Lies to Live by
(BABYLON) ((BABYLON: LA PAURA E LA MIGLIORE AMICA DELL'UOMO)(ITALIAN))
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Charles Forrester ... Bill Sage
Francesco ... Paolo Lorimer
Carla ... Valeria Milillo
Gabrielle ... Sophie Bernhard
Tonino ... Andrea Prodan
"Lies to Live By (Babylon)" is a borderline silly Italo low-budgeter whose few flashes of real talent aren't enough to rescue an uninteresting script and characters. This portrait of four young people's emotional problems in industrial Turin looks unlikely to travel beyond its borders, except to more experimental gatherings.
Setting is summertime in the northern Italian city's bleaker quarters. Factory worker Francesco, a still rebellious thirtysomething, can't get over his wife Carla's having slept with a hotel detective on a trip to New York. When the hapless Yank, Charles, arrives on vacation in Turin, Carla deliberately disappears for a few days and gets her friend Gabrielle, a French student, to put him up.
Francesco, by now a serious head case in his "F*** Corporate Rock" T-shirt, mopes around a lot, beats up a guy in the street and threatens Charles that he's next. With Gabrielle's help, the men finally face off in an abandoned warehouse.
Shot on Super-16mm, with 8mm B&W inserts, pic is at its best when not trying too hard for angry, rock 'n' roll effects and veering off in other directions (like the thriller manque finale). Unfortunately, the quieter moments serve mainly to spotlight the script's limitations.
Performances range from dire (Bill Sage, flat and lost-looking as the American) to promising (striking newcomer Sophie Bernhard, a Jodie Foster look-alike, as Gabrielle). Tech credits, including blowup to 35mm, are par.
Camera (Telecolor, B&W), Gherardo Gossi; editor, Anna Napoli; music, Giuseppe Napoli, Marlene Kuntz; art direction, Vera Castrovilli; costume design, Laura Mazza; sound design (Dolby), Gianfranco Zorzi; sound, Mario Iaquone; assistant director, Luca Gasparini. Reviewed at Locarno Film Festival (competing), Aug. 8, 1994. (Also in N.I.C.E. and Turin fests.) Running time:100 MIN.
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