Tras el cristal
Encyclopedia
Tras el cristal is a 1987 Spanish art house horror film
written and directed by Agustí Villaronga
and starring Günter Meisner
, Marisa Paredes
and David Sust. The plot follows an ex-Nazi sadistic child abuser who is now paralyzed and depending on an iron lung
to live. A young man who comes to nurse him was one his former victims years before. The film was inspired by the history of Gilles de Rais
. With its theme mixing Nazism
, pedophilia
, torture and homosexuality, the film was highly controversial.
, has continued with his sick attraction for torturing and killing young boys during his exile in a remote village in Catalonia
. His latest victim is a child he has tortured and later kills with a blow to the head, taking photographs of the crime. This sadistic act has been witnessed by Angelo, another of Klaus victims, who has spied him from a window, later stealing the tortured incriminating writings and photographs of the doctor's crimes. Klaus tries to commit suicide jumping from a tower, but he survives. As a result of his failed attempt he is now unable to breathe on his own, confined to a glass cage, immobile and depending on an iron lung to live.
Some years later, Klaus is taking care of by his wife Griselda and their young daughter Rena in a lugubrious large house in the country. Griselda is unhappy in Spain and, overwhelmed by the task of looking after her husband, she secretly wish he would just die. Then a young man appears offering his services as a nurse to help taking care of Klaus. Griselda takes an instant dislike towards Angelo, the young man, and does not want to hire him, but Klaus insists that he should stay. Angelo actually has no nursing skills, which Griselda soon discovers, but even then Klaus refuses to get rid of him. The striking looking young man with big scars on his face was one of Klaus victims and they had a sickening, sadomasochism relationship. His instinct are, like Klaus's, disturbed. Angelo's aim is to take revenge from Klaus, but also ultimately to take his place. The two men bond quickly forming a perverse disturbing relationship. Angelo reads Klaus passages from the diaries he stole in which the doctor described, in detail, how he tortured his young victims. Recreating what Klaus did to him, Angelo strips and masturbates in front of Klaus' glass cage. He then calls Griselda. She tries to run away from him after seeing what he has done, but he kills her, hanging her from the rails of the second floor.
The next day, Angelo fires the housekeeper taking over the house with Rena's help. Rena is not disturbed by her mother's absence, she was harsh on her and Rena feels much more comfortable under Angelo's care. Angelo proceeds to continue with the doctor's experiments, delivering young boys next to Klaus's glass cage. Angelo lures a child to the house with the excuse of needing help with carrying the groceries. He ties the boy to a chair and, in front of Klaus, kills the boy by injecting him through the heart with a needle filled with gasoline. A second boy is brought in and Angelo kills him by cutting his throat. Fearing that Angelo is out of control and that his life and Rena's are in danger, Klaus tells his daughter to run away to the near village with a message asking for help.
Angelo discovers Rena while she is trying to escape and brings her back to the house. He dominates her, sometimes assuming a parental protective role and some other through terror and violence. Finally Angelo removes Klaus from his iron lung to die by asphyxiation while emulating the scene of his own abuse, in Rena's presence. Once Klaus is dead, Angelo takes his identity totally, getting into the artificial lung, and makes Rena take his.
. Made in 1985, Tras el cristal was partially funded by subventions from the ministries of culture both of Spain and of the regional Catalan government. It was distributed by Barcelona
based Lauren films. The "glass cage" of the film's title refers to the archaic iron lung which has become the home within a home for ex-Nazi Klaus after a failed suicide attempt
. Tras el cristal was inspired by the history of Gilles de Rais
, a fifteen century french nobleman who prayed upon children in sadistic black magic rituals and was eventually convicted.
in the United States on 25 May 2004 by Cult Epics. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. The bonus feature includes a brief interview with director Agustí Villaronga about the making of the film, the origins of the story, the stylistic use of color and location, and the acting.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Agustí Villaronga
Agustí Villaronga
Agustí Villaronga Riutort is a Balearic Spanish film director, screenwriter and actor. He has directed eleven films since 1976. His film El niño de la luna was entered into the 1989 Cannes Film Festival....
and starring Günter Meisner
Günter Meisner
Günter Meisner was a German actor. He is best remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler....
, Marisa Paredes
Marisa Paredes
María Luisa Paredes Bartolomé, , better known in show business as Marisa Paredes, is a Spanish actress.-Biography:...
and David Sust. The plot follows an ex-Nazi sadistic child abuser who is now paralyzed and depending on an iron lung
Iron lung
A negative pressure ventilator is a form of medical ventilator that enables a person to breathe when normal muscle control has been lost or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability....
to live. A young man who comes to nurse him was one his former victims years before. The film was inspired by the history of Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Montmorency-Laval , Baron de Rais, was a Breton knight, a leader in the French army and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known as a prolific serial killer of children...
