The Stendhal Syndrome

 The ‘Stendhal’ syndrome of the films title is a true one, regarding an overwhelming psychical and mental reaction to paintings, resulting in dizziness, disorientation and even fainting when in the presence of art. This syndrome is used as a key plot point in Dario Argento’s, violent yet inspired 1996 psychological thriller, and is used in the introduction  of his main character. Anna ,played by his daughter the ever beautiful and utterly brilliant Asia Argento, is a police woman hunting down a serial rapist and killer through the streets of Florence. She has been given instructions to go to an art gallery that may lead to the killer’s whereabouts, an unwise choice as she herself suffers from this mysterious syndrome and finds herself passing out in the gallery. She is assisted by a handsome stranger, who is revealed as the psychotic criminal she is searching for who eventually attacks and rapes her before she is able to escape with her life.The film then succeeds in becoming an incredibly unsettling psychologically thriller that forces us to think about the ramifications of rape and the devastating effects it has on Anna’s mental state and the eventual violent acts she commits. 

Compared to Dario Argento’s earlier and better known horror films, The Stendhal syndrome is distinctive in that its violence is not stylised or glamorised in anyway –apart from several clumsy cgi moments that don’t seem to add much to the films stylistic structure. We are not meant to find anything redeeming in it and nor are we able to ignore how despicable it is, which makes it a wholly different animal within the genre of thrillers that deal in violence. The Stendhal syndrome is not a particularly pleasant film to watch , yet it is strangely compelling and has moments of dark yet surreal beauty that are pure Argento and striking, inventive imagery that has lead me to re watch it several times. One such memorable image is where Anna covers her naked body in paint and curls up in the foetal position, representing not only her descent into insanity but also her desire to revert back into the innocence and safety of childhood. There are also moments where the effects of the Stendhal syndrome are visually realised and this leads to several brilliant cinematic moments, including one where Anna hallucinates walking into a painting through a waterfall. Asia’s performance is one that is impressive and accomplished, considering the enormous range of emotions that is demanded from her character. Unfortunately, despite being able to speak English perfectly well, her voice was dubbed which gives the film a slightly odd and dated feel, which I would class as one of its few negative points. With Anna we are finally given a female Argento character who has more than one dimension. She is never entirely weak and powerless, even with what she goes through, and we never doubt the power she holds to eventually fight back and become a stronger person through her ordeals. She is able to grow, becoming not only a victim but an example of metamorphosis, as she undergoes a physical and mental transformation after each of her violations. She becomes wiser and more experienced, learning from the man that has hurt her and eventually being able to retaliate and to become a separate instigator of violence.

In some cases considered a psychological thriller, the Stendhal syndrome is a true horror film in every sense of the word as it twists, disturbs, horrifies and ultimately gets under your skin and stays there like few films I have seen. I would in no way consider this a negative thing as the best films are those that force us to think about what we have just seen, regardless of how unpleasant this may be and ask us to take something from it, even as the film is over and we are allowed to forget it. Sometimes, people find it difficult to understand how one could hold admiration for films regarding a subject as horrible and incomprehensible as this, but I would personally defend this film as having both cinematic and narrative value which makes it deserving of being seen by others. This is a film that may repulse some and is certainly not to everyone’s taste. But, considering the amount of violence seen in so many disposable films that do not offer such an interesting cinematic experience as this one, a film as well crafted and hauntingly executed as The Stendhal Syndrome should be considered a horror film worth seeing.