It's hard to know what kind of audience the people who made this film had in mind. Riz Ortolani's music, Marcello Mastroianni's naive but good-hearted character and the occasional gags seem to suggest a comedy, but the picture isn't funny enough to be a comedy. The plot (which you will need a scorecard to keep straight, and even then you'll probably fail) and the original Italian title seem to indicate a thriller, but it's not thrilling enough to be a thriller. It has a good cast (including Ornella Muti, who is literally "dreamily beautiful" here - you can barely believe that a woman so beautiful is real and not just a dream), but it wastes it in insignificant roles. Out of respect for these actors, and for one funny scene with Marcello and a beefy hood who's forcing him to walk up some stairs, I give this film ** out of 4.
Review of Atrocious Tales of Love and Death
