A Smoking “Scarlet Diva” Storms
NYC
a review by Preston Peet
special to Drugwar.com
Writer, Director, and Star Asia Argento
July 25, 2002
After a phone call from my friend Richard
Metzger of Disinformation
telling me he had gotten me and my girlfriend Vanessa onto the
guest list of an independent movie premier here in NYC, my initial
response was that perhaps I’d go, but I wasn’t really
sure. AFter realizing I was facing yet another Tuesday evening
with no real plans other than sitting in my apartment staring
at my computer screen, Vanessa and I both decided that it would
be a good idea to get out and see friends and a free movie. We
were not disappointed in the slightest.
“Scarlet
Diva”, actually finished in 2000 but premiering here
for the first time July 23, 2002, at Cinema
Village in Manhattan, (another premier will be held August
4th), was written, directed, and stars Asia
Argento, an Italian film prodigy who began her film career
at the tender age of nine, winning numerous prestigious awards
for her work in Italy. Having grown disillusioned with the situation
for actresses in Italy, Argento decided to write and direct her
own film, the dark, disturbing, semi-self-biographical and ultimately
beautiful “Scarlet Diva” being the result.
The premier was packed. Various stars in
the film were in attendance, such as old school rapper Schooly
D, newcomer Justinian, and the infamous artistist extraordinaire
Joe
Coleman and wife Whitney Ward, as well as other assorted freaky
friends and admirers of the director, such as Gary
Baddeley, publisher of disinformation books, Richard Metzger,
filmmaker and co-owner/creator of disinformation, Nick
Zedd, filmmaker, writer and Argento’s “date”
for the evening’s premier, and of course the editor of drugwar.com
and his better-half, Vanessa.
The film itself is a wild and often hallucinatory
romp through the career and turmoils of a successful Italian actress
and sex symbol who find she wants a lot more out of life than
the pawings of sleazy film directors and producers, so sets out
on a voyage to become independent of them all. There’s complications
along the way, such as when she gets pregnant in an impossible
love situation, finds her best friend left hogtied in her Paris
apartment for two days by the abusive boyfriend her friend can’t
help but love, and even features a Special K nightmare overdose
in a swimming pool while on a fashion shoot. All through the film’s
calmest moments though, the main character is smoking spliff after
spliff, even going to Les Halle in the Center of Paris in one
part of the film to buy a huge $300 chunk of what looks like good
Moroccan hash from Schooly D, playing the role of drug dealer,
turned loverboy.
There’s tons of sex throughout the film.
As one after party attendee asked Vanessa, “Boy they couldn’t
get enough. They just kept doing it and doing it! Didn‘t
you love it?” But there are also some very serious, heavy,
heartrending duty scenes in which the lead character breaks down
in her loneliness, and there are times when the film is a little
difficult to follow. This of course left the film in my mind for
days afterwards, wondering what this part or other meant, which
is a good sign for films today, too often empty of anything but
flash, gore, and no message or art whatsoever.
Overall, this film is highly recommended
by the Editor of drugwar.com, who is very happy to have had the
chance to see the film and attend the after party where we smoked
to our hearts’ content at The Cock in Manhattan’s Lower
East Side.
Contact the Theatrical Representative at
Media Blasters, Carl Morano,
(carlm@media-blasters.com)
for information on future showings of this brilliant film.
Executive Producers Gianluga Gurt and Adriana
Ghiesa Di Plama- Produced by Glaudio Argento and Drio Afgento
Original Music by John Huges
Cinematography by Frederic Pasano
Written and Directed by Asia Argento
Photos at the After Pary
Vanessa, Gary, and Joe
Joe and Whitney show off good taste
Nick and Richard- Is that a Halo over Richard's
head?
Joe and your's truely touching flesh.
