Sunday, October 21, 2012

A Black Ribbon for Deborah (1974)

Marina Malfatti is Deborah, a sterile woman who wants to bear a child more than anything. She’s told by her doctor to give up all hope of having a child; for in her condition it would take a miracle, and miracles don’t exist. This condition is like a malediction to her, and it’s having a ruinous effect on the marriage between her and her scientist husband, Michel (Bradford Dillman), who is earnestly attempting to push for a happy marriage, but his wife’s occasional breakdowns are sometimes too much for him. Deborah doesn’t seem to realize it, but she also happens to be a very powerful medium, and after she and her husband investigate a car accident they’ve just witnessed, Deborah has an encounter with a dying pregnant woman, Mira (Delia Boccardo), which sets the stage for a wholehearted and satisfying mystery. 

I love genre actresses like Edwige Fenech and Rosalba Neri, but I sometimes wonder: what about Marina Malfatti? Sure, she wasn’t as wildly sexual as her peers, but she still made for lovely company as a supporting actress in films like All the Colors of the Dark and The Night Evelyn Came out of the Grave. Until now I’ve never had the chance to view her as a leading lady, and with A Black Ribbon for Deborah, Malfatti has the chance to prove herself as the lead character, and she carries this eerie take on parapsychology on her shoulders rather well.

Her short hairstyle here seems like an odd choice; it took me a while to get used to it, although the look grew on me and is something that I’ve come to readily identify her role in this film with. Being that a lot of these films were influenced by Rosemary’s Baby, the choice of hairstyle was likely to give her a Mia Farrow vibe.


There’s been some talk about how this film isn’t really a giallo, but I’d like to think of it as a less typical example of the genre. If I had to compare it to other films of its ilk, I would say that Forbidden Photos of a Lady above Suspicion and The Perfume of the Lady in Black come to mind. Like some of the more atypical gialli, there are also some well implemented supernatural elements that cause the film to eventually become a ghost story that could be interpreted in more than one way. The ghost might be real or one could draw the conclusion that the ghost exists in Deborah’s mind and represents her regret and denial of being a sterile woman.

However, the supernatural mystery element isn’t the only strength. Thanks to Malfatti’s talents as an actress and some well-staged ideas, there is a consistent, impressive emphasis on the void that is present in Deborah’s life due to her condition. Right off the bat it’s made obvious that something is missing, as she appears to have an impulse to share a lot of love and affection by buying toys and handing them to fortunate children and by spoiling her and her husband’s dog, Igor. Deborah’s behavior here suggests, despite her sterile condition, an impossibility to suppress her mother-like tendencies to nurture and love, and it also further strengthens the claim that her husband makes: “a child is what she wants more than anything.”



Her yearning is further heartfelt and marvelously portrayed from her interaction with several children in a particular scene that takes place at an orphanage, which is shot in a way that combines feelings of both joy and melancholy, or better yet, it conveys bittersweet emotions. It’s a remarkable sequence that would likely deter anyone from calling this Euro-trash. It’s genuine filmmaking from the heart.

Included in the storyline to further showcase the theme of parapsychology is Ofenbauer (Gig Young), a parapsychologist and close friend to Deborah and Michel. Being that Michel is a hardened scientist, the film takes the opportunity to contrast the different fields in an entertaining light, with a number of light-hearted conversations between Michel and Ofenbauer. The frequent debating that takes place between scientist and parapsychologist are an interesting side-note to the central plot that helps give a little food for thought, especially since the parapsychologist makes a lot of fine points. It’s like a nice rub on the shoulders to those who like to believe in supernatural phenomena and that science can’t explain everything.


"Automation has driven us to a future without alternatives. The day will come when political, economic, and even emotional decisions will be made for us by a machine, even in love, and mankind would have lost the most fascinating of all the qualities he's endowed with, the ability to make mistakes."-- Gig Young/ Ofenbauer

Things get notably more interesting when Ofenbauer holds a dinner party to demonstrate his abilities as a medium to naysayers like Michel. Ofenbauer proposes an experiment where he is blindfolded, has Deborah select a book from the shelf, and has her silently reveal the title of that book to the guests. The idea is that all of the guests must go to a different room in the mansion, and in the darkness concentrate hard on the title of the book. Ofenbauer will attempt to receive their thoughts and correctly guess the title of the book. It’s a fun little scene, and I really like the way the house starts to feel empty when it goes dark and quiet, despite being full of partygoers.  In the darkness, Deborah witnesses an ominous yellow light that begins to glow through a window that’s accompanied by a haunting piano theme. This is the way the filmmakers have decided to indicate that Deborah, being a medium and all, is having a premonition of a violent event that is to later take place that evening. Her thoughts and emotions transform into kinetic energy and wine glasses explode, and with her violent thought waves interfering with Ofenbauer’s, he is nearly killed. It’s a simple but effectively eerie scene.



At some point Deborah begins to have delusions about being pregnant; her doctor describes to her husband that this is a rare case of a false pregnancy brought on by a delusion that results from an unbearably intense need to procreate, and given her current fragile state, it’s best to not tell her that the pregnancy is false and eventually, when the phenomena runs its course, say that the child was stillborn. Whether or not this condition is real, it’s difficult to imagine any kind of doctor making such a diagnosis or giving this kind of advice, and so this ends up being a small weakness to the central plot. It nonetheless is very significant to the way things play out.

There’s definitely a good connection between director and muse here, as Marcello Andrei seems to enjoy filming Malfatti, consistently lingering on shots of her shopping and wandering the busy street. These scenes are telling a story but are also stretched out and accompanied with mood enhancing music so that we are granted with plenty of the lead actress’s photogenic qualities along the way.



The music varies across the spectrum from classical to rock. There’s a nicely realized scene during Deborah’s inevitable breakdown in her art-room, where the camera twists and turns, as Deborah starts violently destroying her own artwork while progressive rock music booms. Though predating it by a year, the scene feels reminiscent of Deep Red.

There’s vibrant use of cinematography, especially during the ballroom dancing scene when Deborah first claims that she is pregnant and also during a nice montage flashback scene depicting earlier, happier times in Deborah’s marriage. It provides a drastic contrast when it cuts from happy memories to her pitiful state in a clinic. It’s like the movie is really trying hard, and succeeding, at being heavy.
 
Also, though I honestly didn’t mind it, there’s an almost superfluous soapy drama inclusion with Michel seeming a little too close to his assistant, Elena (Micaela Esdra), which is sort of a subplot that I really didn’t think went anywhere.



The supposed shock ending isn’t that surprising but still is a fitting ending to everything the story has built up to and is delivered in a way so that the revelations still chill, despite being predictable.

While I enjoyed A Black Ribbon for Deborah a lot, I do realize that it’s probably a little messy, and being that it’s a bit long, also requires some patience. It’s not a case of being patient for the final payoff but more a case of there being several payoffs throughout the film for those with the right kind of sensibility, which basically means not everyone’s going to like it, but the ones who do will dig the Hell of it (like me).



15 comments:

  1. It's hard to describe this film other than it's unconventional. It's melodramatic yet at the same time, humble. It doesn't have the usual elaborate set-pieces found in gialli yet it has quite a few innovative tricks like during the zoo sequence and the horror scenes.

    My favourite scene would have to be the shopping sequence because of its clever shots of Mira and the somewhat homely feel of seeing Malfatti simply shopping. According to Bradford Dillman, Malfatti was the producer's wife/mistress.

    http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/1866-CINEMA-RETROS-EXCLUSIVE-INTERVIEW-WITH-BRADFORD-DILLMAN.html

    I tend to define a giallo as an Italian thriller/horror where the mystery is more important. Although, I don't consider Inferno nor Suspiria gialli because they're more 'fantastique' so I also find it hard to define the giallo genre.

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    1. I enjoyed the shopping sequence, too. This part was to indicate Deborah’s paranoia and possible delusions of seeing Mira, but I like the way it also seems to become more about filming Malfatti on the street. The part with a slight overhead view that tracks the actress for a while felt to me like the director was just enjoying filming his actress, but it also worked at amplifying the mystery at hand, as well.

