Goto - Island Of Love

Released by: Cult Epics
Released on: February 28, 2006.
Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Cast: Pierre Brasseur, Ligia Branice, Jean-Pierre Andréani, Ginette Leclerc
Year: 1968
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The Movie:

Walerian Borowcyk's success in animated films eventually lead way for him to work in live action filmmaking and his inaugral feature would be 1968's Goto - Island Of Love, a film that, despite the rather lurid sounding title, doesn't have a whole lot in common with his later and more explicit work in terms of naked frolicing and period dress but which still fits in nicely with a lot of the other themes that found their way into his unique body of work.

A nameless island somewhere in Europe is ruled by Goto III (Pierre Brasseur who shows up in Eyes Without A Face), a man who sees himself as generous to those who live under his rule but who also maintains a very firm hold over the populace - his word is law, no questions asked. His wife, Glossia (Ligia Brancie) is a loyal partner and claims to love him beyond a shadow of a doubt until she begins an affair with Gono (Jean-Pierre Andreani), the man who grooms the royal horses. Goto's hardly the model husband, as he runs a brothel for him and his friends, but when you're the sole man in charge, you can get away with such things as no one is allowed to question his authority.

Meanwhile, a criminal named Grozo (Guy Saint-Jean) who was spared execution when he won a gladiatorial style death match is now employed as a servent in the mansion where she lives with her husband. He kills off the man who is in charge of him and sets into motion a plan to claim Glossia for his own which in turn results in some political backstabbing and a power struggle in the house of Goto.

Filmed almost like a stage production, Goto - Island Of Love is an interesting looking film that makes use of both black and white as well as color film stock for a few shocking scenes to add emphasis to them. The cinematography is simple but effective and it presents everything very matter of factly to the viewer and the camera is never involved in the action that occurs, it remains simply an observer and never a participant. The flashiest moment in the film occurs at the beginning where we see through a series of portraits the lineage of Goto and his family who have ruled the island for a few generations now. We see these portraits the same way that the school children who are being forced to memorize their importance do and it does a good job of letting us know very early on that we're in a complete dictatorship on this island.

With Glossia the central character in the story and the one who all three of the male characters' plights revolve around and tie in to, it's interesting to see how Brancie's performance allows the three actors to play off of her. She obvioulsy cares for her husband but sees some sort of excitement in Gono and understands and feels for Grozo and so indulges with them even when she knows that she shouldn't be disloyal to the man she married. She's a very human character and the only one of the whole lot who we're really able to have any sympathy for - Goto is a power mad bully, Grozo is a murderer, and Gono is simply vapid upstairs and really doesn't have a whole lot to offer her outside of what dangles between his legs.

The movie wears its politics brazenly on its sleave and at times flirts with surrealism but remains a simple narrative even when it ventures into strange territory. This makes for an interesting movie with some keen contrasts that make it entertaining and thought provoking without heading into the exploitative territory that some of his later work would find itself in.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer isn't perfect but it's pretty solid none the less. The color inserts in the film are a little on the faded side and there is some mild flickering noticeable in the black and white portions but otherwise things look pretty decent. There is some mild print damage present here and there as well as some moderate grain but it isn't overpowering and everything is perfectly watchable here.

The French language Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack has, unfortunately, come with burned in English subtitles but is otherwise of fine quality. The musical bits come through nicely and the dialogue is clean and clear though there are a few moments here and there that have just a little bit of background hiss present.

The main reason to cruise through the extra features section of this DVD is to check out the included animated short film from Borowczyk, Les Austronautes, from 1959. It's an interesting little science fiction oriented fourteen-minute cartoon that tells the story of a space ship (made out of paper) that runs into a battle between two other space ships, and, fighting on the side of the underdog, ends up destorying the larger of the two ships only to have the smaller one turn around and unload its lasers at them with predictably disasterous results.

Rounding out the extra features is a lengthy promotional trailer for the feature, a filmography for the director, and an insert booklet which contains some liner notes from Rayo Casablanca who explains the origins of the film and puts it into context against his other, better known films. It makes for interesting reading and is a nice touch.

The Final Word:

The late Walerian Borowczyk's first live action feature film gets a nice release from Cult Epics. Goto - Island Of Love shows a different side to his work, but a no less interesting one than we've seen in his more erotic work. A solid movie, overall, one well worth checking out.