Mother of Tears

Saw Mother of Tears, the last of Argento's Three Mothers trilogy.  This one was made much more recently, in 2007, and follows fight against the last of the witches (or "mothers" as they are called here.)  The plot follows a art historian woman whose museum receives a mysterious urn which, when opened, predictably lets loose a lot of troubles on the land.

The film is less colorful than the previous films in the trilogy.  It's get the standard palate, which is to say plenty colorful but not gratuitously so, as the previous films were.  This one also has the overdubbing that the previous ones did, leading to some truly grating English voice acting.  This I think is what made the previous films feel so distant and alien: the acting is just dead with the dubbing.

Anyway, once the box is opened, there's a montage of senseless violence erupting in the city which is great but which goes on a bit too long and becomes ridiculous.  Similarly, gangs of witch-women start showing up in the city.  The film depicts these witch ladies as obnoxious, punky, woo-girls cackling and strutting around the city.  This is a nice choice, happily wedding the traditional depiction of witches with something modern without it seeming stupid or put-on.  And it also allows Argento to show lots of boobs.

The film is generally like that: it's full of interesting ideas but always a little undercut, a little clumsily executed.  Amazing atmospherics ruined when one of the characters rhythmically dubs their lines.  A montage that goes on a little too long.  It's a mixed bag of hit-and-miss.  As with the previous films, this one goes on a bit too long, even as it is the shortest of the films.  It's morbid and interesting and has some definite moments, but it has some dead keys as well and is sometimes tough going.