Scarlet Diva

I recently had the great fortune to view SCARLET DIVA on the big screen in New York City. I have been a fan of Ms. Asia Argento's acting talent for quite some time and also a huge fan of her father (Dario Argento) for even longer. When I first heard that she had directed a semi-autobiographical DV feature I was a bit interested, but ultimately I have to admit I was not expecting it to be good. My initial thought was that the film would interest me, because I am interested in the subject matter, but I guess I thought that she was just another "actor turned director", and even worse, she thought she could follow in her father's footsteps. Upon viewing the film I quickly realized that I was wrong. She was not just an "actor turned director", she was just an artist that simply decided to change mediums (and still work in the same medium, considering that she did also star in the film). Further more, I also quickly realized that she was not following in her father's footsteps. In fact she was not even attempting to. Now, about the film itself. It was extremely interesting and engaging. One of the film's main strengths was its visual artistry. I had read that the entire film was shot on digital video. If this is in fact true, I give Asia and her Director of Photography a lot of credit. Some of the film does look like typical video, but a lot of it doesn't. A lot of it looks really nice, not like video at all. If they did shoot the entire film with DV, I have to thank them for showing independant filmmakers like myself, that it is possible to NOT make DV look like crap. THANKS! The photography was not the only beautiful thing about the film's visuals. The art design and editing also made the film very interesting to watch. Typically I am not a fan of "hyper-stylized" filmmaking, with crazy cuts and a shakey camera, but I have to say that, though this film had a definite style, I enjoyed it. There was some hand held camera work and there was some stylized cutting (like jump cuts and the use of wipes instead of dissolves or fades), but ultimately they were not that intrusive to the film. I guess what I am trying to say is that she did not over use them. The whole film wasn't a style fest, Style was only used when it needed to be. So I guess to sum up this review, I liked it. I suggest you go see it if you can. Even if you don't think you're going to like, give it a shot, because you might be surprised. And for all those "horn-balls" out there that want to see the film because you read all about its steamy, *-like sex scenes. I'm sorry to disappoint, but they're not all that steamy or *-like.

It's not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. The acting is poor to OK, the idea it's recorded on digital video dosen't help though. Some truly great ideas are presented, a shaving scene is very well preformed. The film is very personal, and artistic, but more like a diary of fantasy not a great diary like Anne Frank's. I would suggest to see it but don't buy it. Their is no real reason to watch it again. Their is a little sex but not as much as it looks like. It is dark but again no where near as dark as it looks. And it is serious and tries to be intelligent but it really isn't at all. Asia makes lame attempts to include Godard like pictures, and out the window type shooting but it fails to be interesting. It's really a great attempt and a good try but it's not enjoyable or different enough to be interesting for two hours. I'm not saying it would be better as a porno but the cover and reviews would make one assume that it is dark and sexual and it really isn't. Its kind of a cheap girl on the verge movie. Though she does seem very brave to sacrifice herself to the camera so exposed as she does. a scene includes her and black man being interrupted in a trailer that keeps her from getting off. She's wearing all black and net stockings. That's the kind of sexual danger, curiosity, type film I expected. Also a scene where she finds her friend tied up. But these scenes are very very short. It could have been great if it had maybe taken a stronger direction into a serious world of sex, violence and drugs like Blue Velvet or irreversible. But it's not. Don't buy it, i did and I'm kind of stuck with it. Asia is great but she isn't as intelligent or as interesting as the angel tattoo flying out of pants and too bad because that's really cool.

"Scarlet Diva," written, directed, and starred in by Asia Argento is a look into the life of Anna Battista. Anna is an actress who delves into depression and lonliness in the wake of her career. The movie itself is filmed in digital, and takes on a documentary feel to it, which only adds to the realness of the film. This semi-autobiographical film reaches out to the viewer, forcing them to either fully embrace the main character or turn away. But, if you embrace her, and feel her intense sadness, the film will truly move you. Labeled by some as "too explicit," or "overly sexual," it pulls no punches when portraying Anna's escapes into drugs, sex, and self mutilation. But, possibly the most disturbing aspect of Anna's life are her peers. The people surrounding her seem hollow and surreal, giving the film's focus on Anna's lonliness a much more personal aspect. It is a rollercoaster ride of shocking perversity, subtle symbolism, and heart wrenching realism centered by one of the most talented people (IMHO) in Hollywood. I reccomend this film to anyone who enjoys realist art. Unpretentious, gritty, and utterly beautiful, "Scarlet Diva" is sure to haunt your dreams for a long time. 10/10. GuyintheTV

