User Reviews

Polanski's engaging devil-worship chiller is lush with a rich Gothic atmosphere and style to spare. The storyline is deceptively simple: bookseller Johnny Depp is tasked with tracking down copies of an ancient text believed to have been written by Satan himself. He soon finds himself menaced by dark and mysterious forces and discovers that nobody can be trusted. Although the film's nothing to do with the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, I found its depiction of sinister mysteries and ancient books to be extremely Lovecraftian in tone.

It's a film with plenty of mystery and little solution. If you watch it waiting for a big ending, you'll be disappointed: the pleasure's in the journey rather than the denouement. Nonetheless, Polanski shoots his film just right, and employs a wonderful orchestral score which adds to the atmosphere no end.

Depp's on solid form as the brash, rather unlikeable protagonist and Frank Langella delivers a powerhouse supporting turn. There's also Mrs Polanski, Emmanuelle Seigner, in the role of an ally not dissimilar to the one in Frantic. Bypass the occasional missteps - the jarring use of wirework in one sequence is a big mistake, and there are other cheesy moments - and instead relax and soak up the atmosphere.

A SPOILER

I was inspired to write this, my first film commentary ever, when I was reading through those already posted. It struck me that nobody seemed to have got who "the girl" (played by Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner) is! Everybody who mentions her -- and most do -- say she's in the film for no reason, she keeps appearing and disappearing to no effect, she's never explained, and that the film would've been much better if Polanski had only left her on the cutting room floor.

I hope Polanski is getting a kick out of this: the fact that nobody has got the secret of this, his most recent (and I think brilliant) film. I hope he's reached the point in his life and career where he cares more about making the art he had in mind than he does about whether people are getting it.

Darlings, "the girl" IS Lucifer!! It's right out there in plain view. And this is the beautiful irony of this movie: that s(he) IS right out there in plain view, to all these people who are seeking her, and doing all this stuff to summon her, and she's right there -- which is one of the oft-told truths about gods and deities throughout time, that they're right there, right next door to you, and you don't even notice them. This is the truth (one of them) that Polanski is putting on screen here. Witness the scene in the St. Martin Chateau where "the girl" crosses paths with Mrs. Telfer; look at the expression on the girl's face; it is ironic and absolutely amused. And there are more "clues" -- many more.

The girl is the only person in the film with actual supernatural powers. She floats. She is always around whenever Lucifer is being discussed. Although she repeatedly rescues Corso, she has anything but an angelic face. Her beautiful face has a subtext of evil and corruption. She anoints Corso with her blood in an arcane symbol on his forehead! And -- the giveaway -- when she finally has sex with him, didn't you notice that her eyes turn into demon eyes? that she morphs into a devil?

This is really a love story. It is about Lucifer finding a mate -- the person s(he) will accept to enter through the Ninth Gate into his/her kingdom. You can see how "the girl" is evaluating all the candidates throughout the film and how s(he) decides on Corso who is, after all, corrupt from the very beginning and therefore a likely candidate. Witness the scene when Corso is beating Pablo to death, pounding him repeatedly on the face. "The girl" says "Well, Mr. Corso, I didn't know you had it in you." She is obviously pleased with him; she is choosing her mate!!!! The reason she keeps rescuing him is because he is the one she's seriously considering.

Watch the film again. See if I'm not right.

Anyway, what probably has Polanski laughing is the fact that he managed to disguise all this so brilliantly simply by making Lucifer a girl. He's probably a bit surprised by how completely this simple gender-switch had the audience totally fooled! If "the girl" had been "the boy" -- an equally beautiful young man who follows Corso throughout the film -- I'm sure half the audience would've gotten it. But nobody, still, can imagine that the mythic figure of the devil could be female. But of course! The gods are androgynous; they have to be!

