Genevieve_X

Okay, this is one of those 'tick the box' films. Evil terrorist, shady mid eastern organisations, "hot shot" FBI agent playing by his own rules, son who is moody and listening to bad metal music because dad is never around, black police chief. I could go on ... and I will - loads of opportunities for set up fights, where just shooting someone would've been much more logical, oh too obvious plot introductions that set the scene for "a-ha" moments later, the loose cannon cop sacked from "the feds" and takes up bareknuckle boxing "somewhere near Arizona (or wherever"), evil dudes called "carlos" and "el tigre". Yep, it is just that bad. Who funds these things????? But really funny and worth it for the 1980s kitsch.

This stylish tour de force is a beauty to watch. I must admit that I don't, for one second, believe that Italian police stations are decked out in minimalist/modernist furniture and Italian detectives get around like Paul Smith models, but there is definitely something appealing in suspending disbelief to look at beautiful things.

David Lynch's Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks appear to have been a huge influence for this. The film reads like a beautiful coffee table book on modernist furniture/photography. The leads are gorgeous and the lighting and cinematography sublime. There is also a huge amount of sexual expression, again done in a beautifully stylish manner that allows us to be the voyeur without feeling like we are watching cheap porn or tacky Hollywood T & A.

Unfortunately, the storyline is confused. I get the distinct feeling that this film would've made sense had the editing been less brutal (but I could be totally wrong and perhaps the script is non-sensical). By the end I was wondering what the hell was going on (although I didn't care that much because it looked so great). Perhaps something was lost in translation? The story gets to the point where the viewer thinks they have 'got it', then it ends up on a tangent. Perhaps this is deliberate and we are asked to fill in the gaps ourselves, which is another Lynchian throw back ...

If you like looking at Vogue fashion shoots, you will love this ...