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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Haunting enigma; not for all tastes., 14 April 2004 Author: gridoon
This is the third Raoul Ruiz film I have watched recently (after "Three Lives and Only One Death" and "Genealogies of a Crime"), and it is easily the best of the three. Why? Because it's less talky and pseudo-philosophical, more colorful and cinematic. Imaginatively directed and sprinkled with all sorts of quirky visual surprises (some of which are directly linked to its title) and surreal ideas (a painting that gets different every time you look at it), it captures the netherworld between dream and reality better than any "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie. And if all the pieces of the puzzle don't fit together at the end (though a second viewing will help you clear up a few details), at least you can feel the director's joy in assembling them anyway. (***)
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Multiple Personality Disorder?, 2 October 2006 Author: pacieterra-1 from United States
Even with great set design and cinematography, this muddle of a mystery will leave many questions and confusion, long after it's over. Good, dual character arcs for both William Baldwin and Annie Parrilaud; however, neither seem to connect with the final denouement.I kept hoping I would understand the final outcome, but still remain unsure of what it all meant.It has a Hitchcock/De Palma/Shayamalan director's twist, but it doesn't seem to tie up all the loose ends.It is recommended, however, for anyone interested in post-traumatic stress syndrome, abnormal psychology, or readers of 19th century author,William James.
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Soft Fulcrum, 19 February 2003 Author: tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Spoilers herein.Most folks don't like this, I suppose because the goofy ending allows them to believe they understood it and that perceived understanding is stoopid. But forget the ending for a moment: something tacked on by the same types of studio executives that defaced Welles' profundities.See Ruis' Proust film, then see this without that shot mirror. The idea is pretty clever: the first rule of creating a film world is to give the viewer a secure platform. They need to know where they are: how close to reality; what the levels of removal are. This so that when films and imaginings within the `main' story occur, the viewer knows where to place them. For nearly a hundred and fifty years, we have been following the `Alice in Wonderland' model as our default: so while there is lots of TALK about whether we are dreamed or dreamer, the story itself gives us the required anchor.Recently, dePalma and Lynch have ventured into the territory of the unanchored platform, scaring us with our lack of imbalance. Here, without that stoopid ending, is a riskier adventure. Worth applauding.In doing this, he has given us several places where everything else in the story is a vision from what happens there. The most obvious is the VooDoo tea given in the `Christmas Palace;' one can see precisely the same trick in `Phoenix and Rainbow.' There's some `Last Year in Marienbad' meets `Lady of Shanghai' here, and a similarity to `Sex and Lucia,' even a reference to `Cabinet of Dr Caligari.' Nikita meets Dialbolique or perhaps the other way aroundThere's a really nice scene with crabs along the way.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 4: Worth watching.
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Enigmatic, but ultimately unconvincing, 19 December 2000 Author: Afracious from England
This is an enigmatic film with an interesting premise. Jessie (Anne Parillaud) has just married, and arrives in Jamaica on her honeymoon with her husband Brian (William Baldwin). She is troubled by dreams of herself in another life as an assassin, with her next target being antiques dealer Conrad, also played by William Baldwin. Most of the characters in one side of the confused lady's life are in the other side as different characters. Which is the dream and which is the reality? That's for us to decide. The film constantly switches between both characters, and it is puzzling at times. It is interesting at first, but ultimately the film fails because the acting isn't convincing. It's worth a look though if you like mysterious and surreal films.
6 out of 11 people found the following review useful: I wish I had never started this movie..., 27 March 2006 Author: Harbinger1 from Victorville, California
One of my all time favorite movies is La Femme Nikita with Anne Parillaud. Of course that film was directed by the master Luc Besson who also brought us the debut of Natalie Portman in Leon The Professional. Anne Parillaud is fantastic in La Femme Nikita which is action packed, and at times incredibly funny. This film (Shattered Image)is easily one of the worst messes I have ever seen. Bad acting, unintentional humor, confusing story, terrible fake accents ( I have been to Jamaica, and the people of Jamaica sound nothing like anyone in this movie). In other words skip it. If you haven't seen either of the two Besson movies I have mentioned, get one of those instead. You will not feel cheated.
3 out of 6 people found the following review useful: A highly intriguing, albeit flawed, psychodrama..., 20 July 1999 Author: corky-27 from United States
This intriguing psychodrama bites off more than it can chew but presents a terrific alternative to the spate of "erotic" psychothrillers that the B-movie market usually has to offer. Parillaud plays twin doppelgangers that exist in parallel realities and could actually be the figment of each others' imaginations. Sounds promising? It is, and while I was waiting to be utterly confused at any moment, the plot lines held together pretty well. Director Raul Ruiz has had some practice at this, as anyone who has seen the utterly absorbing "Three lives and only one death" can attest. This movie is not of the same caliber in that the pacing of the denouement seems a bit off and involvement with the characters winds up seeming a bit distant. Others might argue that this was Ruiz' intent; in any case, the acting is proficient in a necessarily cold, unaffected way. (Baldwins seem to be better suited to this style of acting and I'm not really being snide in that I happen to think Alec is a terrific actor and Stephen an underrated one). If I gave more away it would be a disservice- rent this movie and figure it all out for yourself. Corkymeter says four stars out of five.
