The Museum Of Wonders: Written Review

Hi everyone and welcome to MyIndie Review Vlog, the show that gives you spoiler-free reviews of indie films!
My name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions.

Today I’m going to be reviewing 2010’s drama-fantasy-horror, The Museum Of Wonders, by renown Italian extreme filmmaker, Domiziano Cristopharo.

In Episode 2, we reviewed Domiziano‘s Red Krokodil, so thank you, Domiziano, for sharing yet another film with our show.

Salomè is a gorgeous young woman and performer in a circus of visually unique people, or what some would call freaks. Portrayed by Valentina Mio, Salomè is also the love interest of Marcel the dwarf, the circus owner played by Fabiano Lioi.

Sadly, Salomè’s beauty is only skin deep, as she is revealed as a malicious vixen who exploits Marcel’s infatuation with her. She frequently persuades him to give her money as she fools around behind his back with performer, strong-man Sansone, portrayed by Francesco Venditti. Salomè steals Marcel from his fiance Olimpia, played by Adele Tirante. She ploys to marry Marcel herself as she learns that he has recently inherited a great fortune.

Throughout the film, there is a certain sense of irony as Salomè truly is a very beautiful woman, as opposed to the rest of the performers in the circus. However, on the inside, she is very ugly, as most of the other performers are kind-hearted and loyal to one another.

Domiziano interestingly chose to sometimes deviate from narrative in order to introduce various characters or tell us more about characters that have been introduced. Almost like a house tour for the viewer within the Museum of Wonders. He also wisely incorporated scenes that give visual representation of subtext and even in those scenes, we may find deeper meanings.

This film is visually astounding, giving homage to Georges Méliès’ A Trip To The Moon, and to Cinema’s silent era. It seems that a tremendous amount of work went into the set design, the costumes, the makeup, the practical effects. A great deal of attention went in to framing, lighting and composition. Almost every shot looks like a painting. Also, the film’s soundtrack is captivating and has a presence of its own.

Museum of Wonders has many layers to it. It uses a more formalistic approach to criticize superficiality and materialism in society, while praising acceptance and loyalty.

To sum up, this film gives a visually, vocally and conceptually rich experience that lingers on and on long after the credit roll ends. Highly recommended!

The Museum of Wonders gets a 8/10 on the Look At Me, I’m a Film Critic scale!

Go check it out for yourselves, the film is available to stream on AngerMan Distribution‘s Vimeo On Demand channel as well as for purchase on Amazon, links at the top. Let me know what you think.

Until next time, keep supporting Indie Film. My name is Asaf Angel, I thank you for tuning in to MyIndie Review Vlog.