Film Review - Dario Argento's The Stendhal Syndrome (La Sindrome Di Stendhal)

Italian film auteur Dario Argento has always had a unique vision for cinema. Instead of focusing on a traditional narrative or characterization, he chooses to film the viewing audience with a sense of dread defined by disturbing visuals and penetrating sound design. Argento's obsession with color and lighting help create a lasting impression on the mind of the viewer that cannot be shaken off very easily.

In 1996, Dario Argento released The Stendhal Syndrome (La Sindrome di Stendhal), a radical departure from his prior films. Instead of crafting a nightmare of atmosphere, Dario Argento actually defined a plot, albeit a very loose one. The film follows the story of police detective Anna Manni (Asia Argento), an expert member of the Anti-Rape department of the police department in Rome. Her current goal: finding and arresting a serial rapist who has recently acquired a taste for murder. Anna herself suffers from a curious medical condition known as Stendhal Syndrome. The symptoms all stem from an overwhelming reaction to artwork. But Anna's condition seems to extend far beyond being brought to extremes of emotion through art. The danger: the criminal she is after is obsessed with art. Can Anna work past her case of the Stendhal Syndrome to capture this man, or will she just become his latest victim? Of course, the story goes far beyond the description provided here, and to reveal anymore would be a disservice to the film.

Argento's talent for camera work certainly shines in The Stendhal Syndrome. This film has been credited as the first Italian movie to use computer generated images, or CGI, and the efforts are rather impressive. Understanding the limits of the technology at that point, Argento borrows heavily from the artistic styles of the paintings featured in the film to take the audience under the sea, through paintings, and even into the human body itself. In another film, the graphics would have come across as wholly unrealistic, but Argento's gift for color and design shine through in every instance of computer use.

Like his previous work, Dario Argento fills The Stendhal Syndrome with gritty, terrifying scenes. It is important to mention that this film is not for the weak of heart, as it contains numerous scenes of rape, murder, and physical abuse that could make even the most desensitized genre fan squirm.

Perhaps the most remarkable element of the film is the leading performance from Asia Argento. In what many consider to be her breakout role, Asia Argento fills Anna Manni with such passion, such commitment to her work, that the viewer is forced to believe every single plot twist, every shift in character that Dario Argento dares to throw out. Not to be left out, Thomas Kretschmann provides a perfectly disturbing performance as the serial rapist Alfredo who, instead of being purely menacing, actually convinces the audience how anyone could easily fall victim to his charms.

Dario Argento's film The Stendhal Syndrome may not be the easiest film to watch because of its content, but it is most certainly a worthwhile viewing. The dichotomy between the pristine artwork and the gritty reality of high profile crimes is not to be ignored.