If you took the horror out of Edgar Allan Poe's "Ligeia", you'd get NOCTURNO, a 1974 Croatian TV movie that's as nice to look at as it is unsatisfying. The action (if you want to call it that) unfolds entirely on a verdant nineteenth century estate and the era is nicely realized but it's all a sham, reely. The telefilm is well-made for what it is - and props to director Branko Ivanda for that- but there's no there there. The mister of the manor, Lucio, was made a deathbed promise by his wife, Jelena, that she'd come back from the great beyond if he truly loved her -which he does- and she does. Just like Peter Pan, all Lucio has to do is "Belive!" and the more he does, the stronger and more often her apparition appears until Jelena is back for good. That's it -a nice happy ending to a nice boring story.
It's a "mood piece" that's liable to put any horror fan in a bad mood (or in the mood for something else, at any rate). The whole concept of coming back from the grave puts this in the realm of the supernatural, obviously, but other than that, the only "horror" was when Jelena looked in a mirror and saw a family friend get burned alive hours before Lucio hears the news. The incident has no connection to the story whatsoever and comes straight out of left field for no good reason that I can think of. Come to think of it, I can't think of a good reason to recommend NOCTURNO, either. Oh well, that's life (or afterlife, whatever).
It's a "mood piece" that's liable to put any horror fan in a bad mood (or in the mood for something else, at any rate). The whole concept of coming back from the grave puts this in the realm of the supernatural, obviously, but other than that, the only "horror" was when Jelena looked in a mirror and saw a family friend get burned alive hours before Lucio hears the news. The incident has no connection to the story whatsoever and comes straight out of left field for no good reason that I can think of. Come to think of it, I can't think of a good reason to recommend NOCTURNO, either. Oh well, that's life (or afterlife, whatever).
