Action (1980 film)


Action is a 1980 Italian black comedy directed by Tinto Brass. The film is reminiscent of the director's earlier avant-garde low-budget works such as The Howl and Nerosubianco.
Brass faced many difficulties in Italy due to lawsuits concerning the production of Caligula so he filmed Action in London in 1979.

Plot

Bruno Martel is a "Z movie" actor with hero syndrome, often quarrelling with directors. He meets Doris an actress who is obsessed with Ophelia but cannot get any Shakespearean bookings. One day, during a nervous breakdown, Bruno "rescues" Doris from the set, leaving the town to encounter various absurd situations. They meet an old anarchist who thinks he is Giuseppe Garibaldi and the three are locked at a mental asylum where Doris commits suicide. Bruno and "Garibaldi" escape and take refuge at an awkward petrol station run by Florence and her invalid husband Joe.

Cast

In Germany, the film was released as Sodom 2000.

Reception

According to Italian film critic Marco Giusti, Action is for many the cult film among Tinto Brass' films. Giusti praises the finale with the dream of Luc Merenda, who sees four knights who have sexes in place of their noses and four women who have sexes in place of their mouthes.