alternate phantom of the opera review 1

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
aka
IL FANTASMA DELL 'OPERA
(1998) 106 mins
FOCUS FILM ; BUDAPEST

Should have been called "The Stendhal Syndrome Part 2"

First off, The Phantom of the Opera is not as bad as most of these comments say it is. In fact, I thought that it was one of Argento's most personal, daring, and visually sumptuous films.

I actually attended the U.S. premiere of this film in San Francisco, and midway through the film, the projection went haywire, and the film had to be stopped for five minutes. This kind of ruined the momentum, but when Phantom started again, I was completely engrossed.

Phantom of the Opera extends the themes which Argento had developed in The Stendhal Syndrome. Phantom is an interesting blend of the Freudian father-daughter themes explored in Stendhal Syndrome and Argento's fascination with Opera as an artform. The melodramatic scenes in Phantom, which some viewers may see as being just plain corny, are actually necessary in order to be faithful to both the novel which Phantom was based on, and to the nature of opera as an art form. Also, the Phantom is obviously some sort of dark father figure for Asia's character-- a figure which doesn't hesitate to kill those who bother Asia.

The dark, winding catacombs house the lair of the Phantom. The lair itself is a womb-like enclosure, similar to the serial killer's lair in Stendhal Syndrome. In both films, Asia is eventually forced into a sadomasochistic relationship with the villians, and locked into the constricting confines of their lairs. These relationships are both based on bondage, and undying love.

However, in both Phantom and Stendhal, Asia eventually frees herself from the bondage of her captors, and both films end with Asia facing some sort of light. It's ironic that Asia is getting more notice in America than her father is. . . is she finally freeing herself from his fatherly bond?

reviewed by Jeffery Wang

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