Scarlet Blue - FrightFest UK Premiere Review
Director: Aurélia Mengin
Starring: Amélie Daure, Anne-Sophie Charon, Stefano Cassetti, Patricia Barzyk, Aurélia Mengin
Written by: Aurélia Mengin
Produced by: Franck Milcent
Cinematography by: Sylvain Rodriguez
Original Score by: Pablo Mengin, Luke Kay
Synopsis:
Alter suffers from depression and schizophrenia. She consults a healer who practices mystical hypnosis and discovers that her mother is hiding a secret from her.
Thoughts:
French filmmaker Aurélia Mengin's sophomore feature film is a mezmerizing take on mental health with an almost hypnotic, fairytale-like narrative. It's weird and spellbinding.
It's difficult to describe 'Scarlet Blue' without making some sort of connection to David Lynch. The eminent filmmaker has made a career out of writing and directing surrreal masterpieces and is widely regarded as being one of the most influential filmmakers of the last 40 years. His work is clearly homaged here but it also feels like Mengin is reaching into the Giallo space for some inspiration too, particularly the colour palettes of the likes of giants like Bava and Argento.
Amélie Daure stars as Alter, a woman struggling with mental health issues and living on the edge of her own mortality. Her schizophrenia is tearing her life apart, resulting in a constant feeling of guilt, paranoia and emptiness. It's boiled over so much that she chooses to take her own life, but fails. In the wake of her suicide attempt, her worried Mother (Patricia Barzyk) sets up several appointments with a mysterious healer (Stefano Cossetti) who specialises in hypnosis, in an attempt to give Alter some answers to her burning questions of futility.
As with the majority of mental health illnesses, the root of all the problems can often be traced back to a childhood filled with trauma and neglect. During Alter's sessions with Doctor Léandro Lecreuix, he helps to bring her more in tune with reality and her own memory, which has been scattered for many years, and through interactions with her Mother and new friend Chris (played by Aurélia Mengin herself) she begins to unlock her forgotten past.
While 'Scarlet Blue' certainly deals with dark and disturbing themes, the film is rife with colourful lighting and Mengin uses tilted camera angles to heighten the uncanniness of the story. Lots of shots open with the camera turned on it's side before spinning slowly or the other way around. I think it's overused a little bit but it definitely drives home the idea that what we're seeing onscreen isn't always the reality of what is actually happening. These shots contrasted with the neon lighting help to create some stunning visuals that elevate the story to another level and give us viewers some insight into what it might be like inside the mind of Alter. It has a fantastical quality to the images, almost comic book like and it feels like Mengin has been deeply inspired by works of art too.
I love that Alter is actually played by two different actresses here. The default or real character is played by Amélia Daure as mentioned above but her "other" self, the one who we witness during the nightmarish reveries and surreal sequences is played by Anne-Sophie Charon. It's another nod to the uncany world of Lynch and a clever technique to help illustrate the severity of her disease. The similarity between the two actresses made it difficult for me to tell them apart after a while, which immersed me even more in their ultra committed performances.
Mengin clearly is a visionary, artistic filmmaker who wants to tell deep and meaningful stories and I'm hopeful she gets the platform to continue to showcase her enthralling art.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
-Gavin Logan
'Scarlet Blue' received its UK Premiere at FrightFest '24 on August 23rd
Comments