| 1980/ Italy Directed by: Massimo Pirri Writing credits:Morando Morandini, Massimo Pirri Produced by: Benedetto Conversi, Patrizia Tomon Original Music by: The Pretenders Cinematography by: Sergio Martinelli |
| Cast: Helmut Berger(Marco) Corinne Clery(Pina) Marzio Honorato(Tobia) Franco Citti.(Pusher) George Ardisson Agn?s Nobecourt Karl Zinny Roberto Caporali Aldo Bufi Landi Lorenzo Piani Antonio Buonomo I really appreciated this movie and his performance as Marco. It is of course a very serious subject which the film examines and it does so in a way which seems truthful and honest. We see how desperate Marco and Pina's lives are- their daily routine is based solely around getting the next fix, everything they do is motivated by their addiction to heroin. The film doesn't sentimentalise their characters - they don't feel sorry for themselves. However there are occasional and touching moments of self-understanding from Marco - which Helmut Berger plays beautifully with restraint and subtlety. The film is shocking and we see how in their need for drugs both Marco and Pina degrade themselves (by prostitution) and resort to exploitation, Pina selling drugs to children. It is very graphic at times and of course is directed in such a way as to give authenticity to it's subject matter. The photography is drained of vivid colour which mirrors Marco and Pina's fragile existence - a life lived not within society but on it's edges. Helmut played Marco in a completely honest way - and I think gave a superb performance. As their lives spiral completely out of control - with the failed drugs heist and the death of their friend in the ensuing chase- there is a very moving scene between Marco and Pina in a children's playground. It's very early morning, they are the only people there. Pina tells Marco that she has to get away and asks him to come, he decides to stay and she leaves. There is a moment where I feel that Marco is tired of running, despite his realising that if he stays he is likely to be killed. Helmut's acting is very poignant in this scene, his expression reveals Marco's pain and resignation and then he screams - a moment of grief/rage/dispair for his ruined life .There is a dissolve and a burst of colour it is now daytime and children are playing, Marco is still there he gets up and leaves the playground. His loneliness and isloation is painful to watch. The children remind us that all children become adults and for some their life will end up like Marco's. It is a sobering thought. I know that some people will find 'eroina' squalid and a far cry from Helmut's films with Visconti and De Sica, but I think it is an interesting and compelling film about a subject- drugs - which is still very relevant in today's world. Feb 2003 Dorian Leveque
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