I just saw the unrated cut of Scarlet Diva, and I have to disagree with almost everyone who has written a review about it. I think this is a great movie! I'm a big fan of Asia Argento as well as a fan of her father's, and this movie was everything I wanted it to be. There was nothing low-budget about it...the picture quality and sound was excellent; what exactly do you people want? Spaceships and aliens? If you are a fan of Asia, it gives you real insight into her life...you see first-hand how a woman who plays roles like hers gets treated by men; you really feel the creepiness. The style of filming was very effective; it definitely conveyed the real-life aspect of the movie. The quick cuts and sometimes nauseating camera movements and angles portray her state of mind, which at times is very unstable. There is a scene where she does special K, and being someone who has done it, it sent chills up my spine; they very accurately reproduced the sounds you hear in your head, the confusion and overlapping events, the sense of everything in your head being completely backwards... And lets not forgot the very sexual nature of the movie. If you're a conservative Christian, you probably won't like the movie. I, however, loved the many sex scenes (including a very hot lesbian scene). But it isn't all just gratuitous humping; there is intimacy in some places and lack of in others, all intentional. I'll stop babbling and just say, if you are a fan of Asia and know to some degree what she's all about, you WILL in fact enjoy this movie. If you know little about her type of lifestyle, you'll probably just see a lot of it as nonsense. For me, it was very emotionally engaging and definitely has some images that stuck in my head days after watching it. Asia is beautiful, intelligent, and very talented. The rock star she falls in love with is pretty lame, but I'm an aspiring rock star myself and say that about a lot of people. I think she should consider doing a follow-up or sequel. I definitely hope all the bad reviews have not discouraged her from following her own path.

The DVD opens with Asia Argento having to explain why her film doesn't stink. Almost like starting your political career by saying, "I am not a witch." Her speech was all over the place. As an actress and director, she should have written something down, have someone with a medium IQ look at it, and then read it off the card. The film is about the life story of a skanky looking model/actress (Asia Argento) whose life is in a free-fall all due to her own doing. Nothing she does endears herself to anyone. I was hoping for a zombie, or a slasher, or a rubber headed alien to make the film interesting. As a model and actress she is asked questions that a fifth grader could handle, but she looks like a deer in the headlights. My DVD quality was also bad. I only mention it because it was a new DVD fresh out of the case, no rattle, and it stuck about 1:09 into the film. I can't even resell it to recoup some of my loss. Buyer beware. There are better films where Asia gets naked. F-bomb, sex, nudity (Asia Argento, Selen, Vera Gemma)

Not since Marlene Dietrich (of Blue Angel) has a woman come on the silver screen with such raw sexuality. As Lola Lola, Dietrich used men to for her own advancement and amusement; today, as woman have have made tremendous social advances, they are using themselves for their own amusement, such as Anna Battista in Scarlet Diva. If Asia Argento is course in XXX, she is an anarchist in Scarlet Diva, less of an autobiography, more of an example of 21st century voyeurism. Asia has taken all the tricks learned from her father, Dario, and using them to create a slice of life look at an actress trying to figure out what she wants -- blah, blah, blah. No one wants that type of insight about Scarlet Diva. Possible viewers just want to know if it is as sexual as the the poster teases. Oh, yes. The movie is sexual and brutal. This ain't American Pie, where sex is a nice package one can buy at Wal-mart. Sex in Scarlet Diva is shown for its many facets -- as a way to kill time, to punish, to rape, or to connect. Viewers of Scarlet Diva will be f***ed. Some will claim to have been raped but others will thank Asia for the ride.