And Polanski adds yet another layer of irony and humor by dressing "the girl" as a student with different color socks: the most innocent, innocuous, universal and asexual dress imaginable. Put yourself in Lucifer's shoes. Isn't this how you'd disguise yourself, if you were making a visit to earth? Obviously it is because, if the people who saw this movie are any sample, nobody would suspect.

I never got what people liked about Johnny Depp, but I kind of liked the way he played this part. There was something very natural about his portrayal of a sort of detached rare book dealer. What a weird and intriguing concept. A bachelor in his 30s who is kind of cynical and sleazy, but who makes a living dealing with articles of high culture.

Frank Langella plays evil beautifully here.The director cast his young wife in the role of a mysterious stranger and she plays it with a truly eerie, all-knowing aloofness. The one thing I didn't get is why Depp's character never freaks out about this woman's special powers. How could he spend a whole movie seeking the key to evil and not notice the supernatural strangeness of his companion? He asks her who she is a few times, and then just accepts her as some weirdo who follows him.

I loved the European settings and as much as violence and satanic themes normally disturb me, I have to say that the death scenes and portrayal of evil in certain characters really stuck with me.

I see that many people on the net are attempting to explain the plot and conclusion. I think the best one I read had it right. The girl is the Devil and she's in love with Depp. So she guides him to her kingdom so to speak.

I would have preferred more character development, but that is my complaint about most films. How did this guy become who he is? He is ultimately seduced by the devil. How does one go from being a book dealer to wanting to summon Satan? A little more background please. We do see in the first scene that he is not ethical in his dealings.

This one requires two viewings.

This is not so much a movie review (those are done well elsewhere), but a theory about the ending of the movie and who Corso really represents.

SPOILER ALERT**** I too have enjoyed reading the posts and have come up with something that I just wanted to throw out there. Corso is a biblical figure--he is the serpent in the ninth engraving. After all Corso experiences each of the engravings on his quest, so logically he would have to experience the ninth engraving as well. Since the woman in the ninth engraving is "The Girl"--who presumably is the Whore of Bablyon (a case will be made later on that the whore=Lucifer), the only person that Corso could be is the beast---which is a subtle but powerful point of the film/book.

The beast in the engraving has 7 heads which could conceivably represent the seven deadly sins--(i) pride (ii) envy (iii) gluttony (iv) lust (v) wrath (vi) greed (vii) sloth--throughout the film Corso commits each one of these sins, but it is done gradually. The point being that while everyone is on the lookout for a "beast" or other terrible creature it could actually just be humanity falling victim to the sins. When Corso kills the man in the cellar the girl exclaims "I didn't think you had it in you." This is what sealed his fate as her chosen one.

Just like "The girl" Polanski puts Corso right out there in front of everyone to see, but we tend to ignore him and focus on the evils committed by Boris and Liana. But those people are not who the devil is interested in, the devil wants people who are consistent and gradual with their sinning. Corso is perfect as this "everyman." Incidentally this is why I think "The Girl" represents Lucifer, because she is out there for everyone to see. All the idiots are busy trying to summon the Devil but she is right there for everyone to see. (refer to diana 51's post somewhere here for more on this, she does a great job as do many others). Just like people are always looking for the sign of the beast or his return--and tend to lose the forest from the trees (i.e. their own sins) Incidentally the "whore of Babylon" symbolism is apt because, just as a whore is a servant, she can become a master. just like the girl in the movie--she "served" Corso at many points but she also made it clear who was boss (i.e. when she twisted his arm after he grabbed her in the hotel lobby and when she held him back from saving Liana from Boris).

More generally Whores are there to offer immediate gratification, but many men have fallen victim to manipulation and have ruined their lives in pursuit of a whore. (This argument is not meant to limit whore to just male/female, a whore presumably offers immediate gratification, thus it is more beneficial to think of a whore as anyone who offers the quick fix--which is the Devil for all intents and purposes). However in order to obtain that quick fix how many of the seven deadly sins must a person commit?Chances are that a few transgressions would normally be in order.

