Bámbola (1996)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Bigas Luna

Writers:

Cesare Frugoni (writer)
Bigas Luna (writer)

Release Date:

September 1996 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Her name is Mina, but she is called Bambola (doll). Upon the death of her mother, she and her homosexual brother...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Sex | Italy | Male Rape | Snake

Cast

Valeria Marini	...	Mina 'Bambola'
Stefano Dionisi	...	Flavio
Jorge Perugorría	...	Furio
Manuel Bandera	...	Settimio
Anita Ekberg	...	Mamma Greta
Antonino Iuorio	...	Ugo
Lilli Berquini	...	La Capretta
Arsenio Luna
Francesco Ghibli Lombardi
Carlo Mendicini
Bruna Bossi
Luca Flauto

Runtime:

Argentina:95 min

Country:

France | Spain | Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Argentina:18 | Germany:18 | Italy:VM18 | Mexico:C | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | France:-16

Filming Locations:

Comacchio, Ferrara, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Company:

DA International

Trivia:

When the character played by Anita Ekberg, Mamma Greta, dies, we can see on her grave that her complete name is "Greta Gustafsson". That's Greta Garbo's real name.

Soundtrack:

La bámbola

BAMBOLA (Bigas Luna, 1996) BOMB

Laughably melodramatic would-be erotica, a far cry even from the only other 2 Luna titles I've watched (which were themselves lower-tier efforts)! To begin with, Anita Ekberg (who appears briefly as the title character's larger-than-life drunken termagant mother, named Greta Gustafsson!) delivers a scenery-chewing performance; likewise, Jorge Perrugoria as the loutish egomaniac who drools over the girl all through the film is surely one of the most obnoxious characters I've ever had to suffer! While Italian sex symbol Valeria Marini tries, she's hampered by her babyish voice - not to mention the exaggerated moans during the love-making and the fact that the couple's relationship never convinces for a second (if it's supposed to evoke "l'amour fou", it's a pathetic attempt)! The subplot involving Marini's gay brother's desperation over unrequited love for an imprisoned stud (which is all magically settled by the end) is merely boring. Really, the only attention-grabbing element - apart from Marini herself, that is - is the score; the pet goats are cute, too. Actually, the version I watched may have been cut as the "Stracult" book mentions an unforgettable sex scene involving eels - but, here, this is over before it has even begun as we're rushed to its messy aftermath!!