      I don’t mind loosening the definition of giallo by referring to most Italian thrillers as a giallo, whether it is horror, slasher, pychological or even the eerie ghost mystery in this case (All the Colors of the Dark is a favorite by most giallo fans and it’s in a league of its own). There are some great Spanish gialli with Paul Naschy like Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll and Seven Murders for Scotland Yard. Furthermore, Fulci’s zombie films especially The Beyond are more 'fantastique' as well, and I do hesitate to refer to some of the Gothic Italian Horror from the ‘60s as giallo, such as The Virgin of Nuremberg and An Angel for Satan, both of which rely a lot on mystery.

      Thanks for mentioning this film to me, Terence. It was a delight to treat myself to it, and it was also great to write about, as the successive re-watches got better each time since the film was fun to analyze.

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  2. Never heard of this one - looks very interesting indeed!

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    1. I hadn't heard of it for awhile until recently. It's most certainly an interesting find, especially for the more curious fans of '70s Italian horror/gialli.

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  3. Never seen this but your review of it is quite intriguing. I'm definitely going to watch it, if I can find it.

    Like you I'm not too specific on the giallo genre, as I consider most Italian horror thrillers to fall within that. But like Terrance I don't think of Suspiria as a gialli, as I think the horror is more upfront than that actual mystery.

    Again I loved your review, very intriguing.

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    1. This one is similar but also a small step down from movies like All the Colors of the Dark and The Perfume of the Lady in Black. So, if you do enjoy it, then be sure to treat yourself to those movies. Malfatti's more famous roles were in The Red Queen Kills Seven Times and The Night Evelyn Came out of the Grave. These two came in a boxset (the killer queen boxset)that was definitely one of the high points of my film watching career.

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  4. I just watched A Whisper in the Dark today and was wondering about what other psychological Italian horror movies there were besides The Perfume of the Lady in Black, and now I come over here and find this review, so even though it sounds like A Black Ribbon for Deborah might be flawed, it's probably essential viewing for me. Thanks for continuing to inform the internets of these lesser known Italian films!

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    1. Welcome, Erin! Your review of A whisper in the Dark was marvelous. It's one that I like a lot, though I had a hard time giving a stellar review for it on IFR; it was still a positive review though. I think you would like A Black Ribbon for Deborah; it's not quite as great as The Perfume of the Lady in Black but still recommended if psychological Italian horror is what you are after.

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    2. DEBORAH was one of those rarely screened titles that aired on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in the 1970s-early 80s, along with 100 CRIES OF TERROR, EDGE OF FEAR, RUN PSYCHO RUN, FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON, and Marisa Mell's MARTA, still obscure to this day. I too enjoy shedding light on these films.

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    3. Thanks for your comment! I really need to revisit this one again; I remember a lot of my favorite parts, but certain plot points are hazy. Another cool Marina Malfatti one that I haven't reviewed yet is The Bloodstained Lawn. I have been wanting to see Marta for a while now; The last Marissa Mell thriller I watched was A Diary of a Murderess. Thanks for some of the other recommendations; I didn't know about Run Psycho Run or 100 Cries of Terror.

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  5. Marina Malfatti was also in the very popular 1971 release THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE, nice to see her in something less tragic.

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  6. Thank you...now please help: what exactly is the relevance of the 'black ribbon' for the film? where does a black ribbon come in?
    many thanks

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    1. It never comes in, neither as a fashion article or plot device. My feeling is that the 'black ribbon' is a metaphor for death, and its inclusion in the title is a kind of foreshadowing of the lead's inevitable demise.

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  7. Giovanni - I need more of your assistance please.
    Regarding the Gig Young character, why was he occupied with the threat of automation/machines? I can't find the script for the movie to investigate.
    What else does he say, or do other characters say, regarding automation and technology? Many thanks

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    1. Welcome back. I'm glad you're interested in the film. You can download it here: Home

      As for your question, I'd have to watch it again to see. The film is pretty dialogue heavy with a lot of philosophical food-for-thought. The particular quote you mention is more of a one shot that doesn't have to do with much plot-wise but does portray Gig Young's character as a sort of philosopher.

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