bdp (07/11/82)
I saw both of these movies down at Rocky Hill outside of Princeton (well, yes, just about anything is outside of Princeton.) Both are intelligent, well-made movies. Diva is just lovable whereas Passione d'Amore has a message of some import to share with us. Passione d'Amore is a different kind of love story. Please ignore the fact that Laura Antonelli "participates" in it; she only does one or two gratuitous scenes toward the beginning. Believe me, by the end of the movie, you will have long forgotten her. The "dashing captain's" affair is remarkably inexorable in its believability. Though there is no violence, this is not a movie for the squeemish. Diva is just plain great. If this typifies French punk, I want more. Eh, true, it has no Great Big Deal Message, but who wants Goethe all the time? Sentimental, comic, thrilling -- this movie wants to be all things for all people and, by God, it works! This is one movie that is meant to be relished. Wait until the scene where the Taiwanese record company representatives show up to claim their prize! --Bruce Parker BTL Piscataway