The reason that "The girl"/Lucifer picks Corso out of all the other evil people is because he doesn't commit the sins all at once for the quick fix. He starts out his quest purely for greed, and a long the way commits each sin as he sees fit or just for the hell of it (i.e. sleeping with Liana even though he had no intention of giving her the book; accepting another "zero" to the paycheck even though a friend of his was killed; not caring about getting paid by Boris at the end--he wants the engravings). Finally when he realizes the power that is at stake he is willing to make the ultimate jump to wrath (first he kills the guy in the cellar and then he kills Balkan when on fire). BUT both times he didn't need to kill those people, he could have left Liana's helper knocked out and he could have let Boris burn to death, but he just wanted to kill them out of anger (contrast this to Boris who killed for the pages in the book--and killed Liana so that she would stop bothering him). Gradual decent into evil and darkness is what endeared Corso to Lucifer/"The Girl" and that is why he came to Corso in the form of a woman and helped him along his path. Ultimately you become one with the devil when you commit all seven deadly sins because that is the power that humans have--to choose between good and evil. That is symbolized by the ninth engraving with the woman "riding" the seven deadly sins--and thus unlocking the gate into the Kingdom of Shadows.

(Because the word limit is set at a 1000 for comments, this post is not able to discuss some other interesting points that are brought up by others. There are some who believe that Corso is not evil at all, or rather that he has no choice in his path (i.e. he attempted to save Liana and he shot Boris out of compassion). I attempt to give my take on that in a post located at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142688/board/nest/41792586 (May 4, 2006 @ 11:04), but it's meant to be a complement to this post). Please forgive any repetitions. The variation in interpretations of this movie only reinforce the fact that it is a unique cinematic gem.

I was quite taken aback by some of the highly negative comments about this excellent supernatural thriller. After a bit of reflection, I noticed they seemed to fall into two groups:

1. People who thought that a "thriller" is a similar genre to an "action movie". This movie contains no explosions, only three on-screen deaths, and only one high speed chase which lasts all of about 10 seconds because the chasee gets away. It does have sex, mystery in a very Sam Spade-esque sense, unusual camera techniques to heighten tension, plausible levels of violence, and a very spooky supernatural element. That last deserves some amplification too: with modern CGI, you might be expecting some breathtaking "apparition" effects. And you'd probably be thinking, "Nice CGI, but it's really kind of cheesy". Not in this movie; the supernatural element is so subtle it nearly makes your skin crawl. In fact at quite a few points you nearly start thinking they're all just crackpots and nothing is really happening, but then Seigner's "thing" happens again and makes it clear that All Is Not Well.

2. Some people were annoyed by the lack of an explanatory ending. I admit I am not sure what happened, but I've a couple of theories and enjoyed discussing them with others after the movie. What's wrong with that, for heaven's sake? It's a bit of a sad indictment that people feel cheated if they don't get everything spelled out for them. For those who want my theory, MILD SPOILER ALERT

It's not shown because it's irrelevant. The film is about Corso's journey of discovery and seduction; he is transformed from faithless and selfish to openly embracing evil. Does he gain what he seeks? The question is unimportant, what mattered was his decision, for one way or another he is now surely lost.

END OF SPOILER

My only gripe: I was actually kind of interested in the puzzle, but they never showed it clearly enough or long enough to get to grips with it. Maybe this is to force me to get the DVD 8^(

SPOILERS - - - - - - -- I just watched this movie again and there are a few comments I would like to add to the general ideas. Firstly, my impression of THE GIRL was that she was like a Valkyrie of Norse Myth, she chose who would make it to Valhalla, or Hell in this case. But she could be the devil herself certainly. Although this movie was about choosing one person to be enlightened (as they said "Thus let the light shine" on the front engraving) or if you insist on being terribly judeo-Christian-Islamic about it, de-enlightened, this could have been only one of many through the ages as De Torquia himself must have been chosen, for example.

