Saturday morning. It's 2 o'clock in the morning. The lights are off
and the air heavy. Darkness surrounds me and the only light in the room
is seeping through the TV screen. Yeah, I can't really do dramatics that
well but I had to draw you in. Recently I finally got to watch Berberian
Sound Studio. I picked up the fantastic release from Artificial Eye (I
will provide a link to their website at the end) which has a whole load
of special features. This is a film that I had been interested in for a
while. I had wanted to watch it a lot earlier because I still at the time of this post, need to
compile a top 10 list of 2012. The expectations where so high with this
which is something I should stop doing because I sometimes get majorly
annoyed or disappointed. Before popping the disc in, I had just finished
watching the woeful Sinister. Only thing that's sinister about that
flick is the time you're wasting watching it. That being said, the score
was really nice but everything else, no. So as you can probably tell,
the bar was set low.
Well,
what did I think of this film? I absolutely loved it! From the opening
scene all the way through to the final name on the credits. However,
it's not just because it's a genuinely well made, written and acted
film. It goes a lot deeper than that and it actually affected me on a
very personal level which is a rare thing for a film to do. The first
and most important thing (and probably the most obvious thing) to talk
about is the sound. This is essentially a film about sound so you know
that the sound engineering and general use of sound is a key factor in
the movie. I was watching this at 2 o'clock in the morning with the
lights off so you can expect the sound was even more effective. I have
never been so hypnotised by a film in such a long time. The score from
Broadcast is flawless. Not only is it a great body of work that also
sounds like music from time by composers like Cipriani, Goblin and De Masi
but it is just used so phenomenally to devastating effect. It's even
more powerful knowing that Trish Keenan died, especially when you hear
her voice on the songs. You could easily listen to this film and be
taken on a journey. I like to experiment and play around with sound in
my spare time, so hearing the range of sounds on the score and the
chilling distorted, reverb
heavy attacks of sound within the film itself added such another level
to the score. If you are a fan of the just as unnerving Goblin
soundtrack for Suspiria,
with it's whispers and screams you will adore the Broadcast score.
Overall, the audio alone in this film is genuinely unnerving at times
and throughout, images where playing out in my head. Not to mention how
the sounds lingered as I tried sleep after making it halfway through the
film.
Yes you read
that right. I fell asleep halfway through this film. Not because it was
boring, far from it. It was such an intense experience that I just had
to take a break. It sounds silly I know but it was just one of those
moments where what you are experiencing on screen is overwhelming. After
finally getting to sleep, I am sure the sounds replayed in my dreams…
but it seems whatever those dreams where… they just vanished into
obscurity. The following night, I finished the film. Once again, I was
sat glued to my TV at 2 o'clock in the morning with no lights. The
atmosphere was the same and the feelings I had felt the night before
where with me again. The words I am writing here aren't coming close to
the experience I had watching this film. The intensity and darkness of
this film could match, even outdo most horror films. Not a drop of blood
is spilt in this film and there are no demon like creatures or
nightmarish characters. The only acts of violence are carried out on
things like lettuces. However, this is such a sinister film at times.
That feeling I felt the first time watching Suspiria was all too familiar. That feeling of being trapped in a nightmare. Of course in Suspiria it's Argento's use of light, set design and storytelling, the overall visual intensity combined with other worldly like score from Goblin. In Berberian,
that marriage of sight and sound is still there but again, it's the
sound alone that had the most impact. You almost feel like Suspiria could be the film Toby Jones is working on.
I could ramble on and not get anywhere near close enough to explaining that aspect of Berberian's
power. Hopefully, the following paragraphs won't be so hard to express.
Aside from the technical aspects of this film, I found myself being
affected personally by this film. The major theme I picked up and
related to was being a stranger and being surrounded by unfamiliarity. I
spent a good 6 to months last year in Germany. I was surrounded by
people whose language I still do not fully understand. I was surrounded
by a different way of life that was far from my own here in England. Of
course, Germany, especially my beautiful girlfriend's apartment is like
my second home but those first few weeks was such a surreal experience
for me and seeing Toby Jones (of course in a much more serious and
different situation than myself) brought back those feelings. It was
such a surreal experience revisiting that time and it's something that
will stay with me every time I watch
this film. The other thing that really struck a chord with me (now this
is going to sound weird but hear me out!) was the feeling that
everything being played out on screen was done in the very early hours
in the morning. I love doing stuff with friends and family when it is
late at night, in the early hours of the morning. I also love being in a
city when there is no one around and the only company you have is the
distant sound of traffic. That ambiance for me is such a beautiful and
surreal thing and in a way I felt that when watching Berberian. A dimly lilt room, only a few people around, how can not have an effect?
I
hope a few of you guys reading this can at least get what I'm trying to
say about the personal stuff and especially about how powerful the use
of sound and the score by Broadcast. Overall, this is just a fantastic
film and it works on so many levels. It is definitely the best film of
2012 and if you have yet to watch it, please go out and do so. If you love Italian horror and giallo
cinema of the era or loves the work of the film composers from those
films, you will get a kick out of it. It's not a homage or anything like
that so be warned. Of course, it might not be for you and it might just
seem too "arty" but it's such a deep experience and even if you don't
like the film itself, I demand you to get a hold of the soundtrack and
just shut yourself off from the world and listen, that will stay with
you for a long time. It certainly keeps popping up in my mind. Will I be
watching this film again any time soon? I don't think so. I have only
just recovered from my first experience with this film. All I can say is
that this is British independent cinema at it's finest.
Trailer:
My video on the film:
PDx
