Cinema Retro's Mark Mawston takes you on the red carpet for the
2020 BAFTA Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London with some up close
and personal photos of the celebs. (All photos copyright Mark Mawston.
All rights reserved).
Originally released in Germany in 2018, “Intrigo: Death of An Author†recently made
its way to U.S. screens. A twisty,
psychological thriller with multiple story lines, deftly directed by Daniel
Alfredson (of “The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the
Hornet's Nestâ€) has almost as many turns as Lombard Street and is just as fun
to navigate.
The film opens with a small motorboat
puttering in the sea at night. From under the waterline we see a heavy object is
dropped with a rope attached. The sky above fades darker then brightens with
the morning sun and the scene cuts to a lone man walking along a rocky shore.
The narrator says:
The
people of the world are more or less the same. Though we may come in different
shapes
and colors we all share the same inheritance and we all have our back stories
and
our secrets. Like this man, let's call him Henry, trying to find his way on a
remote
Greek
island. Even though Evolution might seem to adjure us, there are still parts of
our
brain that belong to our reptile ancestors. Although we have convinced
ourselves
that
Hate, Revenge and Nemesis belong to the past, our ancient ancestor's blood
still
runs
in our veins. Whether we like it; or not.
Henry Martins (played with a magician's
misdirection by Benno Fürmann) has come, with much difficulty, to this remote
island to meet with the famous, reclusive author, Alex Henderson (a
delightfully wily Ben Kingsley) who appears to be the island's sole inhabitant.
MARTINS:
A lighthouse. That's quite something.
HENDERSON:I like to guide people. If they get too close
I turn the light off.
Martins' mission is to get Henderson's advice
on a story he is writing. Is it 'good or interesting enough?' as there are
parallels to one of Henderson's previous novels. He begins to read a bit to
Henderson.
The story is about a couple, David and Eva
Schwartz, who have been married almost eight years. They are on a trip to the
Austrian Alps to ostensibly work on their relationship. It's obvious that there
are problems. At the scenic lodge where they are staying we are illuminated to
the problems and learn that Eva has been having an affair and plans to leave
David. We also learn that her lover is staying in the next valley to her and
David. So does David. He hatches a plan. He tests the road to the next valley
himself and finds that brakes are unnecessary until there's a twisty, steep
downhill road to take. As you're probably guessing, he disconnects the brakes
and on Eva's next trip to Infidelityville...Well, she never returns to the lodge.David is a suspect in Eva's (a perfectly aloof Tuva Novotny)
disappearance but without a trace of the car, a body or even a witness...
HENDERSON:So. This is the end of your story. You must
be joking.
MARTINS:It's actually the beginning.
Henry Martins continues his story. Three and
a half years pass. At home in Paris on a cold March evening, David listens to a
Haydn concerto on the radio. As it ends he hears someone in the audience cough.
He freezes. To him, without a doubt, it is the distinctive cough of Eva. He
believes Eva, from six months ago when the concerto was recorded, is still
alive.
Henderson has gotten very involved in the
tale and trips Martins up when he realizes that Martins is actually David
Schwartz, the man who has been translating Henderson's novels for years and the
David of the story. He also knows David attempted his wife's murder. He also
intends "to hear the rest of your story. Do I make myself clear?"
An assignment comes in from David's
publisher. A mysterious manuscript has been received from the recently deceased
(suicide) Germund Rein. It has very specific instructions to be followed as to
its translation and publication. David see this as an opportunity to also
investigate his wife's reappearance. He'll take the assignment IF he can go to
the city where the Haydn concerto was recorded. This is where the story really
moves ahead.
“Intrigo: Death of An Author†is a
marvelously crafted film. A story within a story within another story. More of
a 'how-done-it' than a 'who-done-it.' Fans of sophomoric comedies or
gratuitously violent action films should probably stay away. But if you enjoy
brain twisting and films that make you match wits with the author you will
enjoy this one.
