As Above, So Below (2014)

"The only way out is down."

Directed by John Erick Dowdle
Produced by Patrick Aiello, Alec Hedlund
Written by Drew Dowdle, John Erick Dowdle
Starring: Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, François Civil, Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar
Music by Max Richter
Cinematography: Léo Hinstin
Edited by Elliot Greenberg
Production company: Legendary Pictures
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date: 19 August 2014 (Cambodia)
Running time: 93 minutes
Country: United States, France
Budget: $5 million
Box office: $40.2 million

"As Above, So Below" is a mystery thriller horror film directed by John Erick Dowdle and written by Dowdle and his brother Drew. It tells the story of Scarlett Marlowe, a young alchemy scholar, continuing her dead father's work searching for the philosopher's stone, a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals such as lead into gold and granting eternal life, discovered by Nicolas Flamel. But this pursuit will take more from her than she expects.

Cast

• Perdita Weeks as Scarlett Marlowe
• Ben Feldman as George
• Edwin Hodge as Benji
• François Civil as Papillon "Pap"
• Marion Lambert as Souxie
• Ali Marhyar as Zed
• Cosme Castro as La Taupe
• Hamid Djavadan as Reza
• Théo Cholbi as Gloomy Teenager
• Emy Lévy as Tour Guide
• Roger Van Hool as Mr. Marlowe
• Olivia Csiky Trnka as Strange Young Woman, the leader of a group of female cultists
• Hellyette Bess as Strange Old Woman
• Aryan Rahimian as Iranian Armed Guard
• Samuel Aouizerate as Danny
• Kaya Blocksage as Female Curator

The film attracted me with the poster, frankly speaking. Neither the director nor actors I hadn't known before. Probably the only film of John Erick Dowdle I've heard about is "Quarantine" (2008) and that's all. The cast was absolutely unknown for me but it didn't mean that the acting was at ground level. My attention was caught by Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman and François Civil. They managed to show their characters in extreme cases.

The idea of the film - brilliant, but its realization leaves much to be desired. It's a thousand pities.

Advantages

• Perdita Weeks as Scarlett Marlowe
• Ben Feldman as George
• François Civil as Papillon "Pap"

Disadvantages

• Just an other horror film
• The end

"Strangenesses"

• Many weird moments

Clue Moments

• Philosophers' stone

How often the mistakes of our past pull us down?

Telling the truth, the past defines the present and the future. If a person still have unsolved problems, they won't give him or her live farther. In other words, we act in compliance with our experience. For example, if once someone was bitten with a dog, he or she will think these animals always do that. Better to say. However, if a person realize that was only one incident and it may not repeat again, he or she will become easier. So the way to live without any complexes, resentment is to admit and let go.

To better understand the film, I'm convinced, it's a good idea to get to know some historical moments.

First of all, the Catacombs of Paris (Catacombes de Paris). They're underground ossuaries in Paris, France. Located south of the former city gate (the "Barrière d’Enfer" at today's Place Denfert-Rochereau), the ossuaries hold the remains of about six million people and fill a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of historical stone mines, giving it its reputation as "The World's Largest Grave". Opened in the late 18th century, the underground cemetery became a tourist attraction on a small scale from the early 19th century, and has been open to the public on a regular basis from 1874. Following an incident of vandalism, it was closed to the public in September 2009 and reopened on 19 December of the same year.

The name of ‘Catacombs’ was given to this ossuary in reference to the Catacombs of Rome, a name originally given to an ancient cemetery situated not far from the Appian Way. The Cemetery of the Innocents (near Saint-Eustache, in the area of Les Halles) had been in use for nearly ten centuries and had become a source of infection for the inhabitants of the locality. After numerous complaints, the Council of State decided, on November 9th 1785, to prohibit further use of the Cemetery of the Innocents and to remove its contents.

Disused quarries were chosen to receive the remains; the City of Paris had in fact just completed a general inspection of the quarries, in order to strengthen the public highways undermined by them. Building work was done on the “Tombe-Issoire” quarry, using large quantities of stone, strengthening the galleries and completed by digging out a staircase, flanked by a well into which the bones could be thrown.

The transfer of the remains could begin after the blessing and consecration of the site on April 7th 1786, and it continued until 1788, always at nightfall and following a ceremony whereby a procession of priests in surplices sang the service for the dead along the route taken by the carts loaded with bones, which were covered by a black veil. Then, until 1814, the site received the remains from all the cemeteries of Paris.

Since their creation, the Catacombs have aroused curiosity. In 1787, the Count d’Artois, the future Charles X, made the descent, along with Ladies of the Court. The following year a visit from Madame de Polignac and Madame de Guiche is mentioned. In 1814, Francis I, the Emperor of Austria living victoriously in Paris, visited them. In 1860, Napoleon III went down with his son.

There's the official site of the Catacombs.

Secondly, the philosophers' stone. It's a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals such as lead into gold (chrysopoeia) or silver. It was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality; for many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal in alchemy. The philosophers' stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest, enlightenment, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the philosophers' stone were known as the Magnum Opus ("Great Work").

And many times in film repeats the name of Nicolas Flamel. He was a successful French scribe and manuscript-seller. After his death Flamel developed a reputation as an alchemist believed to have discovered the Philosopher's Stone and achieved immortality. However, these legendary accounts only appeared in the seventeenth century.

According to texts ascribed to Flamel almost two hundred years after his death, he had learned alchemical secrets from a Jewish converso on the road to Santiago de Compostela. As Deborah Harkness put it, "Others thought Flamel was the creation of 17th-century editors and publishers desperate to produce modern printed editions of supposedly ancient alchemical treatises then circulating in manuscript for an avid reading public." He has since appeared as a legendary alchemist in various fictional works.

Soundtracks

1. Sur La Planche 2013 – La Femme
2. Nuit De Mes Rêves – Scratch Massive
3. Drei Phantasien Nach Friedrich Hölderlin: Iii. Abendfantasie – Capella Amsterdam And Daniel Reuss
4. My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean
5. Hypsolin – La Femme

You may see the trailer here.

Plot: 5/10

Entertainment: 6/10

Acting: 5/10

Originality: 6/10

Music and Sound: 4/10

5/10