5 out of 10 people found the following review useful: An accurate depiction of some quantum mechanics physicists' theories of parallel worlds and existences., 8 December 2001 Author: res0owwh (res0owwh@verizon.net) from Baytown, Texas
WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILERS HEREIN.Carl Jung, M.D., who originally studied under Sigmund Freud, M.D., but broke from him due to his (Jung's) expanded consciousness, mysticism, and spirituality, stated in his book "Man and His Symbols" that we are everyone in our dreams. This movie illustrates that theory as well as some quantum theories on alternate worlds/universes/dimensions/existences.People will not usually experience such an awareness without some "black hole" type of consciousness experience, i.e., personal trauma, which the main character in the movie did encounter.Anne Parillaud's character was able to see into and interact with another of her dimensions of existence and her alternate self was able to do the same. She probably would not be classified by medical science as "multiple personality disordered" but more than likely as "PTSD" (post traumatic stress/shock disorder) as a result of the rape which she experienced and her father's death, both apparently occurring in close proximity to each other judging by statements made and actions taken by some individuals within the movie. Although, her alternate self probably experienced something of a traumatic experience somewhere down the line due the fact that she was a hit-woman for hire, specializing in hits on men only. Additionally, this movie is philosophical in nature evidenced by the statements made by the gentleman whom she kills in both realities, and who in one reality is a store owner partner and in the other, a detective. This individual(s) makes the statement to her both times that she has decided upon a plan of action which she will go through with, but will live to regret it.Many, if not all, of the characters throughout the movie and in both dimensions of existence are very similar to each other, if not identical.The theme of this movie is that dreams are real, not some fantasy world that human beings immerse themselves into plus or minus eight hours every night on the average.The film's classification is "fiction with a purpose" - it teaches about human realities, human betrayal, and human reactions to stressful experiences.
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful: For those who like Hitchcock, 15 November 2007 Author: lastliberal from Florida
One of the the things you can do as a new director is to get a great Director of Photography. He can help you avoid mistakes and save your butt.Raoul Ruiz is not a new director, he has over 90 films to his credit, but he is fairly new to the United States. This is supposed to be his "official" debut film.So, he gets Robby Müller to do the cinematography. Great choice, as directors like Wim Wenders (13 times, including Paris Texas) and Jim Jarmunch (Ghost Dog, Way of the Samauri) like to use him on their pictures.Unfortunately, the great cinematography and a sexy star, Anne Parillaud (La Femme Nikita, Innocent Blood), can't make up for lousy music and bad "B" movie dialog, even if the story is somewhat interesting. Yes, I hung in there to see what happens, and, no, I am still not sure.It did have Graham Greene (Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Green Mile) and that made it more palatable through the bad parts.Don't rent, but you may want to catch it on cable.
4 out of 9 people found the following review useful: It's a big joke - enjoy it., 11 September 1999 Author: ARI GANDSMAN (ARI-26)
the film is hilarious. i laughed from start to finish. It isn't unintentionally hilarious either as some people have suggested because it takes away the credit where it is due. Having scene Ruiz's films before, his first "American" film seems to be at first glance lifted from late night cinemax in the erotic thriller category. The script is amazingly awful. The acting is terrible. Especially Billy Baldwin. But I'd say that's the whole point and I'm not being willfully perverse in saying this. Raul Ruiz is a brilliant director and he knows exactly what he's doing. The joke isn't that obvious because it is mostly in the insane mise-en-scene wonderfully photographed by Robbie Muller (Wings of Desire, Dead Man). It's easily one of the best "thrillers" to come out in this category in some time. Just don't take it too seriously.
3 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Apparent effort to bring the neurotic antiheroes and heroines of 40s noir into an equivalently chic 90s environment runs on empty--often with unintentionally comic results., 6 February 1999 Author: Robert Armstrong (elbob-o@webtv.net) from Chicago, Illinois USA
Did see Shattered Image tonight with Billy Baldwin and Anne Parillaud. Terrible. Audience tittered and laughed openly the first half hour, then even that entertainment value waned as the jerking back and forth between supposed reality and supposed nightmare simply became fatiguing. Some glaring imperfections, such as unconvincing Jamaican accents and an outdoor scene where it's raining only on the lead characters' car. Badly researched too. Many loose details are left banging about randomly in this film, without fulfilling the implied promise that their presence will be explained by the end. It's a lot like the later works of director Joseph Losey--Dark Ceremony; The Go-Between--films that tease the audience by not telling us everything but ultimately don't have that much to say.
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