Florinda Bolkan Movies
Born Florinda Bulcao, this tall, leggy, brunette Spanish-Indian leading lady is proficient in several languages. She worked in the PR department of the Brazilian national airline, then went to Paris and studied art at the Sorbonne for two years. While visiting Italy in 1967, she met director Luchino Visconti, who felt she had potential as a screen actress; besides recommending her to several other directors, he also cast her (as a prostitute) in his The Damned (1969). With her classic features she soon became a popular star in Europe, gaining international recognition after her appearance in De Sica's A Brief Vacation (1973). ~ All Movie Guide- 2000
As Carmen (Suzana Goncalves) prepares to marry for the fourth time, her three sisters find themselves juggling romantic predicaments of their own in this offbeat comedy from Brazil. Rose (Maria Zilda Bethlem), an artist who does better with paintings than she does with romance, is stuck in a going-nowhere romance with Gil (Herson Capri). Eleonora (Florinda Bolkan), the oldest, is a writer living in Italy who finds herself attracted to her adult stepdaughter, Selvaggia (Valentina Vicario). And Isabel (Ingra Liberato) lives in the United States, where she's married to a politician whose busy schedule leaves no room for the child she so desperately wants to have. Rose isn't sure what to do when she discovers Gil has been seeing a younger woman; Isabel has her purse stolen by a homeless child, whom she then decides to adopt; and Eleonora can't decide if she should be a parent or a lover to Selvaggia. Florinda Bolkan, who plays Eleonora, also served as writer and director. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Zilda Bethlem, Florinda Bolkan, (more)
- 1988
In 1981, Ronald Biggs was kidnapped by agents from Scotland Yard from his Brazilian hideout for his participation in the 1964 British train robbery. This feature was written by Biggs and director Lech Majewski as a fictionalized account of the authorities trying to bring the colorful crook to justice. Paul Freeman plays Biggs, infamous for his participation in the $5 million heist dubbed "The Great Train Robbery". Jack McFarland (Steven Berkoff) is the Scotland Yard agent obsessed with apprehending Biggs and placing him on board a British navy ship bound for England. Nudity abounds in the final carnival scene as Biggs stays one step ahead of his captors. Colorful scenes of Rio are the highlight of this feature hampered by a thin script. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Berkoff, Paul Freeman, (more)
Michael (Patrick Dempsey) is a college student invited to spend Christmas vacation in Quebec City with his sweetheart Gabby (Jennifer Connelly) and her family. The wide-eyed Michael sees the city as a fairytale land with the splendid architecture gently dusted by the falling snow. When Michael arrives, Gabby tells him she is breaking up with him, and separate sleeping arrangements are made, and Gabby's mother (Florinda Bolkan) makes sure the visitor adheres to Gabby's wishes. Gabby's eccentric father (Andre Gregory) is an idealistic scholar who likes to work in the nude. Michael isn't lonely for long, as Gabby's two younger sisters show amorous interest in him. Lila Kedrova gives an excellent performance as the slightly daffy grandmother who believes Michael is her late husband. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Florinda Bolkan, (more)
An international co-production with dialogue in both Italian and English, this erotic thriller from writer Lucio Fulci and director Giuseppe Patroni-Griffi stars Tony Musante as Michael Parker, a successful American businessman living in Italy with his girlfriend. When she leaves on vacation, Michael is soon involved in a torrid, passionate affair with Marie (Laura Antonelli), a woman with whom he once enjoyed a one-night stand. This time, however, Marie is not about to let Michael off the romantic hook so easily, exacting horrific revenge on her lover. Further complicating Michael's love life is Jacqueline, Marie's nubile preteen daughter, whose attraction for Michael pits mother and daughter against each other in an incestuous love triangle. La Gabbia (1985), which translates as "Collector's Item," was also released in the United States as Dead Fright. Although similar to director Adrian Lyne's blockbuster hit Fatal Attraction (1985), which was released the same year, the rougher-hewn La Gabbia actually preceded Lyne's film. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Musante, Laura Antonelli, (more)
- 1983
Rolando (Carlo Verdone) has tried everything to find a teaching job and so when he fakes it and lands a job as a priest tutoring Sandy, a teenage American model (Natasha Hovey), he feels particularly blessed -- it certainly beats his work as a janitor at an English school run by the Catholic church. Soon Rolando is handsomely ensconced at his new job site -- an opulent villa -- but his student Sandy speaks Italian and quickly figures out that Rolando is not a priest. She bargains with him: if she keeps quiet about who he really is, then they must continue going out to "forbidden food" places (like pizzerias and pastry shops) so she can eat the things she likes. Forbidden food and a fake identity cannot last forever, and both are jeopardized when the real priest shows up for the tutoring position. Much more cleaned up and mainstream than Verdone's past comic outings, Acqua E Sapone was applied to the script and the dialogue, as well as the title. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carlo Verdone, Natasha Hovey, (more)
