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Fata/Morgana – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1965
Director: Vicente Aranda
Writers: Vicente Aranda, Gonzalo Suárez
Cast: Teresa Gimpera, Marianne Benet, Marcos Martí, Antonio Ferrandis, Alberto Dalbés, Antonio Casas, Glòria Roig

Release Date: July 9th, 2024
Approximate running time: 87 Minutes 6 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"A man rehearses a lecture he is planning to give, analyzing serial killers. He claims that a woman is soon to be murdered in the city. It is inevitable, he explains, as some people are born victims while others are born to kill. He plans to identify the future victim through a series of photographs of violent acts.

Fashion model Gim, played by iconic Spanish actress Teresa Gimpera, finds herself alone in a Barcelona that seems almost deserted. She seeks out her lover, Alvaro, for help. On her way to meet him she is harassed by a series of men and followed by a huge and menacing silver truck with blacked out windows. Through a loud speaker on the truck a mechanical voice orders all persons to leave the city immediately.

Gim finds that Alvaro’s former girlfriend, Miriam, is staying in his house having just returned from London where a terrible but unexplained event occurred. In Alvaro’s “art chamber”, an obviously disturbed Miriam finds a large knife disguised as a metallic silver fish. Meanwhile, a group of teenage boys cut out a picture of Gim from a huge advertising billboard. They carry it through the empty city streets in a silent procession." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative".

Fata/Morgana comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 31.9 GB

Feature: 23.5 GB

The source looks excellent; colors are nicely saturated, black levels are strong, image clarity, contrast, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, this track sounds very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Mondo Macabro preview reel, alternative opening sequence (59 seconds, Spanish text with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Teresa Gimpera titled The Muse of Pop Cinema (24 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), an interview with Angel Sala, director of the Sitges Film Festival (19 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Eurocult expert Rachael Nisbet.

Summary:

Directed by Vicente Aranda, whose other notable films are The Exquisite Cadaver, The Blood Spattered Bride, Change of Sex, and Mad Love.

Serial killers besiege Barcelona, causing the inhabitants to flee in a panic. Of the few inhabitants remaining, one is a model who refuses to flee despite repeated warnings that she’s the next victim.

Content-wise, Fata/Morgana is a mix of 1960s pop art cinema and elements that are synonymous with the Giallo genre. It features a sparse narrative that offers little in the way of backstory or character motivations. And though it has a premise ripe with possibilities and the ability to foresee murders before they happen, unfortunately, the execution of the premise is not without its shortcomings. That said, the premise does bear some similarities to Phillip K. Dick’s Minority Report.

The setting is a blend of modern and futuristic elements, leaning more towards the former. And though Barcelona is the main location, the emptiness of the streets and locations adds a tremendous amount of foreboding atmosphere. Visually, Fata/Morgana has an abundance of striking moments, notably the use of black-and-white photos of the murders.

The cast is not much more than pieces on a chess board moved around for maximum effectiveness. Teresa Gimpera (Night of the Devil's) is cast in the role of the protagonist, a model named Gim. In her acting debut, she more than fulfills what is required of her character. The most memorable performance is Marianne Benet’s portrayal of Miriam, a woman who holds the key to the murders.

From a production standpoint, Fata/Morgana is a film that does not maximize the sum of its parts. It is a melting pot of influences and themes, some of which are more effective than others. Ultimately, though the narrative feels like a series of random moments, the payoff finale does a solid job of bringing everything together.

Mondo Macabro gives Fata/Morgana an excellent release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, recommended.