Review of Peppermint Frappé (1967) by Eric F — 15 Aug 2009

"Peppermint Frappé" is Spanish director Carlos Saura's homage to Luis Bunuel. The film, currently unavailable on DVD in the United States, was recently shown on IFC preceded by the Janus films logo. A Criterion Collection copy of the movie will hopefully be soon to follow, as this is a criminally unseen film worthy of attention.

The film revolves around Julian (Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez), a middle-aged conservative physician living in the country in Spain. At his home, where he runs a radiology clinic, he is assisted by a shy nurse, Ana (Geraldine Chaplin). One day, he visits Pablo (Alfredo Mayo), a childhood friend, who has recently married the beautiful Elena (also Geraldine Chaplin). Julian is instantly taken by Elena, not only for her beauty, but because he is convinced that he saw her playing a drum at a Good Friday ceremony years ago and has loved her ever since.

Julian desperately pursues Elena to no avail. Finally, he is driven mad enough to poison the drinks of both Elena and Pablo. Ana, whom he had overlooked as a spitting image of Elena, transforms herself into Julian's ideal lover after their murders, making the final act feel like a Bunuel take on "Vertigo". One of the final images, of Ana beating the drum from Julian's fantasy with her Elena make-over, is incredibly haunting if a bit cheesy.

Although on the surface the film is simply about sexual obsession and jealousy, the setting of Franco-era Spain is crucial to it's analysis. Julian's character is representative of the time. He is fascinated by Elena, her free-spirit so foreign to his unexposed self. It frustrates him. Julian's repression, or, as we can perceive it, the nationalist regime's, is what finally leads him to such extraordinary violence.

While Julian initially seems like a romantic, we begin to learn that he only fetishizes what is contemporarily perceived as glamorous. While Julian skims through magazines, Saura makes an effort to only focus on details - eyes, lips, legs. When Elena isn't around, Julian snoops through the beauty accessories in her purse, and even requests that Ana tries on some eyelashes. This illuminates why Saura casted Geraldine Chaplin in a dual role, and explains the fact that Julian never notices their striking similarities until Ana's makeover.

"Peppermint Frappe" is a bit of a minor masterpiece - it doesn't all quite work, but it's nevertheless extraordinarily involving. Hopefully it won't be long before a much bigger audience becomes exposed to a film so rich with detail and complexity.