L'Amérique à nu

Naked and Violent (1970)

** (out of 4)

Italian Mondo movie tries to explain why America is a horrible place full of horrible people doing horrible things to other horrible people. In the film we learn that sex and violence is all that America has to offer and if people come here they will either end up on drugs or murdered in the violent streets, which are full of homeless thugs who will stop at nothing to get their next hit. If you think I'm being a tad bit over dramatic then you haven't seen this film, which is also known as America HOW VIOLENT, HOW NAKED. The Mondo genre became quite popular after MONDO CANE so producers everywhere were jumping on the bandwagon and this here comes from the Martino clan with Sergio, best known for his future giallos, making his third stint behind the camera. A lot of Mondo movies take a look at poor countries or old fashioned countries that have strange customs so it was rather funny seeing a film take on America. Having lived here all my life I must admit that I had quite a few laughs at this film and the "issues" it tried to push off. By watching this film you'd think the country was some toxic wasteland full of nothing but losers. The film mocks all the homeless people that can be found in New York and mentions that we leave the elderly people of this country to die in the streets. Again, I'm not sure where word got out that we treat our elderly folks like this. We also see the various hippies smoking their pot and walking around naked, which again is looked down upon in this film. We learn that hippies have a mental defect that causes them to act like this and we learn that weed is one of the most dangerous drugs out there (I guess the Martino boys were watching REEFER MADNESS as a study course). As you can tell, the entire "story" being told here is pretty stupid and it makes you wonder if anyone involved in the production had any idea of what they were talking about or if they were just making these stories up as they went along. The portrait of the country is quite laughable and certainly doesn't show or tell anything the way it actually is. Having watched this it makes me curious how many other Mondo films are just 100% lies trying to push "reality" on those who might not know any better. Overall the film is pretty boring without any real good stories or adventures to go through. I think people living in America will get a few good laughs at a few of the stories here but I can't imagine too many others get any type of entertainment here. Fans of Martino won't find any of his style here either.

This "mondo" movie is interesting for two reasons. First, it was directed by talented Sergio Martino, even though he actually did this before his long, successful career in Italian sex comedies, gialli, and police thrillers. Second, rather than focusing on exotic third-world world cultures it focuses on America, which even after the 1969 moon landing (which provides the opening sequence) is shown to be a backward culture in many ways. But while I strongly suspect the other Italian "mondo" movies were overly-sensationalized, highly contrived, and often very inaccurate, there is NO DOUBT that this one is.

The parts about the homeless and the elderly are mostly true (although there are certainly homeless and neglected elderly in Italy as well). The sex stuff is also probably true. I've never heard of the Las Vegas "game" they show that looks to be part dunk-tank and part strip show, but it's not hard to believe such a thing might have existed at one time in Vegas. Gay men today probably don't sit around watching tame movies of muscular men showering as shown in this film, but they very well might have in the late 60's/early 70's. The Italian outsider perspective of the infamous Altamont concert is also interesting to say the least. They bizarrely play a slow 50's-style torch song over the scenes of the frenzied naked hippie bacchanal, and they fail to even mention the Hell's Angels and barely mention the racially motivated fatal stabbing of Meredith Hunter. They do say that there was a "balance of life and death" that day since five women gave birth (making me wonder what kind of idiot decides to go to a rock concert when she's about to pop).

Of course, some other scenes are just plain ridiculous such as a group of "American negroes" who are supposedly part of the "Back to Africa" movement. It's believable (if rather convenient) that they would participate in some naked ritualistic dancing, but I really don't think it would turn into a mass male circumcision ritual! The scenes of human death, like a suicide in the Nevada desert, I strongly suspect were staged, but there is also some very real and very unforgivable animal slaughter. There's no doubt Southern rednecks might enjoy blasting away at cute bunny rabbits with shotguns, but even THEY would be more sporting than to hang the rabbits upside down by their feet before they do it. I strongly suspect they were goaded (or paid) into to doing this by the Italian filmmakers. All in all though, the film, while often ridiculous and unintentionally funny, is less unpleasant than a lot of films of the "mondo" genre. It's nice at least to see them pick on America (which is certainly capable of fighting back) than slandering some poor third-world culture.