REFLECTION IN A DEAD DIAMOND
(Check out Chris Reed’s Reflection in a Dead Diamond movie review, it’s in theaters now and hits Netflix November 21! Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
The 1960s were the golden age of spy movies, thanks to an international frenzy begun with the James Bond franchise, which debuted with Dr. No in 1962. That series turned Sean Connery into a star and set the standard for onscreen espionage (though directors like Alfred Hitchcock had certainly trafficked in the genre previously), subsequent filmmakers either building on the 007 aesthetic or reacting in opposition to it. In their newest collaboration, Reflection in a Dead Diamond, married duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani (Let the Corpses Tan) pay homage not only to Bond but to all his brethren, having a lot of fun as they go. We the audience also enjoy the ride.
The movie opens on Fabio Testi (King of the Sands) as John Diman, an aging dapper beachside resident gazing longingly at a woman at surf’s edge. In a flash of light and a zoom of the lens, the scene changes, distorting reality through captivating cinematic sleight of hand. There are diamonds, there is sex, and there is very much the persistent pull of memory on the mind of what turns out to be a soul in torment. What we see may not in fact be anything more than Diman’s delusions, whether of grandeur or dementia, we never quite know.
Yannick Renier (L’école est à nous) plays the younger version of Diman, with whom we spend an equal amount of time, Reflection in a Dead Diamond cutting back and forth from present to flashback and maybe a dream or two. Both actors resemble Connery at different stages of life, further deepening the Bond motif. But even without that trick, the film is clearly a meditation on what might happen to an elderly spy when there are no more missions to fulfill. Unless Diman was never really a spy but merely playing one for the cameras. Or a spy and an actor; is there a difference?
One of the great joys of this delightfully playful tribute to spy thrillers is the constant guessing game we play to determine who is what and what is when and where. Coupled with the evocative costume and production designs—inspired by OpArt as well as early 007—and vibrant cinematography and editing, the narrative mysteries prove engaging, even as truth remains just out of reach. Given the utter ridiculousness of the sources being spoofed, it’s right on brand.
In the wake of Bond’s early success, many European producers released their own cheaper knockoffs, dubbed Eurospy movies, similar to how the Italian “Spaghetti Westerns” were created to mimic (and in some cases, surpass) Hollywood’s homegrown product. The low-budget heightened reality of those particular films is replicated here, as well. Plot is secondary to effect. Along the way, there’s even a little bit of Luchino Visconti’s 1971 Death in Venice and Jean-Jacques Beineix’s 1981 Diva, too, for good measure. Why not?
Impressively, Cattet and Forzani even manage to make some logical sense out of their pastiche, even as they throw the kitchen sink into the mix. Really, though, the audio-visual razzle-dazzle is the reason to watch. Diamonds are a cinephile’s best friend.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
Shudder; Bruno Forzani and Hélène Cattet; Reflection in a Dead Diamond movie review
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