A young
pickpocket meets a sheltered teenage girl at an art museum in Rome. He
convinces her to join him on an afternoon adventure to see an ancient
vase that he discovered in the sand on a remote beach. He then secretly
hot-wires a motorbike for the date and off they go. After a day alone
on the deserted beach, he convinces the girl that the bike won't start
and they are stranded together in their Garden of Eden.
Here
is a lost gem from director Yasuzo Masumura, best known for BLIND
BEAST, RED
ANGEL and IREZUMI
[SPIDER TATTOO].
He originally studied film and philosophy in Rome during the '50s after
getting a law degree from Tokyo University. In 1980, he returned to Italy
for this production. Of course, there are obvious similarities to other
popular Hollywood films from the same time (Blue Lagoon, et
al) but Masumura's project is more European class-consciousness than
the other genre movies [think SNATCH
[ La
Orca] instead]. Mr Masumura died from a cerebral hemorrhage, November
1986, at age 62.
Perennial
young-looking Leonora Fani was 26 when she made this film. It came after
an impressive string of quirky Euro thrillers that began with NAKED
MASSACRE followed by BESTALIA,
HOTEL
FEAR, Enzo Castellari's KYRA:HOUSE
BY THE EDGE OF THE LAKE and GIALLO
A VENIZIA
[Gore in Venice]. A few years after this film (and a Japanese promotional
tour), Leonara returned to Italy for a TV series, Dei Miei Bollenti
Spiriti. She retired in 1984 at age 30.
A Japanese/Italian
production in English language; widescreen, (108 min.),
DVD encoded for WORLD FORMAT NTSC, playable on any American machine.
Extras include selected theatrical trailers.
Violence/Nudity/Strong
Sexual Situations
for Mature Audiences
