Let The Corpses Tan is a French language pseudo-western from filmmakers, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, and it follows Luce (Elina Löwensohn), an eccentric artist who lives in an isolated retreat in Southern France with her two guests. However, the leisure soon comes to an end when they are joined by three men who have recently stolen gold and are trying to lay low, which becomes complicated when a woman, her child, and his nanny join. And it becomes even more complicated once two cops arrive, turning the retreat into the playground for a long, violent shootout.
Just based on the description, it might not seem like much. Close quarters combat, changing alliances, grisly violence, etc. The thing is, the experience of the film is unlike anything you’ve seen before. I haven’t seen Cattet and Forzani’s previous films, Amer and The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears (though, I will now having seen this), but based on some research, they’re both heavily stylized homages to giallo films. Let The Corpses Tan doesn’t use giallo as a major reference point, at least, compared to those previous films, but that Italian-inspired thread continues with this, in that it’s heavily inspired by the look and feel of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western.
However, it’s not just a pastiche, it’s not just regurgitating images you’ve seen before. It’s taking those images, and filtering it through a very distinctive voice and filmmaking style. The crazy thing about the way this film is presented is that it’s nearly devoid of master shots, utilizing inserts, close-ups, whip-pans, crash zooms, as well as frantic, and even psychedelic editing techniques. It’s all grounded well enough, but along with the spaghetti western influence, the general feeling of it is the closest we’ve had to an acid western in quite a while.
The film is shot by Manuel Dacosse, who worked on the directors’ previous films, on a super grainy 16mm film stock, giving it that gonzo late 60s to early 70s vibe. The use of it, however, is very modern, very playful, and always seeking the most extreme angle and framing possible. The colors pop with these harsh earthy tones. The sound is also exceptionally executed. There’s a distance and sharpness to the sound effects used here, creating an almost artificial affect, but it totally works in creating oppressive, trippy ride. It even does that thing where it will rewind and play events you just saw from a different character’s point-of-view, as well as a number of flashbacks and odd visual metaphors. Every aspect of the filmmaking here is working overtime as an assault on your senses. I’m saddened that I didn’t get to see this on the big screen, but even on the small screen, it’s all incredibly effective.
If I had one gripe, it would be that the film definitely lacks emotional depth. We don’t get much insight on these characters, so the connection never quite clicks into place. There’s no doubt a film like this will be stamped with the “style over substance” criticism that many folks like to apply on genre films like this. But this movie’s in luck because I’m not one of those people. Granted, I would’ve liked to care more about the people here, I would’ve liked to understand them on some deeper level, and see how they grow and change through the all the chaos. What ultimately makes this not that big a deal is simply that the filmmaking is so confident, the experience of it is consistently engaging, and it doesn’t waste your time, keeping things at just under 90 minutes. It perfectly realizes a strange and distinctive vision, and that makes the thin characters easier to forgive.
There’s really not much else to say on something like Let The Corpses Tan. I can try and describe everything to you, but you honestly just need to see it for yourself. While the lack of characterization and emotional connection might sound like this would be a deal breaker, I assure you, it’s not. I was legitimately in awe for practically the entire runtime. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I couldn’t fathom the level of work and detail that went into the craft. It’s never boring, it’s really fun, the gun battles are really satisfying, and sometimes in ways you don’t expect. It’s the kind of film that I can absolutely see countless future filmmakers drawing inspiration from, or just straight ripping it off. And if I’m being honest, I hope I do see more stuff like this in the future.