A Human Portrait a.k.a. Massacre Play / Gioco al Massacro (1989)
Starring Elliot Gould, Tomas Milian, Nathalie Baye, and Eva Robin's
Written by Damiano Damiani and Raffaele La Capiria
Directed by Damiano Damiani
A Human Portrait a.k.a. Massacre Play a.k.a. Gioco al Masscaro is a 1989 film written by Damiano Damiani & Raffaele La Capria and directed by Damiano Damiani.
After a decade long absence, Clem Da Silva ( Tomas Milian ) reenters the life of childhood friend Theo Steiner ( Elliot Gould ). Theo is a hugely successful and award winning film director, while Clem is barely a household name. The events that caused a rift between the two friends, a decade prior, were twofold: first, Clem's lover Bella ( Nathalie Baye ) leaves him for Theo, and second, he feels that his more prosperous comrade stole his idea for a film entitled 'The Old Man On Flat Bush Avenue', which wins Steiner an Oscar. At the front gate of his former pal's home, Da Silva is greeted with open arms, and is invited inside. While looking about the various rooms of Theo's house, Clem encounters his ex lover, Bella. They exchange words about the past, and why he was estranged for so long. Later that day, a television crew, along with various peculiar "characters" show up including, the trans gender actress Rosita, played by the multi talented, trans actress Eva Robin's, the film producer Cornelius Plank ( Galeazzo Benti ), stuffy film critic John Forbes ( Peter Gale ), a pick pocket called Straccalino ( Peter Woodthorpe ), and young, seemingly innocent Nuni ( Jennifer Rubina Laser ). This "cast of characters", who are later joined by the actor Michael Zabo ( Michael Gothard ) and Theo's agent / friend Danilo ( John Steiner ), serve as a sort of impetus, and or, pawns, in order to explore the underlying psychological dynamics between Clem and Theo. Feelings and memories from the past are revived with unexpected results.
A Human Portrait a.k.a. Massacre Play a.k.a. Gioco al Massacro is a film directed by Damiano Damiani, who also helmed such films as, Il sicario / Blood Feud (1961), Amityville 2: The Possession (1982), Perche' si uccide magistrato / How To kill A Judge (1975), and The Pizza Connection / The Sicilian Connection (1985). The screenplay was written by Damiani, along with Raffaele Capria. Tomas Milian, who played the role role of Clem Da Silva led an eventful life on top of acting in a whole slew of wonderful films which include, Lucio Fulci's Don't Tortue A Duckling (1972), Bruno Corbucci's The Cop in Blue Jeans (1976), and Umberto Lenzi's The Cynic, The Rat, And The Fist (1977). He also appeared in mainstream, such as Traffic (2000), and the tv series Law & Order. Elliot Gould, who portrays Theo Steiner, is a well known actor that has appeared in a wide variety of films like, Busting (1974), Mean Johnny Burrows (1975), and Night Visitor(1989). He is more widely known the films, MASH (1970), and Ocean's Eleven (2001). Nathalie Baye, the actress that played Bella, appeared in Godard's Detective (1985), La balance (1982), An Affair Of Love (1999), and in hollywood films like Catch Me If You Can (2002). Real life trans woman Eva Robin's, who plays the role of Rosita, the trans gender actress, has appeared in such amazing films as, Eva Man (1980), Argento's Tenebrae (1982), Mascara (1987), Hercules (1983), The Adventures Of Hercules (1985), and Belle al bar (1994). She is also a singer of Disco Panther, under the pseudonym Cassadra, a song which was a bit of a hit in Europe in 1978, and she performs this number in the magnificent film Eva Man. In addition to that she is also an accompolished painter. John Steiner, the actor in the role of Theo's friend / agent has been in many incredible films, as well. A few of note are Tenebrae (1982), Caligula (1979), Yor, The Hunter From The Future (1983), and Body count (1990).
