Il rossetto

From the opening shots until the closing sequence, _Il Rossetto_ has the gritty feel of reality. This realism is generated by the use of grainy black and white stills as a background for the initial credits, is bolstered by the discussions of a group of worldly young girls, and is thereafter maintained for the duration in a seamy world of grifters, police, hookers and poverty.

The male lead, Pierre Brice, brings to the screen the same suave arrogance and sinister menace that a young Robert Wagner brought to a similar role in _A Kiss Before Dying_. The young female lead (Laura Vivaldi) is, similarly, very believable as an adolescent whose good character is cast into disrepute by the sexist assumptions of the police, her mother and others involved in the murder case.

This is something of a shocker and a very unusual thriller where the main character is a young girl of 14 who lives with her mother, and who has a crush on a handsome neighbour in the opposite house, whom she watches through the window as he plays the guitar. The music of the film is very important and eloquent, underlining the critical psychological moments, as this actually is a psychological thriller. A murder is committed on a prostitute in a shabby hotel, that's the plot, the wrong man is arrested to begin with, but Laura Vivaldi as the young girl has seen her ideal coming out from the hotel and does not know what to think of it. When he learns she has seen something he takes an intimate interest in her, being very exact and concerned about her not telling anything to the police, which only raises suspicions of the audience against him. There are many poignant scenes here in the tradition of Visconti and de Sica, and the neorealism keeps mounting and sharpening as the film goes on, reaching a climax in the final confrontation. This is a jewel not to be missed, eloquently following up the tradition from the early neorealistic masterpieces of Visconti and de Sica.

Although French ,born in Brest,Pierre Brice is virtually unknown in his native France;in Germany he is looked upon as an icon,thanks to the Winnetou saga.He resembles Alain Delon and that may account for his failure in France.

'Il Rossetto" is an exciting psychological thriller .A hooker has been slain.A fourteen-year old girl claims she saw her neighbor coming out of the victim's flat.Laura Vivaldi gives a stunning portrayal of that complex girl :is she the good girl ? a holier-than-thou? a romantic girl in love with Gino? a lipstick Lolita? Probably all this.

Pierre Brice is equally effective as the object of her love .Supporting cast includes Georgia Moll who was popular in the sixties and Bella Darvi -Her Name came from Darryl (Zanuck)and his wife Vicky-whose (artificial)short-lived career tragically ended .

The Silvana /Gino relationship is intense,often harsh and ruthless.Do not miss this movie if you have the chance to catch it on TV.

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"These three" (1936) and "the children's hour" (1962) by William Wyler.

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Calling this film a giallo is a bit of a stretch, but what we do have here is an early murder mystery from Damiano Damiani. Kind of like a dry run for Damiani's later The Most Beautiful Wife, it involves a young teenage girl suddenly thrown into the complex world of adults and the law.

Silvana is the girl in question, secretly in love with much older neighbour Gino, who is oblivious until Silvana's friends reveal it to Gino in the street. Another neighbour, a prostitute, is beaten to death in her home and the police descend on the place, arresting a deliveryman in the ensuing media frenzy. Gino tells the police that he's never seen the prostitute before, but then if that's the case why does Silvana tell Gino she saw him leaving her flat a few days previous? Gino, all of sudden, takes an interest in Silvana, which is bit dodgy as he's due to get married, and she's only thirteen.

Apart from the mystery of who killed the prostitute, the plot mainly focuses on the relationship between Gino and Silvana. Gino has to act interested in Silvana to stop her going to the police while hiding it from his fiance, and we know that Silvana is prone to making stuff up, so is Gino guilty or just trying to cover up his visits to a hooker. Even the cops are divided as some side with Silvana and some think she's at it.

In The Most Beautiful Wife, we knew Ornella Muti was in the right but here we're not quite sure of Silvana. The films are similar as unrequited, naive love results in clashes with police, parents and family. It the personal side of these characters that makes the film stand out. Even Silvana's friends turn against her, and her mother is having an affair with a married man and is willing to throw Silvana in a boarding school to be with him.

Damiani had tons of talen and even when a film of his doesn't quite work (like the Witch In Love), every one of them stands out from the pack.

Especially the last scene when the limping young girl appears, the one which Gino (Pierre Brice) had once abused in the past. Extraordinary performances by Pietro Germi, Laura Vivaldi, Pierre Brice, Giorgia Moll. A movie that absolutely worth seeing, Damiano Damiani it's a brilliant director.