Also, The actual 9th plate engraving shows a 7 headed beast which may be the 7 deadly sins, however, it shows the beast harnessed and being ridden by the girl reading a book, meaning she had overcome the pull of the sins and tamed them by education.

Also, the 2nd time Corso visits the shop of the brothers Ceneza, the two guys there (workmen) were played by the same one guy who played both Cenesa brothers. I checked the credits to be sure. Plus, the same child's voice on both visits says, "Si, Si Mama!" suggesting that the shop exists outside of "real" time.

To eat from the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil is to understand duality thus the serpent could be seen as the bringer of enlightenment not death. the first two times Corso sees dead bodies (Bernie and Vargas) he says Jesus Christ or God Almight, thus signaling the god as he is generally understood is the bringer of death, not life.

The girl is overlooked because she appears poor, badly dressed and unwashed. Telfer and Balkan would never have spoken to her, even though she is the way to what they claim to seek. They can never "see" her. Balkan wears thick glasses and Corso's glasses get broken symbolizing that what is commonly accepted as a way to see really hinders actual "seeing".

The Baroness "saw" the devil when she was 15 and sought him ever since but she also fell by the wayside by distraction. Balkan, by sending Corso to do the work (even though it was his idea to compare the books) shows he is not worthy. Corso did things he never thought he would do. He went through streams, begged rides, rode with animals and walked to get to the tower. He may have followed those who forged the way, but HE was willing to see her and personally do what it took. I think any of those people could have been chosen if they had "seen" and done the work themselves. Instead they all got rich and lazy while Corso is described as "lean and hungry". Just some ideas I got from this great great work of art. I'm going to read the nove on which it was based.

In New York, the money-driven dealer Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is a rare-books expert and partner of Bernie (James Russo), who owns a bookstore. He is contacted by the renowned collector of books about the devil Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), who has just acquired the rare The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows from the collector Andrew Telfer, to verify whether his book is authentic or a forgery. Balkan explains that the book was written by the writer Aristide Torchia, in 1666, with Lucifer and he was burned at the stake with his entire work. There are only three exemplars of The Nine Gates and in accordance with the legend, its nine engravings form a riddle to conjure the devil.

The skeptical Corso accepts the assignment and has to flight to Sintra, Portugal, and Paris, France, to contact the owners Victor Fargas (Jack Taylor) and Baroness Kessler (Barbara Jefford) to find the genuine exemplar for Balkan. Meanwhile, he asks Bernie to hide the rare book. Before traveling to Europe, the widow Liana Telfer (Lena Olin) wants to retrieve the book and has sex with Corso, but he does not accept her offer. When Corso goes Bernie's bookstore, he finds his friend murdered in the same position of an engraving.

Corso travels to Toledo, Spain, to meet the Ceniza twin brothers and learn more about The Nine Gates. During his journey in Europe, Corso is pursued by Liana and her bodyguard, who belong to the sect The Order of the Silver Serpents, and is protected by a mysterious Girl (Emmanuelle Seigner) with supernatural powers. Meanwhile, the owners of the two other exemplars of The Nine Gates are murdered. Corso becomes obsessed with the book and discloses the truth about it.

"The Ninth Gate" is a great movie with a confused conclusion that is not clear. There are many messy interpretations, but mine is very simple: neither the skeptical Corso nor the Girl is the devil. Corso becomes passionate with The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows and is protected by a supernatural creature. In the end, he succeeds in summoning the devil and The Ninth Gate opens to him and he will meet Lucifer. Just it! My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Último Portal" ("The Last Portal")

The movie was quite exciting at first... decent build up, some suspense, quite atmospheric. But, ultimately, it goes nowhere.

A very stupid, lazy ending, which actually cancels out any value this movie had previously held.

I won't even mention that sex scene... I don't think I've ever seen something THIS ridiculous and cringe-worthy.

The acting was O.K., but the characters were majorly under-developed. Johnny Depp looked BORED throughout the whole movie.

