Sexy Cinema: Volere volare (1991)

We head to Italy this time, for the rare film, Volere Volare. Rather bizarrely it was produced in association with Silvio Berlusconi Productions. At the time he wouldn't have been that well known worldwide. It took me some time to track down a copy and I was disappointed by the film. The film came out at a time when film makers were trying to combine animation with live action, following the success of Roger Rabbit. Later we saw success of the formula with the blockbuster, Space Jam in 1996 and while Space Jam is a mediocre film at least to me it was infinitely better than early 90s shitfests like the atrocious, Evil Toons.

Maurizio is a weird fellow. He provides the dubbing sound effects for cartoons using car horns and whistles. He meets a woman who offers men a form of therapy by partaking in ridiculous tasks such as: taxi stunt racing and adult baby minding. Maurizio's brother works on the opposite end of the spectrum, dubbing what appears to be either porn movies or sexplotation films.

The film was a bit too farcical and slapstick for me. This film just seemed immature. The animation is of a good standard, but there is actually very little of it. The film was marketed as being sexy, apart from some attractive, young women in their underwear I'm not too sure that it is. The whole premise seems to be a series of absurd events leading to a woman having sex with a cartoon character. Or maybe I missed the point. I suppose the subtext, could be one of Maurizio becoming sexually aware. Not a bad film, but not a great one. The posters and cover art suggest a lot more fun is to be had than the film delivered.

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.

Decameron Vs Virgin Territory

Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron has been adapted many times for screen. Which is better: silly, comedy, Virgin Territory or Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Decameron?

Virgin Territory is the newest of the two (2008).  It's a very loose adaptation of the stories and has been compared to American Pie. The film was poorly received by critics, I thought it was OK, but only OK.  It's a very light hearted, albeit vulgar comedy. Despite being a co-production with many European countries, the humour is distinctly British - lots of cheap knob gags, lots of jokes about poor sexual performance and a very obvious joke about milking a cow. I think they were going for an action-comedy, but the action is crap - the slapstick sword fights wouldn't look out of place in Disney's adaptation of Robin Hood. The jokes are largely crap and obvious, I did find myself laughing a few times though. The sex scenes are briefs, but plentiful with lots of breasts on display. It's a juvenile film aimed at a teen audience.

Passolini's Decameron is regarded as a classic. The film features adaptations of many of Boccaccio's tales. Like many of Passolini's films it does shy away from showing sex scenes. Like Virgin Territory it is a comedy, but is less obvious and more witty in its approach. The sets and costumes are lavish and given that it is based on an Italian book and by an Italian director, it seems more authentic than Virgin Territory. The main criticisms I have with this film are: at nearly two hours long it almost outstays its welcome, the picture is washed out - I saw this on DVD, the Blu-Ray may rectify this.

Which is better? Passolini's version, of course. Was there ever a contest?
Both films are readily available on DVD and BR.