects. First off, it is much more of a big-budget, arty affair with big-name actors like Vittorio Gassman and Catherine Deneuve, and a director who had just come off a big international art-house success with "Profuma di Donna" (the original Italian version of "Scent of a Woman" which also featured Gassman). It's also much more obscure than most giallo and was never clumsily dubbed into English. Mostly though it has a plot that actually makes sense and it develops slowly and subtly--quite a contrast from the hysterical tone and overwrought style of most gialli.A naive young man studying art in Venice comes to stay with distant relatives, an elderly uncle (Gassman) and a somewhat younger aunt (Deneuve). In "Jane Eyre" fashion he discovers that his uncle is apparently keeping his insane brother in a secret room in an attic. His curiosity is piqued and he begins to investigate with his new artist model/girlfriend (Alcinee Alvina), and quickly discovers that all is not as it seems with his mysterious relatives.You have to have a little patience with this film (especially if you're expecting a typical giallo). The atmosphere builds up slowly, but ultimately quite effectively. There is no graphic violence at all and no sex (aside from a memorable nude scene from the gorgeous Alvina). The final revelations at the end though are as perverse and disturbing as anything you'll find in any other giallo, with intimations of child abuse, incest, and the dual nature of man. Without giving too much away, this movie ends up being one of the best, most faithful adaptations of a certain classic story by R.L. Stevenson that I've seen. It's very hard to find, but find it.