Scarlet Diva
Scarlet Diva
| 09 August 2002 (USA)
Scarlet Diva Trailers

A young Italian actress embarks on a self-destructive spree of sex, drugs and other excess while doing some soul searching to find the path for redemption.

Reviews
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
Bjorn (ODDBear) Asia Argento's directing debut is this self confession style documentary like cheap flick. Playing Anna Battista, an Italian rising star who's life is anything but charmed. Having had a rough time growing up with a demented mother, Anna is a troubled adult who's living a wild and slutty life with her equally disturbed friends. Using drugs and heavily abusing alcohol and meeting only sexually depraved men who want to use and abuse her, her stardom doesn't ensure her a happy existence.Asia herself said this film is somewhat (or mostly) based on her own life experiences and that it was actually a kind of catharsis for her, she just needed to let out some steam. That may well be but it's not very entertaining for the casual viewer. It looks cheap, it's not very well acted, it just goes from one thing to the other, it's shoddily written, there doesn't seem to be a decent guy in the whole wide world (hence; fairly one-dimensional) and in the end I didn't feel very sorry for her 'cause she's not really all that nice a character herself. In fact, all the people here seem to be whacked out and you can't help thinking that the world would be a better place if they weren't here taking up space.So why 5 stars; well the movie gets 2 at the most but Asia gets three, that's how easy we devoted fans are. Her presence alone makes the film all the more watchable.
tommyblah I just saw the unrated cut of Scarlet Diva, and I have to disagree with almost everyone who has written a review about it. I think this is a great movie! I'm a big fan of Asia Argento as well as a fan of her father's, and this movie was everything I wanted it to be.There was nothing low-budget about it...the picture quality and sound was excellent; what exactly do you people want? Spaceships and aliens? If you are a fan of Asia, it gives you real insight into her life...you see first-hand how a woman who plays roles like hers gets treated by men; you really feel the creepiness. The style of filming was very effective; it definitely conveyed the real-life aspect of the movie. The quick cuts and sometimes nauseating camera movements and angles portray her state of mind, which at times is very unstable. There is a scene where she does special K, and being someone who has done it, it sent chills up my spine; they very accurately reproduced the sounds you hear in your head, the confusion and overlapping events, the sense of everything in your head being completely backwards...And lets not forgot the very sexual nature of the movie. If you're a conservative Christian, you probably won't like the movie. I, however, loved the many sex scenes (including a very hot lesbian scene). But it isn't all just gratuitous humping; there is intimacy in some places and lack of in others, all intentional.I'll stop babbling and just say, if you are a fan of Asia and know to some degree what she's all about, you WILL in fact enjoy this movie. If you know little about her type of lifestyle, you'll probably just see a lot of it as nonsense. For me, it was very emotionally engaging and definitely has some images that stuck in my head days after watching it. Asia is beautiful, intelligent, and very talented. The rock star she falls in love with is pretty lame, but I'm an aspiring rock star myself and say that about a lot of people.I think she should consider doing a follow-up or sequel. I definitely hope all the bad reviews have not discouraged her from following her own path.
sinistre1111 Boy, so much s--t was talked about this film, and I just want to thank you all for dropping my expectations so low that I was able to thoroughly enjoy Scarlet Diva. If you're sitting down to watch this film, one hopes that a certain context is assumed, and an interest has been established, such that terms like "self-indulgent" and "bad acting" do not even enter into the vocabulary. The film pulls you along with heavy visual style, holding its own sexy trash pulse while at the same time prostrating itself at the altar of the director/star's horror-god father Dario Argento, but in a good way. For example, the latter's trademark use of colored lighting is employed liberally, and to appropriate effect. Rapper Schoolly D and NY shock performer/painter Joe Coleman both make great respective turns, as a drug dealer and sleazy producer. Like the work of her auteur Dad, and writer Mother Daria Nicolodi (who appears as "The Mom" in the film), Asia Argento's Scarlet Diva is a horror film, and you will feel horrified at certain scenes. But it's a "horror of life" film, and it's assumed that much of it is semi-autobiographical. Would you pay to see it if it were Drew Barrymore's sleazoid child star/artist family upbringing? Dare to give 90 minutes up to the Scarlet Diva.
Dr. Gore *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*There is a very big question you have to ask yourself before deciding whether or not to watch this movie. It is: Do I care about Asia Argento and her pain? If you could care less, I would steer clear of this one. Asia lets it all hang out as she tells us of her tormented life.I'm not going to mix words. I bought this DVD to see Asia Argento get naked and have sex. I'm happy to say Asia does get naked and does have sex. She shows us her angel tattoo and all is right with the world.On the DVD, before the movie begins, Asia looks straight into the camera and tells us that we probably heard this movie was no good but not to worry because it is. She also hopes that we might get to know her better…or less. So basically she's saying, "Here's my movie, I did it, you're watching it and there you go." It was kind of strange to have the director reassure the audience before the flick. I was a little thrown off by it.So the movie is about a girl named Anna, (Asia Argento), who is a big movie star and very unhappy about it. Sex, drugs and rock and roll make Anna miserable. She is a very lonely woman. One guy is sweet to her and visions of love start dancing in her head. Will Anna ever be happy?For this movie to work, you have to believe that Asia is being sincere. You have to believe that most of the stories in the movie happened to her in one form or another at some point in her life. So is the flick Asia spilling her guts out for the world to see? Is it a cry for help? Or is it just a self indulgent flick with Asia crying and weeping as movie stars tend to do?For me, it felt sincere. It's not an exploitation flick although there is enough sex and nudity to make it seem otherwise. Asia had a lot on her mind and wanted to have a cathartic experience with this flick. If you like Asia Argento, it's definitely worth a look.