Story of My Death
Albert Serra / ES, FR, RO, 2013 / 145 min.
‘Casanova meets Dracula’ could be the summary of the wondrous meeting of a light-footed hedonist and a bloodthirsty romantic in the Carpathians. Serra’s baroquely designed film is a libertine ode to the sensuality and the hidden layers of the unconscious.
Ageing lothario Giacomo Casanova is preparing for a journey to a village hidden away in the thick forests of the Carpathian Mountains. There, he will satisfy his sexual cravings by inviting young farm maids into his bed; Dràcula shares Casanova’s interest in the lilywhite necks of young women – but for very different reasons from the light-footed Italian master of seduction.
The setting serves no other purpose than to set out a conflict that interests Serra: the transition from the rationalist-empirical era of the late eighteenth century (Casanova) into the years of dark Romanticism (Dracula), when interest grows in the mystical-obscure sensation of the Sublime, followed by the repressive morality of the Victorian era.
Story of My Death (Golden Leopard in Locarno) was filmed using cheap digital cameras; the footage was then partly copied onto 35mm film, resulting in an alienating Technicolor effect.
This is part of
Special screenings
Details
Director
Albert Serra
Production year
2013
Country
ES, FR, RO
Original title
Història de la meva mort
Length
145 min.
Language
Catalan
Subtitles
ENG
Format
DCP
Part of
Albert Serra
Eye Filmmuseum presents the first exhibition in the Netherlands about the work of Catalan film and theatre director Albert Serra. Transforming the entire exhibition space into an immersive stage, Serra orchestrates nocturnal and clandestine encounters where theatre, cinema, and art converge.
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