Rapture

I first saw this movie on AMC years ago and have never forgotten it. The cinematography and acting swept me right up into the melodramatic story. Yes, the plot is melodramatic, but life sometimes is melodramatic. And if that's not enough for you, the performances of Gozzi,Stockwell, and Douglas just won't allow me to question its plausibility. They realize their characters so fully that there's no question whether there are three people could actually exist they way they do, where they do, and behave exactly as they do in this film.

The characters of Agnes and her father have such a touching pathos as they blindly find their way to healing through horrible tragedy, mutual loss, and self-discovery, for which Stockwell serves as catalyst. There is such an delicate realism to Gozzi's performance as an emotionally troubled and deluded adolescent that makes the film actually seem far ahead of its time. Trust me--this kid could have been right at home next to Brando in "On the Waterfront" and never been upstaged by him for one second.

Most reviewers seem to believe that it's these three sensitive performances that carry the weight of the plot, but how they stumble into learning about themselves and each other is never contrived. There isn't a single scene, as there is in most Hollywood films, with an overwrought catharsis that changes their world overnight. Rather, these are three people trying to act as their hearts and consciences dictate, sometimes blundering selfishly, other times meeting one another tenderly halfway. A visually beautiful and realistically romantic film.

This is a great film. For some reason this movie really struck a cord with me when I first caught in on tv back when I was a teenager. The lighting, the French location, the novelty [to me] of the film style...I must have watched it a hundred times. Even though I haven't seen it in a few years, I still remember how Agnes is so overwhelmed by everything in her life and seems to like to hide her in childlike world. And Dean Stockwell is actually pretty cute; I was surprised to find out this the same Dean Stockwell that was later on Quantum Leap. My mother told me that he was quite the heartthrob in the Sixties, and one can see why in this film. I also read the book by Phyllis Hasting, and it is a whole lot darker in tone than the film. I think it also explores the father-daughter relationship in more detail than the film. This and some of her other books seem very anti-male.

Those who remember kid actress Patricia Gozzi's stirring performance in Sundays & Cybele (1962) will be equally amazed at the remarkable range she displays in this outing. As Agnes (or "Aun-yez", as the French pronounce it) she easily steals the film from headliners Dean Stockwell & Melvyn Douglas. Not a bad feat for a 15-year-old with limited previous film experience -- and none in English language films! Her completely believable performance as the sheltered & confused daughter of an embittered retired judge (Douglas) is nothing less than riveting.

The movies' premise in a nutshell revolves around Agnes' conviction that a scarecrow she has made has come alive after fugitive Stockwell dons its clothes while on the run, and the ensuing relationship that develops between the two. Stockwell, whose fine performances have graced so many films, doesn't have much to do this time around. Film veteran Douglas, on the other hand, gets in some memorable scenes. Georges Delerue provides the gorgeous music he was noted for -- perfect for the film.

Whether this particular movie grabs you or not, at its conclusion you'll no doubt find yourself wondering why Gozzi -- whose career seemed to come to a grinding halt shortly after this -- didn't continue acting into her adult years and become a major star. It's one of those perplexing mysteries of filmdom!

Plot: "Set against the rugged beauty of the Brittany seacoast, it tells the story of a young girl whose lonely isolation under the watchful eye of her stern and bitter father is abruptly shattered by the arrival of a seductive fugitive from the law."

'Rapture' is a coming-of-age tale, a dark Gothic fantasy, a romance, a bit of a melodrama, and maybe a few other things. Its ability to stay clear from clichés despite the familiar dramatic framework alone is astonishing, which makes the film ultimately pretty uncategorizable, not to say anything about how sensible and dare I say perfect everything else is about this relatively layered production that feels grounded in realism while often being quite magical thanks partly due to the script, and partly due to its beautiful dreamy score and arresting as well as intelligent compositions of its CinemaScope black and white cinematography.

Its nationality isn't easily identifiable either. The spoken language is English, the writer of the source novel is British, as is the director, but he was born to French parents, the film (unlike the novel) is set in France and most of the crew is French, as is the main actress. Its overall feel is predominantly French but it definitely also has British and American touches and there's something Bergmanesque about it as well as it often plays like a chamber psychodrama and with Bergman regular Gunnel Lindblom in the cast providing a direct link to the Swedish auteur. Speaking of actors, although without big stars the main players are all recognizable faces who fit their roles excellently and all of which give very good performances with the memorable standout being French actress Patricia Gozzi as the young girl, she bowed out of acting only a few years later but if you happen to have seen 'Sundays and Cybele' you certainly will remember her from that movie.

There are many films I could compare it to, but no comparison would be exhaustive. The enigmatic stranger who enters a family with each person projecting their own desires onto him and them essentially creating their own image of the man is an important element in the film that recalls Pasolini's 'Teorema'. Then there's an impressive section later in the film in which the girl finds herself in Paris for the first time and she is completely overwhelmed by her surroundings and the situation in general, which has something of the same year's 'Repulsion'. In fact I think I saw Catherine Deneuve rubbing her nose in the background in one of the shots...OK, I didn't. Anyway, those comparisons are just scratching the surface.

I'm not really sure to whom I would recommend 'Rapture', but if my genre description made it sound like your kind of thing you may want to look into it. Especially if you loved Chan-wook Park's 'Stoker', I think there are a few similarities between them with a general oddness that is not only captivating with its complex web of character relationships but also feels perfectly natural to the material, in particular thanks to its mentally troubled young protagonist on the brink of sexual awakening who is like a warmer but also more visibly unhinged version of India Stoker with the actress very much having the same strange appeal as Mia Wasikowska as well as the acting chops to go with it.

Although understandably not the kind of film with a huge mainstream appeal 'Rapture' apparently never even saw all that much of a release back in the 60's. The handful of reviews that I found (all written within the past few years) amazingly enough are unanimously very positive, which strengthens me in my belief that this is a gem still waiting to be discovered by a much wider audience. It's only now that the film sees its first wide home video release by the UK label Eureka, so maybe now its time has finally come.

I have just tracked down this film, through this site, many years after the one and only time I saw it. I saw it as a B film i.e. tagged on to the main feature but it left such a lasting impression I cannot remember what the main feature was.

It was the beginning of the film that made such an impact on me and that I remember most.The idea of a scarecrow coming to life (Joseph in hiding) and Agnes'd reaction which gripped me. The photography was dark and powerful.The developing relationship between Agnes and Joseph and her fathers reaction to it was moving. I do not know what I would make of it now but I hope it would generate the same emotions that I felt as a teenager.