Sexy Cinema - Bambola (1996)

Bambola is directed by the late, great Bigas Luna. Bambola means doll in Italian, it is also the nickname of lead character, Mina (played by Valeria Marini). The plot is quite simple: Bambola is a gorgeous, leggy blonde, her mother dies and she opens a pizzeria with her homosexual brother, Flavia. Overweight, but jealous Ugo loaned her the money. Whether he wanted sexual services in exchange for the loan is unclear. He has a violent confrontation with Bambola's boyfriend, Settimio. Ugo is killed accidentally (and farcically), Settimio is imprisoned for murder. Settimio meets psychopathic inmate Furio. Furio takes a shine to Bambola; he becomes obsessed with her. At that point the plot becomes weird and increasingly gratuitous.

I rate Bigas Luna as a director, but this fell way short. The frequent rape scenes make for uncomfortable viewing, and I'm sure they will put off many viewers. Valeria Marini doesn't really play Bambola with enough heart, to make the viewer feel empathy for the lead character. Coupled with other one-dimensional characters, like Furio, that seem very similar to the mental cases Ben Ng or Simon Yam used to portray in Category III exploitation films, makes for uninvolved viewing. The black comedy is well-done at the start of the film; Bambola wears a black bikini to mourn her mother's death - this is arguably the best joke. The comedy becomes jarring to the point where you can't tell if it is supposed funny or serious. Overall, it's an OK, but flawed film.

For superior servings of Bigas Luna check out dark comedy, Golden Balls a film that captures the seedy and self-destructive notion of the American dream or alternatively Jamon Jamon (Salami Salami) a lurid sexy comedy with great performances from at the time largely unknowns Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem.