Scarlet Diva
Director: Asia Argento
Year Released: 2000
Rating: 2.0
If you're like me and suspected that the film The Stendhal Syndrome was more than a little odd - you know, with Asia's father Dario filming her being raped and all - this directorial debut should answer some questions for you: along with the Daddy Issues, there are also Mommy Issues (she casts Daria Nicolodi - a.k.a. Real-Life Mom - as the main character's mother, who catches her daughter 'touching herself' and scolds her harshly). With its unending globetrotting and drugs and sex, it quickly becomes repetitive, taking what could be a probing look at fame and the pressure of being an actress and instead going with the Trainspotting-meets-Requiem For a Dream "you'll ruin your life!" warning message, and not forgetting to include a gratuitous "freak out" scene where the drugs take hold (in Barstow?) and trigger a fury of screaming and panic. Asia, in an introduction to the film, said it's about 'redemption.' Go, you Huskies!
