dionysian movies
by oinokhoe

A few movies that make me think of Dionysos...

The Witches of Eastwick 
In fact, through a good portion of it, Jack Nicholson is totally Dionysos. He pulls the women from their mundane, unfulfilling lives into a world of magic and ecstasy, he is often at the center of several female revellers, and there are rumors of wild orgies going on at his place. But especially that first part. The way he seduces each woman, particularly Alex, is so very Dionysos. "You've done your best, Alex. You've done the wife bit, the motherhood bit.The car pools, the vegetable garden...needlepoint, the macramé potholders...a cup of coffee with a neighbor in the morning...a couple of drinks, a couple of pills...a little psychoanalysis....Where are you now, Alex? Pretending to be somebody else... to be half of what you are. How long can you last like that? The world keeps growing, and you feed it. But it doesn't feed you, does it? It washes through you, down the drain, wasted. A woman is a hole, isn't that what they say? All the futility of the world pouring into her. How much can you take, Alex? How much can you take...before you snap? Lying on your bed, looking at the ceiling...waiting for something to happen. And knowing all the time you were meant for something better. Feeling it. Wanting it. Use me, Alex. Use me. Fill me up. I can take it. Make it happen. Don't wait. Time is the killer. Make it happen. Do it, Alex. Do it now." Oh yeah. That's Him.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
A man with an extraordinary sense of smell becomes obsessed with capturing the scent of a woman, learns the art of perfume, and then becomes a serial killer in his quest for the scent. This is not your average killer flick, not even your average artsy killer flick - it is almost meditative, spiritual. The main character has pure motives, he does not rape women, he does not even really want to hurt them, it's just that there is no other way he can find to capture their scent, than to do certain procedures to their lifeless bodies. Yes, he lacks any empathy, of course, but it's an interesting take on an unusual mind. There's a part in the middle of the movie, during his pilgrimage to a city famous for its parfumiers, that is unlike anything I've seen before... he finds this little cave that is almost without scent (a big deal for him, since he is constantly bombarded with scent due to his sensitive nose), and sort of incubates there, dreaming or hallucinating, with no food or water (for what might be an unrealistic amount of time, but then again that just adds to the mystical, fantastical quality of it), until he comes upon an important revelation. And then there is the ending, which is unlike anything you could expect, and thoroughly Dionysian.

Stage Beauty
In 17th century England, only men can take the stage. One man is quite well known for his portrayal of female characters - although his technique is very melodramatic and unrealistic, but that's how they like it. However, a young stage dresser defies the king's law and starts acting herself, which eventually leads to the king overturning his own edict. Now that women can play women in the theatre, the actor is out of a job, no longer adored, basically in the gutter. But there's a twist - the actress isn't really very good, and she ends up asking him for help with an upcoming production of Othello, where he decides, for the first time ever, to play a male character. Together, they take Shakespeare to a new level. The scene they do together, towards the very end of the movie, is the most chilling, powerful performance of Shakespeare I have ever seen. It gives me shivers just thinking about it. It's worth watching the whole film just for that scene. Also, the odd, confusing relationship that grows between the two main characters (especially since his character is otherwise gay) is quite well done. Theatre, ambiguous sexuality, passion, it's all Dionysos.

The Ballad of Jack and Rose
I can't possibly describe this movie well, because what makes it so special is the acting and a certain atmosphere, not so much the specific storyline. A dying man  lives on an island with his daughter in the remains of what used to be a hippy commune. Trying to help their situation, he invites his girlfriend from the mainland, and her two sons, to come live with them. Things do not work out well at all though. One of the sons is shy, overweight and gay, the other is just a creep who is all too happy to help the young Rose discover her burgeoning sexuality. Meanwhile, developers are coming onto the island, building terrible suburban type houses and ruining the beauty and peace there, which the father means to preserve any way he can. The relationship between the father and daughter is complicated, intense and strange. The ending is tragic and beautiful. Rose is in many ways a little maenad - she is free, and yet she longs for the freedoms she doesn't have even more. She is just discovering sex and drugs and the world. And in the end, she must forge her own path. 

The Libertine
Theatre, debauchery, wine, women, poetry, satire (which comes from satyr, after all), and liberation, all extremely Dionysian themes brought to life by a magnificent actor (Johnny Depp) in a fantastic period movie. An especially great theatre scene includes a number of giant phalloi.

The Doors
Due to the connections between Jim Morrison and Dionysos, this one is obvious. And it's a pretty wild trip.

Gothic
Imagine a night that Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelley got together, the night birthed the idea of Frankenstein. This is total Ken Russell madness - the strange, discordant soundtrack, the hallucinatory cinematography... They take laudanum and summon spirits, have sex and run naked on the rooftops, tell ghost stories and then meet those stories in the flesh. They are possessed. It is very much like a bacchanal.

Dangerous Beauty

Fight Club

Dead Poets Society
The themes of poetry and theatre, freedom and pursuing one's passions, all very Dionysian concepts. A heartbreaking tragedy, and yet inspirational as well.

American Beauty