This is a film that fails dismally by itself, but is redeemed by a truly great DVD special feature. I truly love experimental movies and imports and this clearly falls into that category. But, the film is not at all well done. It's dull in many places and too often reduces to sex for the sake of prurient interested. The plot, or lack of plot, rambles about and is very confusing. Some of the symbolism is so obscure you won't know it until you listen to the director's commentary. You have trouble identifying with any of the characters because they are so unrealistic. But, it is in the area of the DVD director's commentary that this film shines brightly. Just out of curiosity, I turned it on after watching the film and was surprised how much I learned about the film, the directing process, the actors, and the director's life. Interestingly enough, the commentary is far better than the actual film. Though the film is meant to be somewhat autobiographical, the real facts of Asia's life are far more interesting and make much more sense, though they be somewhat strange to those of us looking from the outside. So many commentaries tend to be just some trivia about the shoot. This one tells lots of great stories about the people and process. You'll learn so much about stolen shots and when the sex is real and when it's not. I wish more commentaries went out on a limb to tell of truth about what is going on in the creative process as she has done here.

I rented this film from my Library. I watched it and thought that i was the biggest fool to rent this film. Someone said it pretty right... If you watch a Bad Film, It is hard to sit through 91 Minutes (Scarlet Diva's Duration) that are about to pass... Actually Asia Argento according to me was Frustrated to make another GIA. But as they say, Classics are never repeated. Scarlet Diva of course got some Critical Acclaims from some small Film Festivals. But again, Getting acclaims from small Film Festivals are the easiest thing nowadays. Even the small Film Festival organizers very well know that you need a Distribution. I really have no idea how come people get ready to FUND such kinds of movies in first place. Do they really thought they were making another GIA? Please guys grow up! I am so sorry that i do not have GUTS to recommend this film to anybody here because this is a BAD film. Please also don't go on the Good Comments here because i think it was created. If this film was really a good film then how come this film was left behind by Major Distributors? The film is a really Bad Film... With some really Bad Performances (Especially by Asia Argento) as the cherry on the cake... Please watch it with a strip of 'Asprin' with you!

Although I have to admit, I watched this movie largely out of the prurient interest of seeing Dario Argento's lovely daughter naked and engaging in (reportedly unsimulated) sex scenes, I was genuinely surprised at how good this movie was. While Asia A. has said in various interviews that as a director she has been most influenced by her father, on one hand, and maverick NYC auteur Abel Ferrara, on the other, she demonstrates here, in her directorial-debut, a personal warmth and emotional honesty that is generally absent in the stylistic excesses of the former and usually lost in the sheer pathos of the latter. True, the movie does straddle and (occasionally crosses)the thin line between personal and self-indulgent, but generally it is a moving, semi-autobiographical story of a young woman who has had to, as Lou Reed, once put it "grow up in public". Strangely, the movie isn't really that erotic. One of the most memorable scenes, typical of the movie as whole, has the director/actress completely naked, shaving her armpits in the mirror. While she looks great, of course, there's nothing really sexy or contrived about this scene. She's just a normal girl, totally unself-conscious, going through a morning routine. Asia A. has been often treated by the tabloid press as an Italian version of Paris Hilton or some other scandal queen, but what she may very well turn out to be is another Sofia Coppola, emerging from the shadow of past scandals and a famous father to become a respected artist in her own right.

Asia Argento triple-hyphenates (director-writer-actress) her first full length drama. The film is considered to be semiautobiographical in nature but deals with the fictional Anna Batiste is the `loneliest girl in the world' who is the top actress in Italy and posed to be unleashed upon the stage of world cinema but takes herself down a path that leads get involved in many bad life altering situations. She is ultimately used up and spit out by sleazy Hollywood producers, rock stars, druggies, photographers and a sordid list of leeches that leave her alone, pregnant and running mad through the streets of Paris. I'm very impressed with the energy that Argento injects into the film. She clearly borrows from some of the well-known directors she has worked with in the past (including her father Dario) but it all works in her favor. A rich color scheme is used throughout the film that sometimes gives an ethereal feel that is sometimes jarring . The script matches the direction, a little disjointed but it works for the characters spiral into agony. Her acting and the cast around her is very good, her believable portrait of the character throughout the peaks and valleys of her life. Unfairly blasted by critics this film should be seen with an open mind. True I was already a fan of Asia Argento before I saw the film but you don't have to be in order to like or respect the film.