The Iron Rose

Enigmatic art-horror, low on plot, high on atmosphere. At different points reminded me of Carnival of Souls and Last Year at Marienbad. Some terrific imagery of crumbling towns, gloomy beaches and abandoned cemeteries, enhanced by some very eerie music and a captivating performance by Françoise Pascal. Had no idea what any of it means, but enjoyed watching it nonetheless.

One of the main characters in this movie is the cemetery itself. I don't need more than that.

I was experiencing the highest cinematic joy watching this movie. The joy of discovering an obscure masterpiece. It is quite possible that you would laugh at other Jean Rollin movies, but this is quite something else.

I love how it looks and feels but again, why so dull, man?!

The way is death. The path out is death. To live is to be dead. To love is to die. It's Rollin so there is an undercurrent of pseudo-necrophilia, but he does not let this overwhelm the main themes of the film (see above). Rollin makes very effective use of the cemetery as a literal and metaphorical locale for La femme and L'homme to come to terms (or not) with death. Pierre Raph only flexes his musical muscle a few times, but to dramatic effect (in particular the entombment of L'homme).

Beautiful but boring. Would've enjoyed this a lot more in my teens-early twenties when I had endless patience for arty stuff that goes nowhere. Shame that I don't now.

Dat atmosphere

"...manages to deliver as much atmosphere as some of Rollin's best work."

A Rosa de ferro estreava há 50 anos na França. Ainda estou matutando se é uma obra-prima prima absoluta ou apenas um grande filme, há muito tempo não terminava de ver um filme e ficar com vontade de revê-lo imediatamente para ficar mais um tempo com ele e isso aconteceu aqui. Box Versátil Obras-primas do Terror: Horror Francês.

2021'de #IzlediğimFilmler : 233. The Iron Rose (1973) Sevgili @canevrenol 'un önerisi ile izlediğim şiirsel gotik korku filmi. Kurduğu atmosferi ile klasik Rollin filmlerinden oldukça farklı. Başrollerden birinde mezarlık var diyebiliriz. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A slooooow dirge of a movie with occasional flare-ups of poorly-mixed screaming. There is something intriguing at its core, but it's hobbled by budget and the technology of the 70s. Might have worked better as a short.

If you already like early Rollin, this hits the same buttons with a little bit more precision. If you don't like him, this won't convince you. If you don't know, it may not be the best place to start.

I was going to write "irredeemably bad arty tripe" until I remembered that the lead actress is wicked hot, so it's not completely irredeemable just the usual tripe from Jean Rollin