Scarlet Diva (2000)

Sorry, this movie sucks

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Scarlet Diva (2000) ** (out of 4) Anna Battista (Asia Argento) is an Italian actress whose dream it is to direct but she runs into one wall after another on her self destructive path filled with sex and drugs.SCARLET DIVA not only stars Argento but she also wrote and directed the picture, which most will see as a movie about herself. Through various interviews and even the commentary track it's hard to follow what in the movie is based on her of if any of it really is. As far as the film goes, in all honesty there's really nothing great or bad about it and it's pretty much an average film.I think the best thing about the picture was Argento the actress as she certainly gives it her all. There are all sorts of drama here from rape scenes to bizarre drug trips and even some heavy drama. Argento does a good job in the acting department and she certainly helps keep the movie going along. The supporting players are all nice as well including Daria Nicolodi who plays the mother.The biggest issue I have with the film is that it seems Argento is wanting to say a lot but nothing really comes out of the film. I'm sure there was some sort of deep or personal meaning that Argento wanted to get out but whatever it is remains pretty still. I'm sure people could watch this and draw their own conclusions but I found the film to be somewhat of a mess in the story department.The film features quite a bit of sex, nudity and drugs but it's really not shocking or too daring. If you're a fan of Argento you'll certainly want to watch it for her but there's nothing overly special here.

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.

"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

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.