I’d
always been a fan of George Eastman but had never seen him play the
good guy. Well all that changed with Baba Yaga...
Baba
Yaga, directed by Corrado Farina, is an Italian film loosely based on
the erotic comic of Guido Crepax and the namesake of witch like
characters in Slavic folklore (although ‘based on’ may be too
strong a term).
If
you watch the definitive Shameless Screen Entertainment version then
the film opens with restored footage which, if honest, doesn’t
alter the film. However, it’s nice to see a version of the film in
its most complete form, which has not been hacked to pieces by the
producers.
The
story centres on the care free Valentina (Isabelle De Funes), a young
and beautiful photographer. On her way home one night, having knocked
back love interest Arno (George Eastman, who scarily reminds me of
George Lutz from the Amityville Horror), Valentina has an encounter
with a poetic voiced woman who calls herself Baba Yaga, played by
Carroll Baker. After Yaga gives Valentina a lift home she declares
she will see her again, and so begins the obsessive Yaga who wants
more than a tussle in the sheets with Valentina and more likely her
soul.
Not
long after this encounter Valentina’s life changes with dreams of
Nazi’s, firing squads and dominatrix dolls. Sounds bizarre and
scary? Well it’s bizarre but too minimal and groovy to be scary.
After
Baba Yaga visits Valentina at home, where she works taking pictures
of scantily clad models, Valentina’s camera becomes cursed,
shooting people (literally) and deciding when it wants to work.
During this time Arno does manage to have his way with Valentina and
becomes the caring boyfriend.
Along
with the cursed camera and Valentina's stupid decision to visit
Yaga’s haunted house, expect a film with erotic dreams, sexy
models, bottomless pits and a killer dominatrix doll which comes to
life.
There
is a sense of dread within the film, especially when Valentina and
Arno discover some of the pictures the camera has been taking, but
the film is so soaked in dreamlike atmosphere and Warhol
expressionism that the mood is lost.
Worth
mentioning is that main cast members Funes and Baker were the
director’s second choices, but for what it’s worth I thought both
performed well.
It’s
an odd mix of a film that doesn’t stay faithful to the subject
material in which it is based (but that’s never bothered me; I
thought, along with many others, that Kubricks’ The Shining was
fantastic).
The
whole thing has a wonderful pace to it and the relationship between
Arno and Valentina is charming and warm. The dream sequences work and
fit nicely together with the 70’s costumes and groove soundtrack
which makes everything less serious. This is how the film should be
seen, as a piece of fun. Once you start questioning characters or
storyline that fun will be lost.
When
mentioning Italian horrors involving witches and dreamlike sequences,
it’s easy to imagine Suspiria but this isn’t the same sort of
film at all. I really enjoyed it, the acting was convincing and
although made in 1973 it’s a refreshing film compared to today’s
glossy high standards, not relying on special effects or sharp
editing. The fact the producers re-edited the original film to fit
what they wanted only shows that director Farina was making the kind
of film he wanted to make.
Does
the film have a lasting quality that will leave you wanting to watch
it again? I think it does. It left me smiling and in the time it took
to watch it I never felt bored. I liked the characters and cared
about them whilst wanting to know more about the elusive Baba Yaga.
Reviewed by Richard Alan Long
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