The Perfume of the Lady in Black
Il Profumo Della Signora In Nero
Raro Video
The
Perfume of the Lady in Black is a strange and enigmatic work of Giallo cinema, which
seems to combine the conventions of traditional Giallo cinema with a touch of
Rosemary’s Baby.
Silvia
is a scientist who is obsessively dedicated to her job. She has a rather good
looking Italian lover Roberto, however, she is not really ready for commitment
due to the demanding nature of her work and memories of her dysfunctional
childhood. She attends a party at the
home of a highly respected African professor who explains the nature of Voodoo
and other occult traditions and this coupled with a later encounter with a
psychic seems to unlock memories of her childhood which she has since
suppressed. These trigger a series of hallucinations which cause her life to
spiral out of control.
The
film constantly moves between a number of different themes including Silvia’s
childhood and a possible conspiracy involving her friends. At times you are not
sure whether this is an occult thriller, a psychological drama or even a crime
tale and this lack of clarity actually makes the film a rather successful work of
cinema. There are all sorts of strange and quirky events which add to the
dreamlike quality of the film.
The
cinematography is beautiful with superb use of colour, texture and imagery, the
spiralling stair case in Silvia’s building seems an apt image of her decline
into the unconscious and ultimately into madness.
The
slow revealing of Silvia’s dysfunctional childhood works well, rather than
reveal it in one go, you bit by bit come to appreciate the horrible events that
occurred. It seems all too clear that her father died while at sea and that her
step father had quite an interest in her, since her mother did nothing to
protect her, in a moment of psychological instability she pushed her mother off
a balcony to her death.