La bionda (1993) User Reviews

for Nastassja fans only, vastly under rated and unappreciated

[fookoo · 8/10 · 22 September 2003]

'The Blonde' is an Italian language film with English subtitles that seem to flow by all too quickly, but then Italians seem to like to talk quickly anyway. The opening titles make it appear that the viewer is in for a boring movie with its detailed, close up look at the mechanism of a watch with commentary on how to fix it or what to look for when doing so. It is vaguely reminiscent of one of the scenes in 'The Graduate' in which Benjamin, Dustin Hoffman, is floating in a pool totally bored. The protagonist, Tommaso, is a student watch repairman who is taking the final classes on his craft before going into business for himself. His life is boring, although he does have a waiting fiancée. On the way back to his apartment at night, he hits Nastassja in a crosswalk with his car as she decides to cross against a red light signal. She suffers amnesia and the movie moves on from there. Sergio Rubini is both the director and Tommaso, which is a nice way to get to appear in a movie with Nastassja Kinski and have control of it at the same time. The script is fine because there aren't any glaring logical errors in it, although one could nit-pick and find something to complain about. This is probably the only movie in which Nastassja is actually hysterical - one will have to see the film to know why. The first half of the film deals with Tommaso trying to help Nastassja recover from her amnesia, the second half is what happens afterward. Of course, Tommaso falls for Nastassja and the second half deals with his pursuit of her after she suddenly disappears. Sergio Rubini at least knows one good way of making a Nastassja Kinski film: put her on the screen in many closeups at varying moments, catching her without much make up, fully made up, show her facial texture with flaws, wrap her in an expensive torn dress from the accident, buy her an outfit to replace the torn dress, let her get wet in the rain, show her in stunning designer clothes, AND above all just let her act. 'The Blonde' was released in 1992 and only recently has been released on DVD in a full frame format, not letter boxed.