melvelvit-1

In the not-too-distant future, a college professor doesn't realize "the bell tolls for thee" as he prepares for a lecture on how murder victims are born to be killed... Vicente Aranda's disorienting, futuristic avant garde opus literally opens as a comic book and would seem to predict the look and ambiance of Truffaut's FARENHEIT 451 crossed with Antonioni's BLOW UP. As the professor's life begins to imitate academic art, helicopters and tanks with loudspeakers urge the populace to evacuate the city for reasons unknown. The entire film plays out in an eerily deserted Barcelona with many an enigmatic mis-en-scène reflecting a plot that unfolds with the illogic of a fever dream. Spanish actress Teresa Gimpera, the future Mrs. Craig Hill, makes a lovely red herring and I loved the murder weapon, a silver objet d'art that turns into a swordfish when you push a button and a switchblade pops out.

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lor_

"Fata Morgana" is a great Werner Herzog film I saw over 30 years ago, but I was pleasantly surprised to recently discover an even better film, Vicente Aranda's "Fata/Morgana", a terrific comic-strip fantasy from the '60s.This was when Joseph Losey made the nutty "Modesty Blaise", and later films like "Death Lays an Egg", "Danger: Diabolik", "Deadly Sweet" and "Barbarella" typified the mainly failed attempts to do psychedelic/Swinging Sixties live action comic strips. Aranda beat them all to the punch and deserves some retrospective credit.In a very convoluted and intentionally in-jokey sci-fi storyline, Teresa Gimpera plays the beautiful Gim, involved in all manner of intrigue with spies, hit men, revolutionary conspirators and just crazy characters wearing goofy disguises. The plot has elements of Philip K. Dick, notably his 1956 short story "Minority Report", as our hero races the clock to save Gim from her predicted murder.Film's pop art visual style remains intriguing after 45 years of obscurity, and the supporting cast, notably a severely styled but sexy villainess Mariane Benet, is very effective. Overall it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and is strewn with too many non sequiturs, but I enjoyed it.Aranda is a pioneer filmmaker who has many, many top-notch works to his credit, ranging from THE EXQUISITE CADAVER with Gimpera & Capucine, plus FANNY STRAWHAIR with Fanny Cottencon, to the classic LOVERS starring Victoria Abril. He stepped over the line with the Abril tour de force (in poor taste) AVENTIS, but I can't think of a better (Bigas Luna who imitates him included) Spanish sex film director.

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