There are more than just two stars in Bolognini's rather fabulous 1969 obscurity - as another reviewer correctly noted, Koscina looks amazing in an array of fright wigs, Fendi jackets and tons of make up, keeping a cold, detached appearance throughout, pursued by Harvey's elaborate sideburns - they were probably thought of as very hip at the time. They drive around, often recklessly, in an orange Iso Grifo (the third star of the film) and discuss (at considerable lengths) each other, love, emotions and many other things to Morricone's truly invigorating score (the last, probably the ultimate star of the film). The encounter - more a pick up, really - seems promising enough at first but soon things turn sour as she becomes aware that he is really projecting a lot of his own fantasies onto her and she's having none of it - "sono una donna reale!" she exclaims angrily at some point. From there on, things are destined for an unhappy ending - operatic, almost - but then we are in Italy and it all fits nicely, even if perhaps we are left slightly underwhelmed afterwards. Shame that the only source readily available for viewing is a very smudgy You Tube upload, but you still get a very good idea about what kind of film it is - abstract, slow, enigmatic and, most of all, wholly driven and bound together by that music....oh, that music. It deserves a separate, much more detailed analysis, but I'm sure the opening title made a lasting impact on one young Michael Nyman, for instance, and probably many other musical reductionists. If you're in the mood for a fantastic audio-visual time capsule, step in and watch with patience - you're unlikely to be disappointed.
