A mental patient escapes from an asylum. The police try to find said patient before someone in the outside world gets hurt or killed. Director/co-writer Mario Foglietti uses an unusual and imaginative fragmented style to relate the pretty standard story; it's this very odd, disjointed, and energetic bravura style which in turn gives this particular episode its singularly creepy and unnerving edge, with weird tilted camera angles, a wonky score, and inspired use of a jumpy hand-camera all combining together to create a highly tense and uncertain atmosphere of dread and instability. Kudos are also in order for the able acting by a solid pro cast, with stand-out contributions from Robert Hoffman as a handsome and mysterious doctor, Mara Venier as the fetching and fragile Daniela Moreschi, Gianfranco D'Angelo as a no-nonsense police commissioner, and Pupo De Luca as the bumbling vice commissioner. Ravishing redhead Euro cinema cult siren Erika Blanc has a small, but memorable role as Elena Moreschi, a victim of the escaped mental patient who gets killed in an excellent set piece that occurs in a garment factory. The lunatic's true identity is a genuine surprise. A refreshingly different and intriguing episode.
Review of La bambola
