GIALLO REVIEW: Sonno Profondo (2013)


Sonno Profondo  is not a great "movie" by any measure. It is a jumbled, audacious and completely dizzying mess that foregoes any kind of common sense. However...as an avant-garde experimentation of giallo art in imagery...Sonno Profondo  is unbridled Italian seduction by way of Argentina.

Perhaps I'm a little biased with my love of Gialli bordering on obsession...and maybe the experience is targeted towards hardcore fans of the subgenre, like me. But, honestly...you don't necessarily have to have a passion for the sub genre to enjoy something like Sonno Profondo...you just have to have the stamina of a male porn star to be able to appreciate it. Luciano Onetti has a way of shooting every day ordinary environments in a really lovely manner that truly creates something special far beyond the ordinary. Pretty impressive when one considers the fact that Onetti wrote, directed, shot, starred and edited this Argentinian production.


If you were able to give Sonno Profondo (Deep Sleep) some kind of a synopsis...you might describe it, as Onetti impressively attempts, as a story about a black-gloved killer who murders a female model (standard giallo procedure) within the first 5 minutes and then is stalked by someone who has apparently seen him murder the woman. The hunter thereby becomes the prey...or something like that. But, honestly...it's not about the story...or the lack of narrative here. It's all style, baby...and what Sonno Profondo  lacks in storytelling, it more than makes up for it with a deep passion of all things Giallo.

The single biggest element that Sonno Profondo  has going for it...is also its downfall...and perhaps the very reason this film won't find a bigger audience outside of the Gialli-loving community. It is a select group of film fans...able to dismiss a purely logical and competent narrative in favor of style and eye-candy...and just pure unbridled amazingness. There really isn't anything like a good Italian Giallo...and that's why we love 'em. However, someone walking in cold to these films might not see them the same way and, therefore, dismiss them as terrible nonsense. Saying all of that...it is fair to assume that Sonno Profondo  is not for anyone. Hell...even a hardcore Giallo fan who loves a good story might be a little turned off by what Onetti's intent is: the relish in the magic that once was.


In the end...Sonno Profondo  is a great moving picture experience. It has everything you would ever love from a Giallo film. Sexy suspense, a black-hat/black-glove wearing psycho-sexual deviant on the loose, a shiny blade stained in some of the thickest blood you will ever see and a pulsating soundtrack by Onetti, himself, keeping everything tightly wrapped. I enjoyed the hell out of what Onetti intended...because I am a fellow Giallo-obsessed fool looking for some kind of new fix...and if you are as well...Sonno Profondo  is exactly what the doctor order...assuming you don't much care for a deep story. If it were not for the fact that it is available right now HERE...I would think that it would be shown exclusively in an Italian art gallery on constant rotation with J&B being served.


GIALLO RATING: 4 out of 5 SWITCHBLADES



Thanks for reading,

bryan.




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