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[Jonny]

Just received a copy of this film, taken from a Greek VHS release. Never seen it or heard of it before but after reading the description on the ETC website I had to see it for myself.

This is an extremely unsettling film, like an Italian version of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. It centers on the recently widowed Tomas Milian whose son claims he has been playing with his dead mother. Soon after Milian catches glimpses of her and others who have recently died. They have no knowledge of their recent past lives and refer to themselves as lights who come from faraway. William Berger also stars as a father who will do anything to restore his dead daughter back to life

Anyone seen this before? I'll be watching it later today so I'll report back with my thoughts.

[Johan Melle]

I have a good-looking Danish VHS of this. It's a good, unusual and well-acted film but I dare say ETC's description is a bit misleading. The comparison to INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS isn't entirely off yet these two films couldn't feel more different. DISTANT LIGHTS is much more of a drama - not at all a sci-fi thriller like BODY SNATCHERS is - and I wouldn't exactly describe it as "extremely unsettling".

That's not to say that it isn't a good film, though, because it is. It's moving and has good characters that we care about. I liked it very much and I recommend it. Just don't go into it expecting a sci-fi/horror film à la BODY SNATCHERS - sometimes the wrong sort of expectations can sour ones impression of what is actually a good film.

[Jonny]

Thanks for the clarification Johan. I was kind of expecting the ETC description to be a bit misleading that's why I posted in the Drama section of the forum.

Looking forward to checking this one out, I've not seen Tomas Milian in role so recent so it should be interesting.

[tilapia]

I saw this one a couple of years and I remember not liking it at all. But that was during my big space opera-period when I watched tons of Margheriti/Cozzi/Brescia-stuff and I probably was a bit disappointed it wasn't something in that line. Perhaps I need to revisit it to give it a fair opinion.

[Johan Melle]

Have you had a chance to check this out yet, Jonny? I'd be interested in knowing what you think of the film.

[Jonny]

No not yet, I kept leaving the disc at work. I'll take it home with me so I can check it out in the next few days.

[Inspector Tanzi]

I've got a Japanese tape of this, i watched maybe 20 mins then fell asleep and haven't gotten round to putting it on since. By no means do i blame the film for falling asleep though, i was probably just tired.

[Johan Melle]

Well, it isn't for everyone's taste but personally I think it's a rewarding film if you take it for what it is, which is basically a drama with sci-fi elements. Tomas Milian is quite good in this and it is very nice to see William Berger actually get a substantial role in a late 80s film rather than just showing up for two minutes and then get killed off à la his roles in TOP LINE and DIAL: HELP. Leading lady Laura Morante is also a very talented actress and she has done quite well for herself since she was in this film - playing award-winning roles in several well-received Italian films. She's also the lead in Pupi Avati's new film THE HIDEOUT (2007), which I'm dying to see!

[ecc]

My tape is an Australian VHS.  Cropped to fullscreen.  A little fuzzy but I can't resist Australian tapes of obscure Eurocult like this and SPIDER LABYRINTH.

[Johan Melle]

The Danish VHS cover:

[Hans]

I just saw this one on dvdr from a Japanese source.  What an oddity.  It starts much like a horror film, with the effectively creepy opening w/the young son saying he's seen his dead mother for the last four days.  Then it segues into a mystery which is quite good as well.  Finally, it makes its oddest turn and never looks back.  This is the type of film where a simple synopsis does not do the film justice and a detailed synopsis reveals too much of the film.

I bought this film primarily for Milian and Berger.  It was odd seeing Milian w/quite a paunch and it actually looks as if he's wearing a wig and heavy make-up throughout the film.  Morante is stellar in this one.  This one was a lot of fun, primarily because, you really cannot guess what is going to happen next.  Late.

[videohunter]

the japanese vhs release.........

[Morten]

Norwegian VHS. I don't have a scanner at the moment, so it's just taken from the ebayauction. :-P

[Johan Melle]

That Norwegian tape release uses the exact same cover image as the Danish one - looks as if Egmont Film was the distributor for both countries.

One noticable difference, though, is the title! Whereas the Danish release simply uses the English export title, the Norwegian release has been rechristened MAMMA ER IKKE DØD, which translates to MOMMY ISN'T DEAD. That just sounds laughable - especially when it's paired with a cover image like that!