Something Is Missing...

The first (of a whopping two) film criticism classes I ever took was a one-day-a-week English elective on French cinema. Though I didn’t quite relish the act of watching 3-hour romantic epics in the comfort of my university’s drab library, I did absorb something of an appreciation for moody Europeans and their innovation behind the camera. 7 years later, it’s somehow more rewarding to discover classic films without the confines of writing mini-essays.

Wait a minute--

Quick Plot: Attractive blue-eyed young ladies are disappearing in 1950s Paris, their bodies later washing up in the Seine sans facial skin. While the police remain woefully ignorant, we meet Professor Genessier, a surgeon on the cutting edge (ba-dom bom bom!) of Face/Off style transplants.

A cold man, Professor Genessier has some personal investment in honing his craft: his once-beautiful daughter Christianne had her face all but torn off in a tragic car accident. While the world--including her fiancee--mourn the faked death of Christianne, her father and his loyal secretary collect young women in attempt after attempt to find and maintain Christianne’s new look.

Filmed in the worldwide censorship-happy ‘50s, Eyes Without a Face is an eerie, disturbing, and ultimately quite sad little tale that is as effective as it is influential. A creepy score sets the mood and documentarian director George Franju plays with his camera to maximize effect. You’ll probably be able to predict the direction of most of the plot, but the story remains engrossing and beautiful and unsettling way.

High Points

The circus-like score is unsettling and neat, but the choice to silence it during the famous transplant scene is even more powerful

The entire physical design of Christianne is quite striking. With her slender frame, oversized sleeves, and blank mask, actress Edith Scob comes off like a porcelain doll sitting atop an Expressionist toy chest

Low Points

Though I was intrigued by the stoic guilt of Professor Genessier and sympathized with Christianne’s plight, the lack of central character (and third act emergence of psuedo-protagonists) keeps the film a tad cold to the viewer

Lessons Learned

Never, under any circumstances, get arrested for petty crime in Paris when a murderer is on the loose hunting young women who fit your exact profile. You never know when you’ll be put into a dangerous, irresponsibly run undercover operation that puts your life in danger

Always note the jewelry style of overly generous strangers

Just because you feed your cruelly caged dogs does not mean they don’t secretly want to eat you

Rent/Bury/Buy

One can easily watch Eyes Without a Face to learn a few early camera tricks and catch some inspiration for Michael Myers’ mask, but this haunting thriller also holds up as an engrossing view. Currently on Netflix’s Instant Watch, it’s a hearty recommendation for both classy cred and good old fashioned entertainment reasons. Watch it for culture and sadness.