Dante's Inferno

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You´ve got to hand it to this Dante Alighieri guy. Something he wrote way back in the 14th century made its way to the 21st century. That something is the "Divine Comedy," otherwise known as "Dante´s Inferno." The story is simple (at least this version of it): a poor schmuck named Dante (voiced by Dermot Mulroney) finds himself at the threshold of hell with Virgil (James Cromwell) as his guide. Together they travel through the nine circles of hell in an attempt to scare Dante straight, more or less.

First off, I need to explain something about the most current version of this story. There is one live actor in the entire 78-minute production. And he comes in near the end. The rest of the action is portrayed using puppet theater. Remember the 1980s fad Shrinkidnks? The plastic characters which kids could cut out, color and then bake to make them (1) hard and (2) shrink? Imagine pulling off a feature length film using Shrinkidinks. That´s puppet theater.

Now imagine creating a hundred different expressions for every character, background characters, sets, vehicles, props and every other conceivable part of the production. It´s not a matter of director Sean Meredith calling up Central Casting and asking for a dozen generic audience members; no, these things all need to be created from scratch. Therein lies one of the great strengths of "Dante´s Inferno": it is inventive, fresh and new.

(Still don´t believe me? In order to make their characters have some semblance of movement, various shots employ puppets with brass tacks in their shoulder blades, or other body parts, to simulate movement. There is no desire or intent to deceive the audience by hiding the rods and wires moving the characters. In an age when CGI is used ad nauseum to remove these types of filmmaking devices, it´s nice to see a film which embraces them.)

Another point I want to make is this is an adaptation. (Some online critics say co-writer Sandow Birk´s novel, on which the movie is based, simply takes various English translations of the "Divine Comedy" and smashes them together.) An adaptation means, by definition, a form of structure modified to fit a changed environment.

The environment of the original poem is the early 1300´s. It stands to reason Birk´s adaptation uses contemporary settings, language and people to make its point. "A Christmas Carol" has been adapted in a thousand different ways, each time adding something new to the overall story while retaining the flavor, the spirit.

So what does this version add to the legacy of "Dante´s Inferno"? A certain level of playfulness, a more relaxed feel and the ability to find humor in fear. There remains a serious tone to the film, though just enough comedy is included in the proceedings to take the edge off. Watching Adolf Hitler and Ronald Reagan toil in one of hell´s circles for consulting astrologers is amusing in one respect, yet terrifying in another. If the mere act of trying to see into the future is cause for eternal damnation, what chance do the rest of us who commit "normal" sins stand?

But that´s beside the point. None of the filmmakers are overly concerned with making a political or social point, nor are they worried about making the film politically correct. Dante´s original intent was to stick it to the people he disagreed with-politicians, businesspeople and the like. The script here takes its own shots at present day personalities. Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Dean Martin, Pope John Paul II…they all inhabit some circle of hell for any number of sins. An explicit point is made in one of the commentary tracks that the source material was adhered to despite any moral qualms the production crew had with Dante. They argue it is not their role to change the work; rather, they only adapt what has already been written.

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