I deliberately chose “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” to be the final film I saw at MIFF this year, because I wanted to go out with a film that was a whole lot of fun, and didn't take itself too seriously. Directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani have made a name for themselves by making movies that honour the genre films of Italian cinema from between the 1960s – 80s, and have so far tackled the giallo, Italian horror, and spaghetti western genres with their earlier films with, I think it is fair to say, mixed success. When reading reviews about films from Cattet and Forzani, you often come across a phrase that will say something like “mixing art house with grindhouse”, and that is because it is a fairly accurate description of what they do. Whilst they lean heavily into the aesthetic of these films, they do not actually play like traditional gialli or spaghetti westerns, rather they use the look of these genre films to tell their own types of stories. This is what I think makes Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani such special directors because they are not just copying what has come before, rather they use it as inspiration to tell their own stories that skew a little more towards the art house. “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” is their take on the Euro-spy or “fumetti neri” films that were so popular in the 60's, and seriously, what could be a more fun way to finish this year's MIFF than with a fun and crazy spy film?
For those that have never seen a Euro-spy or “fumetti neri” film before, they are essentially a variation of a James Bond film, but a little sillier and sometimes even include supernatural elements in their stories. The hero of these movies is usually more of an antihero, and the origins of these characters often came from comic books. They are wildly colourful and the production design elements have a pop-art feel to them all. Fast cars, attractive women, cool gadgets; these films are so much fun but nothing that you would take too seriously, with probably the most famous of the genre being Mario Bava's “Diabolik” from 1968, which “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” references heavily. Actually, I guess you could say that it references “Satanik” (also from 1968) more, as she was the female version of Diabolik, with Serpentik, the villain of “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” being a dead ringer for Satanik.
I had an absolute ball with “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” and think it is Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's best film to date. As well as being so much fun, it also tells a tragic story about ageing, memory and regret. As usual for a film by Cattet and Forzani, “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” is an assault on your senses, filled with kaleidoscopic images and an exquisite sound design. They stay true to their style of fetishistic imagery with the use of a lot of extreme close-ups on, well just about everything really. Like the great giallo films of past, they clearly love the look of leather and the sound it makes, as they are forever showing close-ups of leather gloves being put on, with the sound crunching as they make a fist. Close-ups on eyes, weapons, drinks, fingernails, belts......you name it, they have done a close-up of it, but it never gets tiring or boring at all, rather the images in the film are all so cinematic. Lets face it, this is a film that is style over substance.....but man, the style is glorious!! (And that is not to say that there is no substance to the film either, which I will get to later, but first and foremost, it is all about the imagery). Manuel Dacosse's cinematography is the star of the show, and you can tell he is having a ball with Cattet and Forzani giving him carte blanche to make “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” as visually exciting as possible. It is a very “shiny” movie with so many objects in the film having surfaces that create reflections which Dacosse uses to his full advantage. As well as reflections, he does a wonderful job of repeating images but in different settings and time periods, which helps in the explanation of the entire film. I do not want to go too much into this, because I think the story of “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” is so well done, and perfectly conceived in a cinematic sense, that I would rather new audiences of the film to experience it themselves, but the doubling up of imagery plays a huge roll in understanding the film as a whole. Something that I thought Cattet and Forzani did very well was towards the end when they used the comic panels to help with their storytelling, which I am sure also helped with the budget as they didn't need to execute a large car explosion for the film, they were able to do this through comic book art, but it also works with the story thematically too.
A major coup for “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” is the casting of Italian genre film legend Fabio Testi who plays John D., the former spy who believes his greatest enemy Serpentik is back after his beautiful neighbour is found dead by the ocean. To have one of THE big names from the heyday of Italian genre cinema just adds a legitimacy to the picture, and Testi is great as an old guy willing to enter the spy world once more, if it means saving the world. The younger version of John D. is played by Yannick Renier who is suitably suave and cool, looks great in a suit, and can kick a lot of bad guy arse. “Pulp Fiction” legend Maria de Medeiros also shows up late in the film in a mysterious role that sets the whole finale into motion.
When the film begins, there are a number of really odd and surreal images, of parts of a woman's face laying on the beach. These images are as beautiful as they are weird, and they become a bit of a visual motif in “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” as we regularly see parts of women's faces on the ground. It takes a while to understand what the point of it is, but it all has to do with Serpentik and the many masks she wears while on a job, with her ripping off each one, once she is done. Identity plays a huge role in “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” and there are multiple times during the film when characters think they are talking to someone before that person tears off a mask to reveal they are someone else entirely. You can never truly trust what you think you are seeing, which is also true of the whole overriding story of the film as it continually folds in on itself, so much in fact, that you fear that it will become too convoluted or confusing for an audience to follow, but it ends up being very cleverly done indeed. It initially feels like Cattet and Forzani are just having fun messing with the audience, by constantly pulling the rug out from underneath them time and time again, but there is a reason for them doing it, which all makes sense at the very end. The repeated images, the changing of masks, the confusion over just who really is who; there is a point to it all, which comes to a head in the clever, and ultimately tragic, ending to “Reflection in a Dead Diamond”.
One thing I should briefly mention is the graphic violence in “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” which at times can be quite full on. It isn't a film that is wall to wall blood and guts, as it focuses more on super cool aesthetics and how awesome it is to be a spy, but when it does go there, Cattet and Forzani deliver the goods, with probably the best example being the scene when Serpentik goes up against six to ten guys at a bar, using her sharpened stiletto heels, razor sharp fingernails, and her hair with hidden fishing hooks to vicious effect, but Serpentik doesn't get it all her own way, as she is graphically injured a number of times during the fight. As bloody and violent as this scene is, it is also paradoxically pictorially so beautiful in the way it has been shot. Which reminds me of another moment in the film that you need to look out for, which is the bad guy's painting collection, and how he creates these “paintings of death”, which is so creepy and unlike anything I had seen previous.
Overall, I had an absolute blast with Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's Euro-spy homage “Reflection in a Dead Diamond”; I think it is their best film yet (certainly their most accessible) and it was the perfect way to end my MIFF journey for 2025. While it is true that the film is an exercise in style over substance, (but that style is breathtaking!), there is still definite substance to their story, that comes together beautifully by the end, in what amounts to quite a sad little tale. I cannot wait for Cattet and Forzani's next film, an animated movie they have been working on for a number of years now that it titled “Darling” and due next year, but until that comes around I highly recommend their latest, “Reflection in a Dead Diamond”, because it is a beauty.
4 Stars.
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