Not Coming to a Theater Near You

That Obscure Object of Desire

Transformations Buñuel cast the Spanish Angela Molina and the French Carole Bouquet in the role of Conchita, two women who don’t look or sound anything alike. The two women alternate scenes in the film haphazardly; while Molina’s fiery Conchita differs somewhat from Bouquet’s more sensual interpretation, their collaboration is more of a surrealist gesture than an attempt at implying a deeper meaning. We therefore see Conchita through Mathieu’s eyes: volatile, erratic, two completely different people occupying the same person.

Face/Off

Transformations The mortal coil that binds Sean Archer and Castor Troy, with both John Travolta and Nicolas Cage getting to engage the stoic desperation of the former and the manic sadism of the latter, is essentially a dynamic physical tango. As the actors transform, with the normally heroic Travolta turning into a diabolical madman and the usually maniacal Cage turning vulnerable and thoughtful, it almost feels like both performers are trying to deconstruct and amplify the persona each has spent years perfecting.

The Curse of the Cat People

Transformations Irena’s transformation in this film, then, is not the expected shift from human to beast, but rather a change from a supernatural menace to a supernatural(?) comfort. Through Amy’s eyes, Irena becomes the perfect childhood friend: a fairy princess, playmate, and caregiver rolled into one. In that scene where Amy calls out, awaken by a nightmare, and Alice shrugs the noise off instead of checking on her daughter, it’s Irena who sings Amy to sleep. That’s kind of the melancholy heart of the film right there: a rejected child turns to a dreamed-up dead woman; or to read it another way, to her imagination – herself – for help.