La route de Salina

Robert Walker Jr (Jonas) drifts his way to an isolated petrol station in the middle of nowhere run by Rita Hayworth (Mara). She's nuts and thinks he's her son. She also has a daughter Mimsy Farmer (Billie) who lives with her. Weirdo hanger-on Ed Begley (Warren) also acknowledges Walker Jr. as Hayworth's son. Just what is going on in this crazy place?

First of all, who is who in this film? Is Hayworth telling the truth? Is Farmer really her daughter? Why is everyone seemingly playing along with a lie? And what about the whole brother/sister love angle? Too weird.

The film is, unfortunately, very slow moving and Farmer is very unconvincing in her role. Her smile is just too plastic for words. I fell asleep during this film but so what. I bet nothing happened. Walker Jr. got a few clues as to who is telling the truth. Nobody cares. It's a boring film with a sick premise and is totally unrealistic and pretty confusing, especially at the beginning. Anyone normal would have just left, especially when an old friend turns up. That's it, leave. End of stupid film.

Georges Lautner is far from being an accursed director:his career is full of these comedies "à la française " the likes of "la grande sauterelle", "les tontons flingueurs" "ne nous fâchons pas" which are not exactly what we call artistic ambitions.But there are exceptions: at least three of his works are worthy of investigation:the first one is "le septième juré " in the early sixties ,a mesmerizing study of a bourgeois's psychopathology ,masterfully portrayed by Bernard Blier;in the late eighties ,he made a stunning return to rural melodrama with "la maison assassinée" ,an unfairly overlooked movie.The third one is "la route de Salina".

First of all,the cast is amazing:Rita Hayworth directed by a Froggy!And ,most amazing thing,she portrays a mad woman :it was to be one of her last parts ;soon she was to get Alzheimer's .Robert Walker jr,Jennifer Jones 's son, plays a young man whom she mistakes for her own son;beautiful Mimsy Farmer is his so-called sister,with whom he soon has a love affair.More a psychological drama than a detective story,and despite several steamy love scenes ,it's a rather austere and slow-moving story.

What seems dated today is just that :the hippie side,swimming in the nude (probably inspired by Schroeder's "more" (1969) which features Farmer as well),a soundtrack made up of hip pop music (Jethro Tull 's "bourrée").

But what remains is intriguing,often spellbinding and would deserve a better rating.Lautner succeeded in creating a sultry atmosphere,turning to good account his offbeat cast,including Ed Beagley as a good-natured neighbor.The characters' psychology is more complex than it appears at first sight,particularly Billie's (Farmer).We soon discover she's as crazy as her mother .

The story is told by the hero,and is a long flashback . "La route de Salina" was not really a blockbuster for Lautner who would be soon returning to his favorite "style" ("Il était une fois un flic",1972)

Robert Walker, Jr. Is travelling the titular road when he comes across a small gas station/café in the middle of nowhere. Desperate to seek shelter from the desert sun, he encounters Rita Hayworth, the owner, who declares that he's her son "Rocky".

Walker plays along mostly because he needs a place to stay, but becomes increasingly confused when family friend Ed Begley, and then his "sister" Mimsy Farmer don't question his identity. Investigation reveals that he looks nothing like Rocky, and when he confronts Farmer she initiates a sexual relationship.

Where is Rocky and why is everyone so committed to him being Rocky?

This Italian/French co-production was Georges Lautner's only English-language film. He was a very successful director of crime films that never really made sizeable inroads to North America, and this was clearly designed to address that. It feels nothing like any of his other films. It's a lightly existential, sun drenched noir that feels very much of a piece a certain kind of vaguely countercultural films coming out of Europe at the time. The presence of Farmer and the (really quite good) Pink Floyd-influenced score reminds me Barbet Schroeder's "More", even though the plot couldn't be less similar.

It's shot off the coast of Spain and has the Sunny, desolate look of most of the European films shot there in this period. It's an intriguing little film with good performances all around and prodigious nudity from both Walker and Farmer. My only real complaint is that the whole thing has a flashback structure that leads to an utterly pointless narration by Walker popping up periodically.

Absorbing little European made mystery. Is a strange young man Rita's long lost son or not? Rita is very good as the disturbed Mama, and WAlker and Farmer are fine, too. this increasingly hard to find film is worth your time.

Passions erupt in the lava beds of the Canary Islands.

This movie feels a little like those dubbed Spanish and Italian dramas of the 60's although it is entirely in English.

However as the story unfolds it defies you to stop watching and features a cast that is hard to take your eyes off.

When Jonas (Robert Walker Jr.) arrives at an isolated gas station on the road to Salina, the owner Mara (Rita Hayworth) greets him as Rocky, her long lost son. At first he thinks she is an empanadas short of a picnic, but when her daughter, Billie (Mimsy Farmer), and her neighbour, Warren (Ed Begley), also accept him as Rocky, he decides he is on to a good thing - especially as his newfound sister comes with 'benefits'. However the new Rocky finds the road to Salina a bit too rocky as he and 'sis' explore taboo territory amidst the spectacularly barren landscape of the island.

Rita Hayworth was an amazing screen presence throughout her career. She was about 50 here but still striking looking. Sadly she was already experiencing the problems that beset her at the end of her life. One wonders if acting the part of a woman with mental problems was such a good idea for someone who was really experiencing them.

A few years before, John Wayne and his crew thought she was rude and insufferable while working on "Circus World". Apparently "Road to Salina" was a happier experience and she got on well with the crew.

Still it was hard for anyone in the film to compete with Mimsy Farmer. Her Billie is about the most uninhibited performance in a mainstream movie until Nastassja Kinski prowled her way through 1982's "Cat People".

Eventually, Mimsy also shed her film career, emerging as a truly impressive sculptor. Maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise when an actor's creativity shows in other areas of the arts. Many actors have drawn, painted or sculpted well: Gary Cooper, Gail Russell, George Montgomery, Dennis Hopper and Lucy Liu among many others - even Marilyn Monroe.

"Road to Salina" used to turn up on TV in the 1970's, and seems to have a bit of a cult following these days. It's worth seeking out just for the stars alone.