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LOCARNO 2017 Piazza Grande

Let the Corpses Tan: Cattet and Forzani’s new psychedelic delusion

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- LOCARNO 2017: Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani return with a highly psychedelic and hallucinatory film about cops and corrosive thuggery

Let the Corpses Tan: Cattet and Forzani’s new psychedelic delusion
Elina Löwensohn in Let the Corpses Tan

The Mediterranean in summertime: crystal blue ​​sea, red-hot sun... and 250 kilos of gold stolen by Rhino and the gang! They've found the ideal hideaway: an abandoned village in the middle of nowhere, invested in by an artist lacking in inspiration. Alas, a few uninvited guests and couple of cops threaten their plans and this paradise, once orgy-central, quickly turns into an unforgiving and hallucinogenic battlefield...

Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani have built up a solid international reputation among genre film aficionados. Both Amer [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 and The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 are erudite homages to the “giallo” genre - made famous by Mario Bava and Dario Argento in 1970s Italy. While their first two films explored the convoluted psyches of the protagonists, Let the Corpses Tan [+see also:
trailer
interview: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani
film profile
]
,which was screened in the Piazza Grande in Locarno, has a more straightforward narrative. Rather simple, in fact: a handful of gold bars arouse the interest of a group of artists, lawyers and crooks, none of whom are law or faith abiding. The police watch in the shadows: there's no way they're letting the loot evaporate in the Corsican sun. Add some Ennio Morricone melodies, a stifling sun, mysterious debauched flashbacks, and a few surprised guests to the scene (the woman, the child, and the nanny), and shake it all up as quickly as you can. The film is an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette and Jean-Pierre Bastid, published as part of the Black Series collection in 1971.

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Cattet and Forzani wander off their usual beaten track and onto the winding mountain roads in an old mini-van, offering themselves the luxury of doing things the normal way. They amuse themselves with cryptic messages, blurring genres, and even offering up new ones to mix up and mistreat. They plunge police officers and thieves into a besieged fort – a big-screen classic - and mix it all together with a squirt of psychedelic giallo sauce. The film bears witness to the love of dirty film-loving kids for big firecrackers: squeaking leather, beautiful motorcycles, and the crypto-absurd conversations had by thugs under the influence of psychoactive drugs.

The filmmakers orchestrate an incredible sensory symphony; both sound and images rain down, as if ricocheting off the white-hot stones under the Corsican sun. The soundtrack only exaggerates a fetish for leather, guns and engines. Classic scenes roll in, one after the other, with a particularly exquisite meal scene where the tone rises in crescendo between Elina Löwensohn and Bernie Bonvoisin.

The casting is a reflection of our diverse galaxy. We meet Elina Löwensohn, wild-eyed and hallucinating, keeping her testosterone-fuelled team on a tight leash. Facing her is an array of chiselled jaws: Bernie Bonvoisin, appearing recently in Sonar [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean-Philippe Martin
film profile
]
Marc Barbé (Ogres [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Bloody Milk [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hubert Charuel
film profile
]
A Perfect Man [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), Hervé Sognes (A Wedding [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stephan Streker
film profile
]
The Assistant [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), Pierre Nisse (Raw [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julia Ducournau
film profile
]
, The Nun [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume Nicloux
film profile
]
, They Came Back), Stéphane Ferrara and Michelangelo Marchese.

Like the duo's previous films, Let the Corpses Tan was produced by Eve Commenge for Anonymous Movies, and François Cognard for Tobina Film, with participation from the Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-BruxellesBeTVWallimage/ Bruxellimage and BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance in Belgium. As well as Canal +, Ciné +CNC, the Corsican regional authority and the Pays de la Loire region, with support also coming from Europe Créative. International Sales have been secured by Bac Films Distribution and will be distributed in France by Shellac.

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(Translated from French)

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