Domino

Through her appearance as RED SONJA and her short marriage to Sylvester STALLONE, the Danish actress Brigitte NIELSEN achieved a high level of fame in the 1980s. This even led to a singing duet with the Austrian singer FALCO (Rock Me AMADEUS) and some films in the Roman CINECITTA.

In this film by Ivana MASSETTI, NIELSEN plays a successful video director who has many affairs but is still looking for true love. One day it seems to work...

Soft eroticism for art house cinema! You can tell that director Massetti wants to tell the story artistically through the eyes of a woman. That's why the pictures are very nice, but don't advance the story in terms of content. Tomas ARANA, Kim Rossi STUART, Stephane FERRARA, David WARBECK and Cyrus ELIAS are trying to get Brigitte NIELSEN's attention, which has probably long since faded from the audience's attention...

The title kind of says it all. I have no idea what this movie is supposed to be about in any way, shape, or form. It's deliberately stylized and makes little to no sense. However, it does have Brigitte Nielsen at her most striking prime, taking her clothes off a lot for little or no reason. The woman has serious charisma and her acting inexperience is not a problem here because the movie doesn't make sense anyway! The European version is much better with far more nudity that's cut out of the American release. If you like how Ms. Nielsen looks it's worth watching. Just put music on or something so you aren't tempted to actually pay attention to what's going on in the movie.

Matt

This movie is rather dear to me mostly because of its atmosphere, I love how much of it is somewhat solitary nighttime at a fairly slow pace that isn't fashionable these days. The jazz music also adds to the mood, as well as her apartment which has that feeling of being part museum, part department store display (I mean that as a compliment). It's a plus that Ms. Nielsen did this while carrying a more matronly figure that did a nice job of smoothing out her curves, which I find infinitely more attractive than a slim figure with conspicuously fake bazongas. The style is fairly polarizing, some might think it too "arty" or even "pretentious", but to me almost every scene is beautiful, and you see a lot of sexuality from a woman's point of view. It gets overdone in places but overall I find it very enjoyable. It leaves a lot to the imagination plot-wise, in a way that few movies do. It's dream-like.

Unfortunately all I have is a US copy of the release on VHS - the DVD I have is the Italian release, which has fairly poor dubbing that kind of loses the mood (although it does contain a lot of extra footage). I wish this would get released on DVD!

This is not so much a review as it is a warning: when you see the video cover for this film, you may think "Brigitte Nielsen + Domino + black leather = dominatrix". Well, forget it. Despite a few soft-core scenes, "Domino" basically wants to be an "art" film, and it is - a plot less, pretentious, pseudo-philosophical one at that. Nielsen has a nice body, but some unflattering close-ups of her face reveal signs of early aging. She does have one steamy scene, about 70 minutes into the film, where she pleasures herself on her bed. Watching that scene (and fast-forwarding through the rest of the movie) is the only pleasure YOU can get out of this cinematic nightmare. 0.5 out of 4 stars.

I didn't quite know what to expect of Ivana's Massetti's, Domino, and was pleasantly surprised how engaged I was by the end of the first scene. Famed model, Brigitte Nielsen plays a glamorous director named Domino who's on a quest of self discovery to see if she can truly fall in love. Meanwhile, she's become the object of a stalker who's had his eye on her for some time. When Domino becomes obsessed with his identity, she quickly turns the tables on her pursuer.

Even today there's an eroticism found in this late '80s film not seen in American pictures. While the sex and glamour don't necessarily drive the movie, it's integral to the plot and a high selling point. There are some interesting conversations made about the viewpoint of sex versus love making, particularly through the eyes of a woman. Throughout the movie there are images and sounds that evoke elements of Argento, Lynch, or even Cronenberg films. While a plethora of characters come and go, Nielsen's Domino remains the contestant, occasionally appearing unintentionally wooden, but showing the sincere emotions of a woman cutting herself off from the rest of the world.

This is a unique film I had wanted to see for years. There's a depth not found in many of Briggite Nielsen's movies. I'm hard pressed to name another film exactly like it. But it is entertaining and thought provoking.