Paul-Paula - Paula Davis

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Jess Franco
Spain 2010

Paula (Carmen Montes, the star of Jess Franco's SNAKEWOMAN) is a pornographic nightclub performer who has been institutionalized for the murder of another performer also named Paula (Paula Davis). She is questioned by Alma Pereira (Lina Romay) but the answers are evasive. The camera's subjective view into Paula's mind proves to be equally distorted by the girl's hazy libido, which is haunted by the other Paula. Were they lovers? Enemies? Or the same person? An "audiovisual experience" based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll/Hyde novel, PAULA-PAULA is more of a vehicle for the music tracks that late Austrian jazz composer Friedrich Gulda's (who scored Franco's masterful SUCCUBUS/NECRONOMICON) family gifted to Franco recently. Interpretation wise, I think the Jekyll and Hyde reference is just there to get the audience to read an interpretation into the "narrative." Fragments are dropped here and there in between interludes of the other Paula dancing (her image distorted with a split mirror digital effect that turns her into a shapeshifter with two bodies, sometimes three breasts, two faces, no face, her limbs multiply and twist, and so on) and a twenty-five minute make-out session between the two Paulas. PAULA-PAULA opens up some ponder-worth avenues of interpretation, but it plays better as its own soundtrack or an album with visuals.

Eric Cotenas

Theatrical Release: 1 February 2010 (USA)

Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Intervision Picture Corp. - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Intervision Picture Corp. Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:05:10
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.16 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Intervision Picture Corp. Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Introduction by Jess Franco (16:9; 1:24) • Jess Franco on Contemporary Filmmaking (16:9; 17:43) • Jess Franco on PAULA-PAULA (16:9; 8:30) DVD Release Date: February 8th, 2011 Amaray Chapters 12

Comments

Seemingly a direct port of the 500 copy limited CB Films PAL edition (albeit with new menus), Intervision's DVD of PAULA-PAULA looks as good as the original, digitally-manipulated DV cinematography it likely can as a PAL conversion (I don't see this one as having ever been a candidate for an expensive Alchemist conversion). The score is far more clearly rendered than the Spanish dialogue (probably recorded with the on-camera mic) and the subs have likely not been re-proofed (given the grammatical errors).

The three extras have also been ported over from the original release. Seemingly all recorded around the same time, the introduction finds Franco breathlessly addressing us having just finished editing the film a half-hour before. The "Jess Franco on PAULA-PAULA" featurette is broken up into separate discussions of the film, the music, and the cast. "Jess Franco on Contemporary Filmmaking" is a loosely structured talk about Franco's opinions on government sponsorship of filmmaking, his dislike of crew departmentalization, taking risks as a storyteller, among other things. All three extras are interesting discussions even without the feature as context.

- Eric Cotenas

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