The Unscarred

Just saw this film a week ago in a premier showing at the 3rd Cinemuerte film festival that takes place in Vancouver, B.C. And in the spirit of films like 'Shallow Grave' and 'Reservoir Dogs' comes this fun and surprising unpredictable thriller from director Buddy Giovinazzo ('Combat Shock' and 'No Way Home')

I don't want to ruin the plot, suffice to say James Russo give a great performance as the forty something Micky, who in serious debt with only a few days to pay off or else, gets an unexpected call and plane fare to meet in Germany for a reunion with three other exchange students he knew 20 years earlier when, in a drunken night of excess, his baseball career was cut short due to an accident caused by one of these three. Once in Germany an accident (maybe) involving the death of a young woman causes an escalation of events where secrets are revealed, plot twists are plenty, and by the end no one is left unscarred. ( Clever use of film title in review )

The best thing I can say about this film is that besides the technical excellence displayed, there were many moments where this film could have become excessive and over the top and at these times the director knew to pull back and keep the film on a subtle plot-course. It does come close to being silly a few times, I'll admit, but never once does it step over that line, and these days that is a remarkable achievement.

Over all, I highly recommend this film for it's direction, acting, photography, and in particular the writing, where the pacing of the film was so well done I never had the chance to get ahead of the plot. Well, maybe near the end, but so what?

This a good, tight, suspense filled drama that deserves some serious attention. Check it out.

Buddy Giovanazzo is a consistently interesting filmmaker. COMBAT SHOCK and NO WAY HOME are my favourite Buddy films, and his short MANIAC 2: MR. ROBBY, is very good also, but THE UNSCARRED is a more mainstream film and certainly the director's most technically polished.

It boasts so many twists and turns that anything but a basic plot synopsis would do it damage. James Russo, a resident of New Jersey, is seriously in debt. When he is invited to come to Berlin by old friends, he accepts the offer.

Giovanazzo is adept at depicting violent, visceral scenes. He isn't shy of blood and he doesn't neglect the emotions behind violence, either. This film's bloody set pieces are handsomely shot and the performances are strong. The beautiful Ornella Muti (the unforgettable female star of TALES OF ORDINARY MADNESS) is still gorgeous in this outing, though her delivery of the English dialogue is a little stilted.

A weak section of the narrative sees Russo irrationally instigating a short police chase. Clearly an example of something not carefully thought through, it is one of the few missteps in this otherwise effective suspense drama.

There are too many gratuitous travelogue shots of Berlin, probably a concession to the film's co-financiers.

James Russo stole the movie, he is one of a kind! This role really suited him! Great movie, full of twists, interesting location, good solid cast! James has been in some great movies that he deserves to be in, but also a lot of bad ones! He deserves a big Hollywood movie to be the protagonist, you just have to look at movies like the Box that he wrote & starred in, he's a natural actor. The director of the movie deserves a lot of credit, as I've seen almost every James Russo movie & this has got to be my favourite movie along with the Box. This movie is also set in Berlin & takes place mostly in an interesting house, which gives the movie a unique feel! One on my favourite scenes is when they are in the club knocking back a shot & a pill, LOL crazy!

An average of 8.1 ? I don't know how this movie got an average of 8.1. This movie is on all fronts the worst movie I've seen in a long time. The plot is terribly predictable. The acting in the first 5 minutes is so bad you might get so sick you through up. But, you can say, you can't judge a movie on the first 5 minutes! And this of course is true, but the acting isn't going to be much better in the following 85 minutes. The best acting you will see comes from James Russo and that is saying enough. So don't bee fooled by the high score it gets. I guaranty you, you'll be wasting your money !

As a film interpreter I was given this film for translating. At first I thought: "Great, another movie I have never heard of." I must say I was suprised. I was fond of the plot and the twists. Although this film avoided showing in Czech cinemas, it has a good chance on videos, but under one condition - don't expect more than a good suspense thriller.