Re:Visiting … The Ninth Gate (1999)

The Ninth Gate is an incredibly slick Neo-Noir thriller from director Roman Polanski. A filmmaker who rightly so has faced controversy in his private life, but whose mark on cinema is unquestionable. He has delivered movies such as the seminal 1968 satanic-horror Rosemary’s Baby (based on Ira Levin’s classic 1967 novel), the excellent Chinatown (1974) starring Jack Nicholson (The Shining) – and perhaps what could rightly be considered his masterpiece, the academy-award winning and highly emotional WW2 set drama The Pianist (2002) starring Adrien Brody (Summer of Sam).

The Ninth Gate is one of his deeper cuts, a classy movie based on Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s novel The Club Dumas (1993) which wasnt particularly successful when first released either critically or financially. But which has quite rightly now become something of a cult classic. The film opens with a shot of an elderly man sealing a letter in his vast library, before promptly hanging himself from a chandelier. In this opening scene, Polanski supplies us with the dark tone of the film, and he lingers on a memorable shot of the man’s twitching feet after he kicks over the stool he was standing on. An ominous and moody string score composed by Wojciech Kilar then begins, as the camera pans around the many leather bound books of the library and into the opening credits.

From here we are introduced to Dean Corso, an unscrupulous book valuer and dealer who shows he has questionable morals, as he rips off the unsuspecting relatives of a collector within the first few minutes that we meet him. Despite his moral flaws, and the fact he is clearly more than comfortable taking advantage of people to further his own interests, he is played excellently as a suave and likeable character by Johnny Depp (Sleepy Hollow) – in what could be considered as one of his finest under-rated roles. Corso is then invited by the mysterious occult book collector Boris Balkan (Frank Langella (Masters of the Universe) to take a look around his incredibly valuable library.

Balkan shows Corso his prized possession – The Nine Gates of the Kingdom Of Shadows – a book published in Venice back in 1666. He explains that due to the Satanic nature of the book, the author Aristide de Torchia was burned alive at the stake by the Holy Inquisition along with all of his works – with only three copies of this particular book known to have survived. Balkan further explains that he believes only one of the three copies is authentic, and we learn he purchased his copy from a famed collector named Andrew Telfer – the man we saw hanging prior to the opening credits.

Balkan wishes to employ Corso to track down the other two collectors in order to compare the three books, and to establish which one is the genuine copy. Balkan explains that the nine illustrations within the book form a Satanic riddle, and that the images were adapted by Torchia from a mythical occultist book supposedly written by the Devil. And that if the riddle can be interpreted correctly within the genuine remaining copy, then the book will have the power to conjour up the Prince of Darkness. Balkan believes that his own copy may be one of the two forgeries, which Corso can only surmise is because; “The Devil didn’t show up …”

We can see that Balkan has an infatuation with the dark arts, and he is clearly a man not to be trusted. Corso can see this too, however he is offered a sizeable cheque to take on the task – and he is a mercenary of sorts who can be easily bought. He likely considers himself Balkan’s intellectual equal, and therefore he is willing to gamble with the dangers that this work may bring. So this is the relatively simple set up for The Ninth Gate, and Corso begins his investigation by visiting the widow Telfer (Lena Olin – Queen of the Damned), who acts surprised when she learns her husband had sold this particular book prior to his suicide.

However, like everyone we have met so far in The Ninth Gate, she seems thoroughly untrustworthy. In fact Corso is soon visited by the widow in his apartment, and she perfectly plays the role of a sultry femme-fatale. There is an amusing retort between the two characters which ends with Liana Telfer revealing her stocking tops to alleviate Corso’s paranoia that she may be harbouring a pistol there. She then seduces our anti-hero, before violently turning on him … as it appears she wants the book back at any cost!

There is definitely an underlying humour that Polanski weaves through the narrative, and it perfectly contrasts with the darker subject matter. He both pays homage to film-noir, as well as movies of a more serious Satanic persuasion – while also very subtly sending the two genres up. Corso himself is often amusing as he bumbles his way through the mystery. He is clearly an intellectual, deeply knowledgable in his chosen subject matter. But he is also hard drinking and chain smoking, and as the mystery deepens and the body count starts to mount, he soon finds himself increasingly out of his depth.

Corso next heads to Europe to track down the other two collectors, and his investigation takes him deeper into the mystery of the book’s origins – which he learns may actually have been written in league with Satan himself. As he journeys through Europe we are delivered some beautiful location shots from Polanski, taking in Spain, Portugal and France. And it is here, whilst travelling by train that Corso meets yet another mysterious woman – The Girl (Emmanuelle Seigner – Frantic) – who appears to be following him. He assumes she is tailing him for Balkan, ever paranoid and suspicious of everyone he meets … and usually with good reason!

As he visits with the other two book owners and studies the seemingly identical texts, he discovers a series of anomalies within the nine illustrations, with the ones that differ being signed by the signature LCF. He reports back to Balkan who demands that he acquires the alternative versions. But both owners soon turn up dead following their encounter with Corso – one, in a particularly dark yet highly comical sequence, with Polanski managing to both shock and amuse at the same time. And along with the deaths of their owners, Corso finds both copies of the books have been burned … albeit with the pages of LCF’s illustrations torn out first.

During his prior conversations with the collectors, Corso learned about a secret society – The Order of the Silver Serpent – formed after the death of the books creator back in 1667. A mysterious sex-cult of Devil worshippers which still exists to this day, meeting on the anniversary of Torchia’s death. His paranoia increases as he is seemingly followed at every turn by the mysterious blonde woman who may have supernatural qualities herself. But she soon presents herself as a kind of guardian angel, often appearing when he needs help. For Corso is also being followed by Liana Telfer’s lover, a goon who clearly means him harm, while also aiming to retrieve Balkan’s book for his mistress. The book which Corso does eventually lose possession of.

With the help of his new companion, Corso tails Liana Telfer and her lover to a French Mansion, where he discovers both the book and an elitist Satanic ritual taking place – a gathering of The Order of the Silver Serpent. However after being less than pleased with Corso losing his prized possession, an armed Balkan takes matters into his own hands by descending on the ritual in order to take back the book for himself. This leaves only for Corso’s curiosity to try and track down Balkan one last time, and his instincts lead him to a mystical castle where he does indeed discover his employer attempting to unlock the true powers of the text, now that the riddle of the illustrations has been unravelled.

Balkan believes he has everything required in order to summon Satan, who will reward him by granting him with powers beyond this mortal realm, as he unlocks The Ninth Gate of Hell itself. And as Corso watches this ritual unravel, the movie provides a highly satisfying conclusion … one which he will certainly never forget!

This is a truly wonderful film, shot beautifully with an exquisite tone and style, and with a perfectly paced narrative which engages the viewer by placing us firmly within the mystery alongside Corso. The Ninth Gate is a true hidden gem within Polanski’s esteemed and varied catalogue, which absolutely holds up over quarter of a century later … and is well worth revisiting! KZ

Words by Mark T. Bates

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