FORGOTTEN FILM: MASCARA (1987)

One of my strangest, and most memorable, moviegoing experiences happened in January of 1991.

It was Winter term in college. For a month we would take a single class, meet five times a week, and study that subject in depth.

The class I took was “Revolution in European Film”. For the final project, we were divided into groups and each group had to choose a single European film to show to the class and teach it to them.

This was a very small town, with only a couple video stores. So, we had to rely on films in the library, or hopefully find something in the video store. My group taught BABETTE’S FEAST, another group picked WINGS OF DESIRE (which made me fall in love with the film) and another group showed a film no one had heard of, a 1987 film from Belgium called MASCARA.

We watched the film in the basement of the library, in an old screening room with a video projector. The guys who chose it did a brief introduction, went to sit in the back of the room and then the film began.

The film starred Charlotte Rampling and Michael Sarrazin (a long way from THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY?) as a brother and sister. It was set in a world of underground clubs. I think there was a murder in there somewhere, I don’t remember the details of the film.

I will, however, never forget one scene that sort of scarred me for life. SPOILERS for the film, but I don’t know if it is one you really have to see.

Sarrazin is in a club where the performers sing opera music. He had been talking to the performer who was to go onstage. She was topless. After her performance, she meets Sarrazin in her dressing room again.

Sarrazin begins telling a story about his life in the foreground of the unbroken shot. Behind him, the singer is getting undressed with her back to the camera. As he gets to a poignant part of the story, she is now fully undressed and, being moved by the story, begins to turn to him.

As she turns, he is still talking. But then she is facing him, completely naked. AND SHE ISN'T A FEMALE!!!!

There were gasps throughout the screening room. Girls were squealing. The guys who had picked it starting almost high fiving each other at the reaction. I’ll never forget the teacher, sitting in the front of the room, turning back to look at the guys who had chosen it, as if to say “What kind of movie is this?”

Like I said, I remember little else about the film other than that scene. But, 17 years later, how could I forget it?

When the movie was over, the teacher was said to tell someone about the guys that picked it “they better have a good presentation”. And, I believe they did.

The film’s biggest impact on me was, soon after seeing it, THE CRYING GAME was released. From the first moment we saw one of the characters in that film, I knew what the twist was. Since Neil Jordan isn’t known for being original, I’ve often wondered if he had seen MASCARA (and CAL which he also heavily stole from).

MASCARA has never made it to DVD. Released by the fine folks at Cannon, it was released on VHS by Warner. Used copies can be found for $2.