Romantic fantasy in the vein of William Dieterle's Portrait of Jennie, Henry Hathaway's Peter Ibbetson, possibly Tay Garnett's One-Way Passage, three oldies that won the support of first-generation surrealists for their vision of the libido as clawing its way over all material obstacles, breaking through such inhibitors as manacles, prison cells, mortality, and time. Jennie would have to be the closest of those analogues, because of the theme of bridging time. It is interesting also to propose a comparison between this and the ultimate refinement of the surrealist romance, Alain Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad, because of the palacial hotel where it takes place, the theatrical performance therein that parallels the central action, the character of the heroine's ambiguous guardian who symbolizes whatever form of constraint you choose to imagine, an abundance of Hitchcockian tracking shots, and a French-born director, Jeannot Szwarc, who might or might not be aware of these similarities. The most important thing, though, that this movie has in common with any of the forenamed analogues -- and a consideration that rules out any number of other possible analogues -- is the high level of inspiration and virtuosity on display. With Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer; adapted from his own novel by Richard Matheson. (1980) — Duncan Shepherd
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