Sonia Petrova Movies

Fatal Image stars Michele Lee as a recent divorcee and Justine Bateman as her daughter. Forgetting their domestic travails, mother and daughter take a trip to Paris. Here things get pretty tense when the two accidentally witness a murder. Worse still, the daughter took a video of the crime. Fatal Image originally aired December 2, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

During his lifetime, the noted Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio was considered to be a genius, a daring adventurer, and a major Italian nationalist. During the Mussolini era, he was still considered to be a major figure in Italian literature, and many schoolchildren were required to study his tamer books. Several movies based on his life were made prior to this one, and they focused on his association with the Mussolini regime. Since then, his reputation has declined considerably, and this biographical drama certainly reflects his new status as a historically important but repugnant and artistically insignificant figure. In this story, the journalist-turned-author is a foolish-looking dandy who is just beginning to make his mark as a central figure in Italy's art-world. His little group would win the descriptive title of "the decadents." Here, he is shown as being the sort of man who would exploit the women he has affairs with to further his career. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Luchino Visconti (Count don Luchino Visconti di Modrone) was a film director, true, but he was also a nobleman and a grand patron of traditional European culture: opera, art, music, crafts and literature. These interests enliven many of his films, but few have been so inspired as the four-hour epic, Ludwig, about the castle-building "mad king" of Bavaria. This long film, made very near the end of Visconti's life, suffers greatly when shortened, as every moment is essential to the story. There are at least four different versions of the film (from just under three hours to over four hours in length); the uncut four-hour version is the most coherent, even though many might find it rather long. The disintegration of aristocratic individuals is a continuing theme of Visconti's, though Ludwig's is the most thorough decay he filmed. The last ruling king of Bavaria (1845-1886) is noted for many things besides his eccentricities: he sold Bavaria to Germany, ending the rule of the Bavarian monarchy; he built amazing castles all over his country (with the proceeds from the sale); and he was Richard Wagner's main sponsor. He was also a notorious recluse, conducting a lifelong platonic love affair with Empress Elizabeth of Austria, and finally succumbing to his adoration of handsome men in a series of outrageous affairs and orgies. His excesses eventually led to his being declared mentally incompetent and being held prisoner in his own castle. The film depicts this incredible life from his coronation at age 19 to his (unproved) assassination well over 20 years later. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This gloomy Italian melodrama is set in the resort town of Rimini, the same small town as Fellini's picture I Vitelloni. The notables of the town spend their time speculating in real estate and doing a little gambling. Their interest is piqued by Daniel (Alain Delon), the magnetic new instructor at the town's high school. He has a high-strung, suicidal wife whose demands he treats with weary tolerance, as he does most things in his life. He is much drawn to a well-worn young woman, and events take a tragic turn when he takes up with her. This film marks a unique acting departure for Alain Delon and is considered one of his best screen performances. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi