In a Glass Cage

Rating:
Summary: DISAPPOINTING
Review: After reading the other reviews of this film, I bought the DVD and eagerly anticipated a glut of horrible child murders. WAS I DISAPPOINTED!! This is not a horror film. The very slow moving first half focuses on the main character's wife (who is the best actor in the thing, BTW) and she delievers the only sharpness to the thing. The scene of the kid dying after being syringed in the heart is acted very phonily, and the kid with his throat cut is a cop out, focusing on his chest (and his underwear is kept on) and not seeing the blade drawn across his throat. Way too much bombed-out European feel and not enough bodies. To read these other reviews, I can hardly believe I bought the same movie as they. Way too much screen time is devoted to the nurse(who's way too handsome to be scary) and the daughter (who is an ugly and boring little actress). The old Nazi has very few horrible Nazi scenes and is confined to an iron lung for the WHOLE movie and cannot generate terror!!! This movie is not shocking!!! Only 2 boys R killed in this thing, BTW.

Rating:
Summary: In a glass cage
Review: First of all let me state that this is the firstmovie I have ever reviewed and may be my last.I love these kind of movies because they help meresolve things in my childhood that cannot andshould not be forgotten.This movie smacked me in my Solar-Plexus as if Iwas hit with a sledge hammer. I have NEVER watcheda movie in my 66 years that had such an impact onme.KUDOS to Villaronga who had the courage and expertise to create a movie that should have won tons of awards but instead was hidden because of the ''We should never show what should be hidden''mentality of today's society.This movie should bring home the message that the Dr. Frankensteins of this world are creating Monsters that they could not possibly have perceived in their wildest imaginations. Some of which, ultimately, come back to haunt them.Why does society try to repress these messages?Because of religious organizations, big business,governments and uninformed people that want to sequester their children in a make-believe world where this type of child abuse only happens to other people and could never possibly happen to them.I would like to compare this movie to another excellent movie ''The Boys of St. Vincent''which vividly shows how self-agrandizment hides and tacitly encourages child abuse. This societal''DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO'' mentality will only serve to propagate an EVIL on the children of this world that will have ramifications, that will make this movie look like ''Alice in Wonderland''I am glad that Amazon.Com gave me the opportunity to get this off my chest because this movie really smacked me on a visceral level of my soul and having written this I already feel like a load has been lifted off my chest.that makes me feel lighter.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of time
Review: Hmm. Curious. Unlike most of the positive reviewers here, I was not abused as a child, so perhaps this explains why I thought the movie was an overrated pile of dung. The acting and direction were of uniformly high quality; I have no complaints there. It's the story that had all the problems: (1) No character is sympathetic; (2) There are plot holes you can drive a Hummer through; (3) It's implausible that Klaus's nurse was one of his victims -- he's simply too young -- so the whole cycle-of-violence subtext makes no sense; (4) The murders are imaginative but meaningless and nowhere near as gory or intense as their reputation would suggest.

Frankly, having heard for years that IN A GLASS CAGE is among the most disturbing movies ever made, I'm left confused and more than a little disappointed. How can anyone be disturbed by violence directed towards characters they cannot possibly identify with? Was I supposed to empathize with the sadistic Nazi? With the wife of the sadistic Nazi? With the sadistic Nazi's protege? It would take more craft than these filmmakers are capable of to produce in me that kind of emotion, and frankly I'm not sure why anyone would want to bother trying.

I'm sad to report that the movie is not chilling, disturbing, or even particularly entertaining. It left me bored and wondering why the heck I had spent so much time trying to track it down in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: Ain't easy to watch
Review: I had no idea what was in store for me when I got "In a Glass Cage". It simply looked like another weird foreign movie about a twisted situation. It is far more than that, and I'm not necessarily saying that in a good way.

So called "perverse" films are usually not all that perverse. "Shocking" films are not usually all that shocking. "In a Glass Cage", however, is both, and in spades.

The film opens with an old man beating a naked child to death with a piece of wood in a basement. In some kind of delirious rage, he rushes to the top of the building and throws himself off the roof. It turns out this sick puppy is an ex-nazi who grew accustomed to the dubious pleasure of abusing young boys in the concentration camps he worked in. He ends up in an iron lung, and yet the local children are hardly safe; along comes Angelo, a young Japanese "male orderly" who Klaus (the ex-nazi) insists is perfect for his treatment and care, much to the irritation of his annoying, cold wife who Angelo feels is getting in the way. So he hangs her with mesh wire.

Klaus and Angelo develop a relationship which is at no point made clear enough to the viewers. The implication of the photograph that Angelo keeps (Klaus and himself as a young boy) seems to be that Angelo was one of his victims, but he seems a little too young to have been a victim of Nazi atrocities, and this 'time warp' aspect of the film is a hole big enough to drive a truck through. Maybe this is just "avant garde" type filmmaking, but all it does in this film is take away any measure of reality the relationship between the two men could have possessed.

Since seeing the film I've read grand exaplanations about it actually dealing with "the cyclical nature of abuse". I didn't see any of that. Sure, Klaus' daughter Rena is exposed to the unbelievably sick methods Angelo employs in an effort to expose Klaus to his own monstrous nature (example: replicating a scene in the old man's diary involving stabbing a needle through a child's heart and then watching him die, or brutally forcing a neighborhood youth to undress in front of Klaus and then cutting his throat), but she seems largely emotionless and incapable of comprehending what is going on. This is not about Angelos' "vengeance" on Klaus or anything else; it is an empty, heartless exercise in nihilistic style and imitation giallo. There are some redeeming qualities to the film, but they are few and far between and simply make one feel all that much more diseased. This wasn't worth the trouble of having a sychologist on the set to coach the children through the pointless, meandering scenes. This could have been a great movie, but it has no heart or substance, which given the plot makes it seem that much more sinister. I am no puritan of film but I don't think I'd watch this again of you paid me.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the most disturbing movie you'll ever see
Review: I saw this movie at a midnight screening in New York City about ten years ago expecting a movie loaded with blood and dismemberments. Instead, I got a movie lacking in gore, but high on psychological horror.

The movie is about Klaus, a Nazi war criminal and child molester exiled in Spain with his family, who ends up confined to an iron lung (a huge metal and glass breathing aparatus, the "glass cage" of the title). One day, a young man named Angelo shows up at his home demanding a private meeting with him. Against his wife's wishes, Klaus agrees to see Angelo, who walks out of the meeting with a new position as Klaus's live-in caretaker. He soon takes over the household and reveals his true reason for being there: Angelo had been one of Klaus's victims as a child, but rather than returning to exact revenge, he wants to learn from Klaus and reenact his atrocities.

The movie doesn't have any explicit gore, but it doesn't flinch at other disturbing visuals either. While most films that feature child murders only allude to them and have the crimes occur offscreen, director Agustín Villaronga doesn't hesitate to show a little boy's throat being sliced. More disturbing than any of the child murders, though, is how Angelo gains complete control of the household, including the full trust of Klaus's young daughter. It's the thought of evil having such seductive power that will haunt you long after the credits roll.

This movie is clearly not for everybody, and fans of mainstream cinema will likely brand this exploitation, but for those with a strong stomach and a taste for something different, this horror classic, long overdue on DVD, will be a real treat.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the most disturbing movie you'll ever see
Review: I saw this movie at a midnight screening in New York City about ten years ago expecting a movie loaded with blood and dismemberments. Instead, I got a movie lacking in gore, but high on psychological horror.

The movie is about Klaus, a Nazi war criminal and child molester exiled in Spain with his family, who ends up confined to an iron lung (a huge metal and glass breathing aparatus, the "glass cage" of the title). One day, a young man named Angelo shows up at his home demanding a private meeting with him. Against his wife's wishes, Klaus agrees to see Angelo, who walks out of the meeting with a new position as Klaus's live-in caretaker. He soon takes over the household and reveals his true reason for being there: Angelo had been one of Klaus's victims as a child, but rather than returning to exact revenge, he wants to learn from Klaus and reenact his atrocities.

The movie doesn't have any explicit gore, but it doesn't flinch at other disturbing visuals either. While most films that feature child murders only allude to them and have the crimes occur offscreen, director Agustín Villaronga doesn't hesitate to show a little boy's throat being sliced. More disturbing than any of the child murders, though, is how Angelo gains complete control of the household, including the full trust of Klaus's young daughter. It's the thought of evil having such seductive power that will haunt you long after the credits roll.

This movie is clearly not for everybody, and fans of mainstream cinema will likely brand this exploitation, but for those with a strong stomach and a taste for something different, this horror classic, long overdue on DVD, will be a real treat.

Rating:
Summary: A STUNNING PIECE OF FILM !!!!
Review: I'd heard about Tras El Cristal many years ago when being a (slightly!) younger boy....it was 1 of those "legendary" movies you read reviews about(from the lucky few to see it) it's 1 of those "pure"(in cinematic terms?) films so cold yet warm, on finally viewing it now (especially as an an adult who was abused as a child) this movie has done more for me than countless years of counselling!! don't get me wrong as with the other reviews the movie IS graphic(though not overtly) & disturbing(very) but it is told with such style & grace that the movie should not suffer for it's "notorious" reputation, gorehounds beware....this is not the movie for you!! it has visual flourishes in the styles of Mario Bava,Dario Argento Antonio Marghereti...all those Italian Grand Stylists(though the movie is spanish)....it contains 1 of the most disturbing/stylish/erotic murder scenes i've EVER seen(not graphic & NOT with a child) tell your friends about this movie ENJOY IT give it the reputation it truly deserves........as a stunning piece of cinema....remember when movies were meant to make you feel emotion .....well this will bring your faith back in the power of the medium HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Rating:
Summary: A STUNNING PIECE OF FILM !!!!
Review: I'd heard about Tras El Cristal many years ago when being a (slightly!) younger boy....it was 1 of those "legendary" movies you read reviews about(from the lucky few to see it) it's 1 of those "pure"(in cinematic terms?) films so cold yet warm, on finally viewing it now (especially as an an adult who was abused as a child) this movie has done more for me than countless years of counselling!! don't get me wrong as with the other reviews the movie IS graphic(though not overtly) & disturbing(very) but it is told with such style & grace that the movie should not suffer for it's "notorious" reputation, gorehounds beware....this is not the movie for you!! it has visual flourishes in the styles of Mario Bava,Dario Argento Antonio Marghereti...all those Italian Grand Stylists(though the movie is spanish)....it contains 1 of the most disturbing/stylish/erotic murder scenes i've EVER seen(not graphic & NOT with a child) tell your friends about this movie ENJOY IT give it the reputation it truly deserves........as a stunning piece of cinema....remember when movies were meant to make you feel emotion .....well this will bring your faith back in the power of the medium HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Rating:
Summary: SICK arthouse-shocker
Review: IN A GLASS CAGE is an obscure and rather hard to stomach Spanish (kind of) arthouse horror movie. It has a rather bad reputation for being one of the most disturbing movies ever committed to celluloid and when I did some online research prior to placing my order on amazonÂ's website I found lots of stories of whole audience walk-outs durings screenings of the film.
While I personally think that the film does not exactly live up to his bad reputation and feel that the shock value is a bit overrated (admittedly this could be due to my familarity with the plot prior to watching it) make no mistake about it: Most people will find story and events in this movie completely revolting and disgusting. I kidd you not.
IN A GLASS CAGEÂ's story concerns Klaus, a paedophile and former Nazi concentration camp doctor who had conducted horrifying experiments on children during the war. Confined helplessly to an iron lung (the glass cage of the title) after a failed suicide attempt, he lives with his wife Griselda and daughter Rena very isolated in exile in Spain. One day, a young man blackmails Klaus in order to be hired as a nurse. It is obvious that the intruder does not simply wants a job and KlausÂ' past is linked to this young man...What unfolds is an horrifying tale about the attraction of evil and a cycle of ever repeating abuse and terror.
While the film is not overly graphic in its murder scenes, the film is often quite hard to watch, most notably when Angelo stabs a young boy with a gasolene filled syringe in the heart. However what is far more shocking is the sickness of the movieÂ's theme of child abuse. It has to be said however that IN A GLASS CAGE is not a nasty horror film, exploiting a serious issue for questionable entertainment value. It is in fact quite intellectual demanding and you have a lot to think about after the end of the film (the cycle of ever repeating abuse and terror, the political subtext).
It is also very well made, boasting an impressive cinematography with images that linger long in the mind of the viewer. Kudos to the excellent actors for their powerhouse performances in very difficult and challenging roles.
As said before this is an demanding movie which will most likely upset and deeply shock most audiences. If in doubt, do not watch.