. With its theme mixing Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, pedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
, torture and homosexuality, the film was highly controversial.
Plot
Klaus, a former Nazi German doctor who practiced horrific experiments with children during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, has continued with his sick attraction for torturing and killing young boys during his exile in a remote village in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. His latest victim is a child he has tortured and later kills with a blow to the head, taking photographs of the crime. This sadistic act has been witnessed by Angelo, another of Klaus victims, who has spied him from a window, later stealing the tortured incriminating writings and photographs of the doctor's crimes. Klaus tries to commit suicide jumping from a tower, but he survives. As a result of his failed attempt he is now unable to breathe on his own, confined to a glass cage, immobile and depending on an iron lung to live.
Some years later, Klaus is taking care of by his wife Griselda and their young daughter Rena in a lugubrious large house in the country. Griselda is unhappy in Spain and, overwhelmed by the task of looking after her husband, she secretly wish he would just die. Then a young man appears offering his services as a nurse to help taking care of Klaus. Griselda takes an instant dislike towards Angelo, the young man, and does not want to hire him, but Klaus insists that he should stay. Angelo actually has no nursing skills, which Griselda soon discovers, but even then Klaus refuses to get rid of him. The striking looking young man with big scars on his face was one of Klaus victims and they had a sickening, sadomasochism relationship. His instinct are, like Klaus's, disturbed. Angelo's aim is to take revenge from Klaus, but also ultimately to take his place. The two men bond quickly forming a perverse disturbing relationship. Angelo reads Klaus passages from the diaries he stole in which the doctor described, in detail, how he tortured his young victims. Recreating what Klaus did to him, Angelo strips and masturbates in front of Klaus' glass cage. He then calls Griselda. She tries to run away from him after seeing what he has done, but he kills her, hanging her from the rails of the second floor.
The next day, Angelo fires the housekeeper taking over the house with Rena's help. Rena is not disturbed by her mother's absence, she was harsh on her and Rena feels much more comfortable under Angelo's care. Angelo proceeds to continue with the doctor's experiments, delivering young boys next to Klaus's glass cage. Angelo lures a child to the house with the excuse of needing help with carrying the groceries. He ties the boy to a chair and, in front of Klaus, kills the boy by injecting him through the heart with a needle filled with gasoline. A second boy is brought in and Angelo kills him by cutting his throat. Fearing that Angelo is out of control and that his life and Rena's are in danger, Klaus tells his daughter to run away to the near village with a message asking for help.
Angelo discovers Rena while she is trying to escape and brings her back to the house. He dominates her, sometimes assuming a parental protective role and some other through terror and violence. Finally Angelo removes Klaus from his iron lung to die by asphyxiation while emulating the scene of his own abuse, in Rena's presence. Once Klaus is dead, Angelo takes his identity totally, getting into the artificial lung, and makes Rena take his.
Cast
- Günter MeisnerGünter MeisnerGünter Meisner was a German actor. He is best remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler....
as Klaus - David Sust as Angelo
- Marisa ParedesMarisa ParedesMaría Luisa Paredes Bartolomé, , better known in show business as Marisa Paredes, is a Spanish actress.-Biography:...
as Griselda - Gisèle Echevarría as Rena
- Imma Colomer as the housekeeper
- Ricardo Carcelero as Angelo as a child
- Alberto Manzano as gypsy child
Production
The film was the directorial debut of the Spanish filmmaker Agustí VillarongaAgustí Villaronga
Agustí Villaronga Riutort is a Balearic Spanish film director, screenwriter and actor. He has directed eleven films since 1976. His film El niño de la luna was entered into the 1989 Cannes Film Festival....
. Made in 1985, Tras el cristal was partially funded by subventions from the ministries of culture both of Spain and of the regional Catalan government. It was distributed by Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
based Lauren films. The "glass cage" of the film's title refers to the archaic iron lung which has become the home within a home for ex-Nazi Klaus after a failed suicide attempt
Failed suicide attempt
Failed suicide attempts comprise a large portion of suicide attempts. Some are regarded as not true attempts at all, but rather parasuicide. The usual attempt may be a wish to affect another person by the behaviour. Consequently, it occurs in a social context and may represent a request for help....
. Tras el cristal was inspired by the history of Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Montmorency-Laval , Baron de Rais, was a Breton knight, a leader in the French army and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known as a prolific serial killer of children...
, a fifteen century french nobleman who prayed upon children in sadistic black magic rituals and was eventually convicted.
Release
Tras el cristal was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the United States on 25 May 2004 by Cult Epics. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. The bonus feature includes a brief interview with director Agustí Villaronga about the making of the film, the origins of the story, the stylistic use of color and location, and the acting.