AKA-ANNA
(1973/ITALY)
REVIEWED BY-STEVE GENIER DIRECTED BY-GIULIANO CARNIMEO CAST-EDWIGE FENECH, CORRADO PANI, RICHARD CONTE, JOHN RICHARDSON, LAURA BONAPARTE and ETTORE MANNI. SOURCE-NO SHAME FILMS DVD (NTSC REGION 1 / 2005)
Anna (Edwinge Fenech) works in a café in a small town, there she is confronted by Guido (Corrado Pani) , a mobster by nature and un be nonce to her. Literally swept of her feet by his good looks and sense of self-confidence, she is conned into leaving her home a going with him to Milan. There she is treated with luxuries that she could only of dreamed about. Though, with the good, the bad sets in as Guido’s profession more and more interferes with their relationship. Then Guido’s boss Don Barzini (Richard Conte) decides to put the pressure on him to force Anna to become one of the expensive call girls. Guido tells her she must help him out or else, of course Anna, who is in love with him agrees and the beginning of her career starts. As time goes, Anna more and more becomes resentful towards Guido, especially when she finds out that she’s pregnant with possibly his baby. Any dream of his being a father is squished quickly as he denies that it is his and that it’s a bastard child. Her life begins to crumble until the perfect moment to fee this troubled world Guido had brought her to comes when the police arrest Guido. Sending him to jail for 6 years. Anna quickly leaves for Rome to live with her sister and to give birth to her baby son.
Some years later, making honest money working in a book store, Anna’s life is once again interrupted when her son becomes violently sick and must have emergency surgery to help him. There she meets Lorenzo (John Richardson) who is the attending doctor who helps her son. He also quickly becomes attracted to Anna, but at first she is unsure that it would be a good idea as her pass might scare him away. Still, their relationship flourish until the worst case scenario happens, Guido shows up in town after being released from jail. He is back to claim her and will stop at nothing in doing so, including exposing her past to Lorenzo.
SECRETS OF A CALL GIRL, had all the markings of a pure drama, though I was extremely surprised with what I got. A film that crosses many boundaries, the most apparent one being that of the usual Italian crime film crossed with elements of a drama. Woven so one of those elements didn’t out weight the other. This Ernesto Gastaldi (ALMOST HUMAN, TORSO) scripted film brings a whole different perceptive to those rough and tumble Italian crime films that pretty much dominated the mid-70's. Bringing a softer, much more deeper feel to this genre, especially with the extensive roll of Anna played so perfectly by the ever so lovely Edwinge Fenech.
I have seen her in many films, like THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS.WARDH and FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON, two of which are my favorites, still don’t compare to the beauty she illuminates in SECRETS. Her performance is also much more fuller as an actress, she is given more to deal with and to showcase that she is not only a sex-symbol but a bon-a-fide actress as well. Still, I can’t help but reflect on the softness that her images bring to the screen here. The character of Anna is a mother, but also is a small town naive girl who is thrown into the pit and left for the wolves. She deals with both sides of the coin with complete effectiveness, propelling her above the rest of the cast, in short she is this film and without her it would be a run of the mill drama.
I'm not knocking the rest of the cast, and what a cast it is. With the likes of Corrado Pani who I thought was great in Sergio Martino’s GAMBLING CITY, also brings that hot headed approach to his character of Guido here in SECRETS. A stark contrast to Anna really, still the two opposites always seem to attract one another. Even though he puts in a great performance, it was still quite limited and pretty much in the background to Fenech. This is pretty much with all the major players in this film. Not that that’s a bad thing and hell knows in SECRETS Fenech holds her own. Even Euro-cult vets Richard Conte and John Richardson play second fiddle to the hot commodity.
With most of the story centering around the character of Anna and her struggle to find peace, director Giuliano Carnimeo with the help and guidance of Gastaldi’s script bring in elements to Anna’s struggle that are foreign to the usual drama. They masterfully incorporate those trademark crime aspects that are usually found in those high octane crime-thrillers of the day. Marrying the two with complete fusion and still managing to convey Anna’s trials and tribulations so they work to the up most best. There are essentially two and at some points three storylines running parallel to one another. Anna’s struggle, Guido’s underworld dealings and lastly Lorenzo’s plight of dealing with losing Anna. All of these factors intertwine with one another at different points in the story, but two of them run side by side for a great portion of it.
Once again, this new release from No Shame is another great example of the time and care taken into completely overhauling this rare Italian gem. Of course the rarity being the availability of this film in the North American market and uncut. The print is presented in a stunningly ultra clear wide-screen aspect of 1.85:1, this is surely the best selling point of this DVD. The audio however, though it is super clear is only presented in both Italian and English mono with optional English subtitles. That of course isn’t a travesty. The feature presentation is one aspect alone for those Euro-cult heavies to invest in surely. As this is just the start of what else is to come, namely the special features.
A 22 minute featurette called MEMORIES A CALL GIRL brings us to present day interviews with director Giuliano Carnimeo, film scripter Ernesto Gastaldi and Edwige herself. I must say, she has gotten better with time, she looks better then she did back when this film was released. Ok, so I’m pushing it a little, but does she ever stand the test of time. In their interviews, they are retrospect on the making of SECRETS. Watch this after the feature as there are some slight spoilers in this. After the featurette, there is also the original Italian trailer with optional English track. Stills and poster gallery work out the rest of the extras on the disc itself. Added with the disc is a booklet talking about the film’s stars and their careers, those being Fenech, Conti and Pani. Yet another fin release from a company that boosts a pretty healthy future release schedule.
STORY/FILM- 3.5 BITCH SLAPS PICTURE-4.5 BITCH SLAPS AUDIO-3 BITCH SLAPS EXTRAS-3.5 BITCH SLAPS OVERALL DVD-3.5 BITCH SLAPS To purchase this DVD, visit X-Ploited Cinema.
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