Riz Ortolani, responsible for the music in this picture, is a veteran of film scores, having contributed to the films, Don't Torture A Duckling (1972), Seven Dead In The Cat's Eye (1973), House On The Edge Of The Park (1980), and Madhouse (1981), among many others.
A Human Portrait a.k.a. Gioco al Massacro ( Massacre Play ) is a fascinating character piece, that explores the complexities / nuances of human emotion, motivation, and behavior, as well as, the psychology behind them. The film, also examines the ideas of art vs real life, specifically the line, or lack thereof separating the two, and friends / lovers from the past, coming in and out of one's life. The blurring of the lines between an artist's life, and the artist's creation is a predominant theme in this picture. One of many examples of this is Theo's manipulative, yet flamboyant theatrical style of dealing with other people, goading them into behaving a certain way, revealing their vulnerabilities, and their true thoughts about one another. He expertly orchestrates events in a way that causes them to reveal their true intentions. In addition to this, the various scenes where Clem and Theo run actor's through rehearsal, exemplify this theme of art vs real life, especially a scene towards the end of the film, where the truth behind why everyone was brought together is revealed. Moreover, this motif is stated, in many instances of dialogue between the characters. Here are a few of those exchanges:
From a scene at the beginning of the film, where at a New York premiere of Theo Steiner's latest movie, a reporter talks to Bella about the film:
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Where do you get the inspiration for your films?
THEO: I don't look, I find.
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Would you explain that?
THEO: Things and people come to me without my searching. It's less tiring that way.
Or this piece of dialogue where Theo takes a young lady he discovered named Nuni to a rehearsal stage:
THEO: This is my playroom.
NUNI: Who do you play with?
THEO: Friends. Actors.
Or this bit of dialogue in the sequence, which has Theo taking pictures of Nuni, while talking to Bella:
THEO: She'd be a unique character, but I don't think a girl like her can be portrayed, and that paralyzes me.
And this scene where Clem is running Rosita through a scene for a film, he is to direct:
CLEM: Forget your dignity. Forget your health. Forget your pride. Everything. Because art is more important then life itself.
Another idea interwoven into the texture of art / real life is the concept of the artist and muse relationship. Whether it is his friends, his love interests, or people's interactions with one another, Theo seeks to capture that inspired moment, where it seems anything is possible. The above scene mentioned, in which Theo is photographing Nuni, as he talks with Bella, is a good example of this.
The themes of time, memory, and regret are also interspersed through out the film, particularly in the interactions between old friends, Theo and Clem, and the old lovers, Clem and Bella, where they reminisce about what was, but also what could have been. These sequences exhibit the seemingly paradoxical feelings of , a time where all of life's possibilities seem stretched out before us, and the yearning for something that almost was. This is perfectly stated in a scene, at the beginning of the film, where a reporter makes a statement pertaining to Theo Steiner's latest movie, " An exceptional film, that weaves the memories of youth, with the bitter decadence of a lost friendship."
A Human Portrait has many interesting and artful shot compositions, such as the shot where Clem first appears in front of Theo's villa , and his head is framed by the gate, the subtext being, a portrait / photograph of ' an old friend from the past'.
In addition to that, here are some more of note:
And this this camera movement / shot composition with it's chiaroscuro lighting is used for a big reveal towards the end of the picture. Essentially, this shot indicates that the truth is coming out of the shadows, and into the light, for all to see :
In fact, there are many such inventive lighting / shot compositions throughout the film. Too many to mention here.
The performances by the cast, especially Elliot Gould , Tomas Milian, Eva Robin's, and Nathalie Baye are excellent, capturing the subtleties of their multi layered characters. The music by Riz Ortolani is a perfect fit for this character driven motion picture. Unfortunately, available only on a vhs and a Greek dvd, both of which I own ( the dvd being where I made these screen caps from ), this is a rarely seen Damiani film, which is a truly a shame. With it's examination of the complexities of the artist's mind and human nature, A Human Portrait / Gioco al Massacro is my favorite Damiano Damiani picture. Truly a masterpiece. That's just my opinion. Your's may differ.
