Review of Short Night of Glass Dolls

A journalist who is in a coma slowly remembers how he got to the hospital. At the hospital, only he knows he is alive but cannot speak to the doctors who think he is almost dead. Scenes at the hospital are interspersed with the journalist (Jean Sorel who bears an uncanny resemblance to Robert Redford) slowly retrieving his memories of romancing his girlfriend (the wooden Barbara Bach) in Prague, whom he saved from some sort of political scandal. We are treated to yet another great Morricone - Edda Del Orso collaboration while they walk around Prague kissing each other. But soon the girlfriend disappears and the rest of the film is about the journalist trying to track her down with the help of a colleague (Ingrid Thulin) who is madly in love with him. While also trying to stay alive at the hospital where everyone thinks he is dead.

There are some great set pieces. This was obviously a low budget film. There are little or no long or wide angle shots. The ending is simply spectacular. I did not see it coming. Barbara Bach ruined the film for me a little bit. I did not find her to be attractive at all. Posters on the message board suggest that Stanley Kubrick was inspired by this film when he did the orgy scenes in Eyes Wide Shut.

Aldo Lado, the director says in his commentary that this film is about the old feeding on the young to stay alive. Somewhat prophetic, considering Europe's declining birth rates which would lead to young people having to take on the burden of providing welfare for an aging population.