THE IRON ROSE
Also Known As
LA ROSE DE FER
NUIT DU CIMITIERE
ROSE OF IRON

Directed by Jean Rollin
France/1973 – 86 Minutes/Widescreen
DVD Provided by Salvation Films
Article written by Mark Engle

Say what you will about Jean Rollin. As a director, he’s an acquired taste and not for every genre fan out there. Because he's rated high up on many people’s lists, I can only imagine new generations of horror fans going out of their way to rent or buy a Rollin flick to check out what all the hubbub is about. It's then that they find his work is nothing like movies today or even like many others from the 70’s or 80’s (the era of his greatest output). Short on linear story-telling but symbolic and poetic, his work either entrances or bores audiences. I guess you can put me in the middle somewhere when it comes to Rollin’s films. Half of his movies have me blown away, while the others are just too simplistic in their own self-absorbed way to interest me. So where does THE IRON ROSE sit on my movie watching shelf of fandom? As safe as it may sound, Rollin’s love poem of sex and death in a cemetery lies somewhere in the middle.

THE IRON ROSE is art house fare all the way. It is beautifully shot, has an exquisite setting, wonderful direction, and decent acting from our two leads. It’s atmospheric, poetic (literally based on a poem by Tristan Corbiere), inquisitive, playful, and dangerous. All the right setups for a successful Rollinesque romp (I use romp simply because Rollin seems to insist on lots of sexual imagery to convey anything deathlike in his movies). But what does it all add up to? There are no answers or powerful conclusions that can be found here, such as in Rollin’s more successful works like LIVING DEAD GIRL or NIGHT OF THE HUNTED. It hints at being more than what it is, but never finds a solution, leaving the viewer with his or her own conclusions without any insight into the characters or Rollin’s vision. You’ll either get it as a love poem for cemeteries or you'll be left scratching your head wondering why anyone bothered at all.

As for a cohesive plot line (yeah, right!), this is how I see it. During a wedding, a young poet spies a beautiful girl across the room. It seems they have a history but haven’t seen each other in quite some time. They choose to meet up the following day for a bike ride and picnic. After riding around an empty train depot, they head off into an enclosed cemetery for a picnic. Flirtations begin to arise and before you know it, they sneak down into a tomb to make love. Afterwards, as the sun begins to set, they discover they cannot leave. In fact, no matter what direction they walk, they end up in the same place and can’t even find the outer fence on any side of the cemetery. They soon begin to panic and run through all kinds of emotions. She screams a lot, he gets angry, etc. At one point, during one of her excursions into an insane-like hysteria, he attacks her and, at first, it is so rough that I thought he was going to rape her (it almost plays out as brutal as something like I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE). They calm down and hug as if it's no big deal (!?) and then she seems to accept their fate and gets even loonier, which makes him panic even more. Soon, he’s the one running. Lots of wonderful dialogue is spewed forth about death, love and more death, as they run from one tombstone to another, desecrating some, fondling others, etc. Once they both appear to accept their fate, whatever that may be, our poet ventures back to the tomb to get his watch (left behind by their earlier sexcapades) only to be locked in by his lover. What happens after that is a definite spoiler, so I won’t reveal it here, but it does give it a definite conclusion.

That’s pretty much it plot-wise, but like all of Rollin’s work, it does a lot more than that. Whether it works for the viewer or not is definitely up to the individual. Most of the dialogue, while beautiful in its prose, seems almost too childlike or naive to really have any effect on me. Although, I really like when our heroine quotes how the dead in the cemetery are not representative of death at all, but those still living who put them there are. It’s a profound moment, considering the setting and emotions running rampant throughout. The other real standout is the cemetery itself. Rollin manages to capture the decay of a European cemetery and makes it a stunning and gorgeous background. Actually, strike the background stuff and let’s just call it our third major character since that seems to be what Rollin set out to do. Old School Goths will definitely love THE IRON ROSE, or for that matter, anyone who is entertained for hours on end looking at or collecting pictures of cemeteries. From the old bones to the iron cages surrounding certain tombs, the whole place appears to be dreadful, yet here it comes across as natural beauty. That is what makes the movie work on a certain level. If you don’t think you can see something picturesque in death or the grave, then this isn’t an excursion you would want to take.

Salvation Films has made several of Rollin’s works available on DVD over the years and, like their other releases, this offers plenty of quality. The transfer itself is very nice, with good color schemes and clarity. A movie like this has a lot of black in it, and it looks good (rare with a lot of independent companies). The sound and subtitles are decent, but there is some background static that sounds like it came from the original print itself. The print has a few scratches, but doesn’t detract from the viewing experience at all. Extras include a very long theatrical trailer, a five picture photo gallery, and trailers for two more Salvation releases. There is also Rollin’s short film LES PAYS LOINS, which is very similar in theme, sporting two strangers who meet in a tunnel, venture out, and then end up in a place they can’t seem to leave and nobody will help them. Only this short is more frustrating than the full length feature itself. Overall, this is another worthwhile release of one of Rollin’s rare works, but can I truly recommend it to all genre fans? Obviously not, but if you are a fan of obscure French cinema, art house movies and/or love most of Rollin’s output, definitely give it a purchase. All else may want to rent it and give it a shot, just don’t go into it thinking it’s similar to one of his vampire films or gory like GRAPES OF DEATH. It’s different but still portrays Rollin’s poetic style, though repeat viewings may grow weary for some.