While some filmmakers are branded as putting style above substance, for directing duo Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani (“Amer,” “The Strange Color Of Your Body’s Tears”) style is the substance. Strain as hard you might, you won’t find any subversive subtext or deep thematic texture in “Let The Corpses Tan,” and anything resembling poetry doesn’t go much further than the title. However, with nothing to focus on but delivering their crime story to the fullest extent of their talents, Cattet and Forzani create a gleeful hybrid of Jean-Luc Godard, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Sergio Leone in this off the wall neo-noir/neo-western hybrid.
There is no frame in “Let The Corpses Tan” that isn’t fussed over, no edit that isn’t punctuated for maximum impact, no part of the sound design or visual aesthetics that isn’t calibrated to get a response. So, you’ll hardly notice that the plot, based on the book by Jean-Pierre Bastid, has pretty much nothing to it. The story revolves around a gang of thieves, who brazenly steal of cache of solid gold bars, and hole up in a gorgeous Mediterranean villa occupied by a writer and his muse. Of course, things get complicated when they can’t shake the cops, and when the author’s aggrieved wife arrives with their child in tow.
You’ve seen variations on this premise, but never presented quite like this. Set over the course of a single day, and divided by frequent time stamps, Cattet and Forzani put on a dazzling display of storytelling verve. Juggling a bakers dozen of characters, along with constantly shifting alliances, the pair throw in one more complication by often returning to the same scene, but from a different point of view and perspective in the timeline (pay attention to those timestamps). Revelations about who is double crossing who, how the trigger got pulled, how a body wound up dead are all answered in this manner throughout the film, often breathlessly.
It’s hard not to imagine Quentin Tarantino watching “Let The Corpses Tan” and completely flipping out and falling in love. It’s not just that Cattet and Forzani also draw on the same influences, they also arguably do pastiche even better than Tarantino. “Let The Corpses Tan” isn’t afraid of its influences, and leans into them very hard, and yet the entire effort still feels invigoratingly fresh. Moreover, there is none of the self-satisfied winkiness that comes with Tarantino’s films; the directing pair own their thievery by just making it as singular as possible. And when it comes to the soundtrack, Cattet and Frozani don’t even bother trying to hire someone to approximate the scores of the ‘60s and ‘70s films they love. Instead, they grab tracks from soundtracks by Ennio Morricone (“Face To Face,” “The Fifth Cord,” “Who Saw Her Die?”) and songs by Nico Fidente.
For the most part, the actors here are merely pawns being shuffled around the directors’ bloody chess board, but the pair have a Federico Fellini-esque knack for casting unique faces, and maximizing them to full effect with intense closeups. However, Elina Löwensohn, playing the author’s mistress Luce, rises above the rest of the ensemble, portraying a somewhat unhinged woman for whom the violence happening around her is nothing more than a game, a reprieve from her otherwise dull, privileged life.
However, the charismatic turn by Löwensohn also underscores one of the key issues with “Let The Corpses Tan.” Cattet and Forzani’s disinterest in story mechanics does result in a slight lack of focus. It’s never clear whose story they’re telling, and the duo continually pulls away from a character the minute things threaten to get even vaguely intimate, personal or emotional. It’s an approach that allows the filmmakers to indulge in their gonzo genre preoccupations, but it also means the movie has zero stakes. For all the twists and turns, none of it really matters.
In fact, at a certain point, the narrative becomes so muddled you’ll be forgiven for losing track of where everybody stands in the continually escalating free fire. However, “Let The Corpses Tan” is so bold, surreal, bombastic and fun, that Cattet and Forzani are the rare filmmakers who can successfully power through those kind of storytelling issues by sheer force of will. You might not understand what the hell is happening in “Let The Corpses Tan,” but you’ll certainly never be bored. [B]
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