However I was not overly impressed with the DVD. Picture quality is acceptable, however far from outstanding.
Annoyingly there is little in the way of extras, just some well written liner notes (well written, but somehow pointless, since only stating the obvious) and a highly interesting but too brief interview with director Agustin VILLARONGA.
Thankfully the optional English subtitles are easy on the eyes.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful examination of human depravity
Review: IN A GLASS CAGE [Tras el Cristal] (Spain - 1986): Confined to an iron lung following an unsuccessful suicide attempt, a former Nazi doctor (Gunter Meisner) is visited in his isolated country home by a mysterious young man (David Sust) who professes knowledge of Meisner's 'work' with young boys in the concentration camps, where the doctor had cultivated an appetite for sadistic sexual abuse. Harboring terrible secrets of his own, Sust begins to undermine Meisner's terrified family, culminating in a resumption of the doctor's hideous 'experiments'...

Agustin Villaronga's magnificent feature debut premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986, where it was alternately cheered and denounced for its unflinching gaze into the abyss of human corruption, and the movie's extreme subject matter prompted its subsequent lapse into obscurity. However, Villaronga's subsequent works (including MOON CHILD [El Nino de la Luna, 1989] and THE SEA [El Mar, 1999]) have travelled the international festival circuit to great acclaim, leading to a belated reappraisal of IN A GLASS CAGE, his darkest, most harrowing movie to date. Ostensibly a slow-burning melodrama punctuated by a series of Hitchcockian/Argentoesque set-pieces (most notably a nerve-shredding sequence in which Almodovar favorite Marisa Paredes - here playing Meisner's harried wife - is stalked through the house by Sust when she becomes surplus to his requirements), the film asks profound questions about the monsters which lurk inside each and every one of us, and illustrates with startling clarity the cyclical nature of sexual abuse. Some viewers, especially parents of young children, will undoubtedly be horrified by some of the confrontational material included here, as Villaronga refuses to soft-peddle the horrors conjured by his nightmare scenario (the film's second murder is especially shocking, though there's very little on-screen gore). In a brief interview with the director included on this DVD, he explains how some of the more unpleasant scenes involving children were created by having them play a series of innocent 'games' which were then edited into the finished product, and there's a disclaimer in the closing credits (annoyingly untranslated on the DVD) which offers an unequivocal reassurance that none of the young actors were exposed to anything inappropriate during filming, and that a child psychologist was present during the recording of those sequences.

Beautifully played by a fearless cast (veterans Meisner and Paredes are appropriately subdued, whilst newcomer Sust makes a startling transition from handsome, fresh-faced innocent to strident Nazi demi-god, rampaging through Meisner's increasingly devastated home with newfound sexual maturity) and filmed with genuine skill by a top-notch production team, Villaronga's extraordinary film explores the wartime ghosts which continue to haunt the collective European consciousness. To his eternal credit, the director approaches his subject with deadly seriousness: Using numerous cutaways to photographs of children taken in concentration camps at the end of the Second World War, he deflects any suggestion of 'exploitation' by constantly reminding viewers of the historical truth which underpins his fictional drama. By turns haunting, horrific and deeply disturbing, IN A GLASS CAGE is an authentic masterpiece, one of the finest - and most difficult - movies to emerge from Spain during the 20th century. However, be warned: Not everyone will be swayed by the film's courage and audacity, and some viewers will be genuinely shocked by Villaronga's uncompromising approach to the material.

Cult Epics' DVD improves on an earlier VHS release by Cinevista, but is compromised by unavoidable technical drawbacks: The original negative appears to be caught up in some kind of litigation, so the distributors were forced to work from a PAL master, without anamorphic enhancement. Picture quality is fine overall, but the print is a little dark in places. Audio on the first pressing was marred by sync problems, which were plainly obvious on larger monitors, and while the second pressing eliminates most of these issues, the sound still drifts out of sync by a few frames during the movie's second half (cf. the kitchen scene at 81:17, for example). The optional English subtitles are excellent.

107m 3s [PAL master at 25fps; originally 111m 30s]
1.85:1 / Letterboxed
DVD Soundtrack: Mono 2.0
Theatrical soundtrack: Optical mono
Spanish with optional English subtitles
All regions