Some random thoughts on the film, copied and pasted from my blog- I rarely waste my time for writing negative reviews of other people's work but this time I just couldn't help it!
I have to admit that I used to admire Asia a lot although I lost a lot of my respect for her after revisiting SCARLET DIVA. I've had the Media Blasters DVD since it came out (its been a few years since its release) and I have never been able to seat through the whole feature.
Asia plays a famous Italian actress (hmm....) called Anna Batista. She is apparently very lonely and depressed and lives a life of self-destruction. Drugs of all kinds, sleazy sex, tons of drama- there's nothing missing from the menu. Anna lives a totally reckless life that involves taking drugs, screwing around, etc and then wonders why she is so miserable and unhappy.
Needless to say, this is mostly inspired from Asia's own life with just a few fictional elements added to the story. Some will definitely look at it as a sensitive story of pain and redemption but NO- I've had enough of these miserable films that try to sell themselves as "arthouse". Put all your filth on film and you are an artist. Throw shit on a canvas and call yourself a painter! Enough of that!
Most of the film (which is shot on Mini DV) depicts Ms. Argento fucking (for real), showing off her hairy pussy (cause the Japanese like it hairy as she stated in the commentary track), using drugs (for real), smoking, shaving her armpits, smoking (I don't even want to know how many packs she does daily), burning her skin with cigarettes (for real), crying and getting wasted. Thankfully, we don't get to see her taking a hit although even that wouldn't surprise me. SCARLET DIVA would have been more sincere if it was titled THIS IS ASIA ARGENTO or A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF ASIA or something. This movie must have been made to make the viewers feel sorry for its star/director, I just can't explain it otherwise.
The misleading DVD cover (and the "here's the film that should be called XXX" tagline) obviously tries to market the feature as a softcore sex film (it wouldn't be bad for a porn either actually). There's definitely lots of skin on display but viewers who buy this strictly for sex and nudity will be let down. Actually the artwork leads me to suspect that Asia purposely made a softcore sex flick and cleverly disguised it as arthouse in order to reach a wider audience. Not sure what the case is but she is far from what I call a sincere filmmaker.
Please help me, I am so rich but so frustrated and unhappy at the same time- my life sucks so bad... being Dario Argento's daughter isn't as cool as it sounds after all. She is really a sad individual. Not to mention she also sounds stoned and wasted in real life- just listen to her commentary track on the Media Blasters disc.
Since it is shot on DV, the movie has an amateurish look. Asia could have done worse directing it but still most of it looks rushed and uninspired and poorly made. However, nothing shown here is faked. This fact, combined with the hand-held camera work gives a documentary feel to the movie which is positive, keeping in mind the story is mostly autobiographical.
Too bad because I actually wanted to like the movie. I cannot help but dismiss it as an immature attempt at arthouse cinema though. If you are a 13-year old girl with self-destructive tendencies this one is for you.