The second part was... like watching a different movie. Incredibly lame, unthoughtful, and lazy. It was poorly pieced together and rushed.

The ending was VERY unsatisfying.

The premise was good, there were some great actors, and it wasn't a low budget movie, so I don't understand why it turned out the way it did.

It could've been a MUCH better movie...

The movie inspired me to read the book from which it is drawn, The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte. He is Spanish and writes in a way similar to Umberto Eco. There are plenty enough reviews. I just want to point out that "The Girl" is unambiguously Lucifer in the book, so reviewers like Diana51 are correct in their deductions. I would say that many of the reviewers find their clues in the various evil qualities that Corso appears to have. In the book the rather interesting and dangerous question is raised as to whether Lucifer is truly evil, or whether, in fact, Lucifer loves humankind, and out of love persuades Adam and Eve to acquire knowledge about themselves, calling into question the nature and source of good and evil.

The movie is quite good but it feels like it's missing some things. Does the main character realize she's a demon? How does it end so fast with him just entering the gate?

CONTAINS SPOILERS

At first, I thought it would be best not to say too much about this movie. It is so good that I didn't want to give any of it away. However, now that I've read the overwhelmingly negative reviews, I'd like to say a few things in the movie's defense.

The Ninth Gate is not a horror movie, not a thriller, not a campy comedy, not a drama. If you force the movie in any of these categories and judge it by the category's standards, the movie will be doomed to fail. What is the Ninth Gate, then? I'd say it's a character-based exploration of good and evil that also entertains us by poking fun at the representation of good and evil in popular culture. At the same time that the film plays with and laughs at cinematic conventions related to Satanism, heros, and villains, it offers us a very serious view of the nature of evil in contemporary life. This view crystallises at the very end of the film, when the ninth gate explodes with light. Insane psychopaths who spend all their time and money trying to wake the devil are not what the devil wants, this film tells us. The devil wants those millions of lukewarm types--people who are centered around their own survival and comfort, without strong feelings of morality, love, or hatred. To win these people over to the side of hell by offering them knowledge, power, and pleasure would be to win a great battle against God.

The charge that the movie is ambiguous is preposterous. Some say that the unnamed girl could be an angel, a demon, or a good but flawed person. Which should we choose? Well, anyone who watches the movie closely and sees how she reacts to various murders should have no trouble choosing. Others say that the ending is either heavenly or hellish and that it's impossible to say which. Again, anyone who pays attention and notices that the castle is the ninth gate, that there is a shadowy figure standing in the window when it fills with light, and that Depp is the very man depicted in the book that he reads should easily realise that the ending is utterly hellish. The film does leave open the question of whether hell is actually a reprehensible place, I think, but this is not ambiguity; this is a disturbingly open question that the film raises with intellectual mastery. Evil does have its attractions; that's why it's so prevalent throughout the world.

There is so much more to say about this movie, so many little details that deserve praise. Take Depp's ride in a truck filled with sheep--this is the birth of an antichrist. This time the devil wins with his/her temptations. Take the resemblance of the figures in the film to the figures in the books--clear but not at first obvious. There's so much here, so much. This is an exceptional film.

Caught this one today on Bravo -- or rather, I should say, it caught me. I thought it looked like an interesting idea, researching demonic summoning and opening the nine gates of the title. Instead, all we get is a rather interesting buildup of Johnny Depp trying to figure out which copy of a book is real, figuring out the roles of the various sinister players, and being rescued by a mysterious woman. Unfortunately, once he figures out the mystery, nothing happens. I am not exaggerating here. I do not mean to say, "not much happens." I mean, NOTHING happens. One person tries to grant himself omnipotent demonic powers and fails. Johnny Depp then thinks he may have solved the mystery, and walks toward an old castle. Fade to black. Nothing happens. That's two and a half hours stolen from me by Bravo, Roman Polanski, and Johnny Depp that I will never get back. Do not make the same mistake I did.