Peeping Tom
Directed by Michael Powell
Playing at The Bijou
The title Peeping Tom evokes
a sexual allusion of one who
derives sensual pleasures from
observing others. Yet director
Michael Powell’s film quickly
defers this clandestine activity,
and creates a lurid, thriller plot
— without the sex.
While Peeping Tom lacks the
subtlety of a convincing thriller,
La Cage Aux Folles II
Starring Michel Serrault
and Ugo Tognazzi
Directed by Edouard Molinaro
Playing at Valley River Twin
Calling La Cage Aux Folles II a
disappointment wouldn’t be
fair, but then again calling it a
sequel wouldn’t be entirely fair
either.
Scriptwriter Francis Verber
takes the cast of La Cage Aux
Folles I and thrusts them head
long into a farce that resembles
an American production rather
than a French-ltalian produc
tion.
Michel Serrault plays Albin, a
transvestite who performs in a
nightclub that is owned by Ren
ato (Ugo Tognazzi). Albin is de
spondent over the notion that
Renato no longer finds him at
tractive and sets out to seduce
virile young men in the sidewalk
cafes of Nice.
Albin is picked up by a man
who turns out to be a spy. Min
utes later the spy turns out to be
a corpse. Before long Albin and
Renato (who is never far
behind) are caught up in the old
spy ring versus spy ring plot
complete with cyanide darts,
multiple corpses, chase scenes
and, yes, the ''microfeelm” is
what everyone is after.
The couple eventually man
ages to evade spies and federal
agents to flee to northern Italy
where they hide out with Rena
to’s mother, who runs a small
ranch. Albin, now posing as
Renato’s new bride, can’t win as
it proceeds at an absurdly de
tached pace — almost as if it
were a recurrring terrible
dream.
To start, photographer Mark
Lewis portrays a psychotic
voyeur who films women while
he's murdering them. His role as
the killer is evident from the
beginning, for Powell's intent is
to dispel motivation as the
source of the film’s mystique
rather than the identity of the
killer.
he experiences the hardships of
being a fieldhand's wife.
La Cage Aux Folles II will ap
peal to a different audience than
its predecessor. The subtle
humor is replaced by an overt
humor that sometimes ap
proaches slapstick. The thin
strand of plausibility that ran
throughout La Cage Aux Folles I
is replaced by an uninhibited
plot that builds on a series of
Hollywood cliches.
La Cage Aux Folles II is not,
however, without its great
moments: A scene in which a
group of French federal agents
learn to walk with an air of ef
feminacy is particularly funny.
The key, according to Albin, is a
limp wrist and the ability to walk
“the tight rope between male
and female.”
Females, by the way, don’t
figure into the plot of La Cage
Aux Folles II too well. Only one
woman has a speaking role —
that is if you consider a dozen
lines a speaking role.
The acting in La Cage Aux
Folles II is superb. Serrault's
acting abilities shine again as he
plays Albin, but some of the
credit must go to director
Edouard Molinaro for milking
the transvestite theme. Tognaz
zi is equally capable as the other
leading man.
For those who love farce La
Cage Aux Folles II should not be
missed, but for those expecting
the subtle humor and innovative
subject matter c’est la vie.
— Paul Feist
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Lewis is the victim of a child
hood experiment. His father, a
noted psychologist, had
recorded the growth of his son,
filming the boy’s reaction to fear
in varied and contrived settings.
Lewis' demented state is a re
sult of the experiment.
At times the film seems almost
surreal as it follows Lewis
through his daily movements,
living life from behind the lens of
a movie camera. Yet, the char
acters are unconvincing; mock
terror in victim’s faces is
prevalent as Lewis attempts to
induce fear before killing them.
A change in Lewis’ life occurs
when he meets tenant Helen
Stephens, who attempts to
reach Lewis with compassion
and ardor, and actually suc
ceeds, causing him to re
evaluate his life many murders
too late. Stephens is accom
panied by her clairvoyant, blind
mother who steals into Lewis'
dark room: a secret chamber of
cameras, films and projectors; a
manifestation of the abysmal
complexities within the photo
grapher’s mind.
While Lewis' absurd condi
tion is real enough, the rest of
the cast seems pretentious and
contrived. The laconic dialogue
between characters is static
and only the aloof Lewis is able
to carry the film into a decisive
realm — one of humorous fear
and relative illusion.
— James Jiler
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