- 1979
American and Venezuelan foreigners try to steal coveted seeds from a rubber-tree plantation in this action-adventure saga. They battle crocodiles, Indian attacks, slave revolts, and a director who insisted on putting disco music to a 19th-century setting. The two heroes are hidden by a concubine who seeks vengeance against her cruel plantation owner. A rape scene appears to have been added merely for exploitation value. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fabio Testi, Agostina Belli, (more)
- 1978
Word is about the newly discovered text that is allegedly written by the younger brother of Jesus Christ. It the document is genuine, it would throw the world's theological community into chaos. David Janssen plays an archaeologist who travels to Italy to verify the document's origins. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
This shameless knockoff of Last House on the Left even goes so far as to repeat the detail of having the theme song performed by the lead villain. Florinda Bolkan (Non Si Sevizia un Paperino) plays a nun who takes the teenage girls in her care to a remote house where they rehearse A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ray Lovelock and a pair of thugs show up, brutally raping and terrorizing the girls -- killing one by raping her with a cane -- until Bolkan renounces her teachings and seeks bloody revenge. Utter nonsense, but AC/DC and Roxy Music are on the soundtrack, so it isn't a complete waste. Director Franco Prosperi is best known for co-directing Mondo Cane and Africa Addio. Sherry Buchanan (Dr. Butcher, M.D.) co-stars with Laura Trotter. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Florinda Bolkan, Raymond Lovelock, (more)
- 1975
When the only surviving heir to the Emperor of Austro-Hungary, Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand (Christopher Plummer) was killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, on June 28th, 1914, his death set in motion a chain of events which resulted in the First World War. This movie chronicles the events surrounding that death and it aftermath. The assassination gave the Germans and Austrians reason to fear that Russia was actively fomenting unrest in the Balkans, for Serbia was a bone of contention throughout the region. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Florinda Bolkan, (more)
Novelist George MacDonald Fraser penned the script for this swashbuckling, picaresque adventure tale. The story is based on one of the books in his "Harry Flashman" series, loose sequels to "Tom Brown's Schooldays" that followed that story's central bully character through his checkered post-graduate military career. Malcolm McDowell plays Captain Harry Flashman, a cowardly, lascivious poseur who desperately seeks entry into high European society. Recognizing an opportunity to advance their own sinister political agendas, scheming Otto Von Bismarck (Oliver Reed) and Rudi Von Sternberg (Alan Bates) convince Flashman to masquerade as a Prussian noble and marry a beautiful duchess (Britt Ekland), a flawed plan to which Flashman agrees. Inevitably, the transparent ruse is discovered, and Flashman is forced to try to escape across 19th century Europe, narrowly missing one disaster after another and experiencing first-hand some of history's most momentous events. Director Richard Lester and Fraser used similar baroque settings, tongue-in-cheek characterizations, elaborate stunts and breakneck pacing for The Three Musketeers (1973) and its sequel, The Four Musketeers (1974) with similar efficacy. Fraser would try again with analogous material three years later with Crossed Swords (1978), a lavish version of The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, Alan Bates, (more)
In this French satire, a meek little bank (Jean-Louis Trintignant) clerk finds fame and fortune when he begins getting lessons from an impoverished novelist (Jean-Pierre Cassel) . Soon the clerk is wowing the Parisians with his ability to make the women swoon, and for his talent at attracting money. The film is also known as The French Way Is. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Trintignant, Romy Schneider, (more)
A young girl in the 13th century is sent to a nunnery in Portugal. There she is subjected to torture, rape and whippings, but she escapes with a Jewish man named Abraham. She soon takes on a Muslim lover, who leads an invading army that castrates rapists. Amazingly enough, some of this story is actually based on historical fact. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Florinda Bolkan
- 1974
Italian filmmaker Luigi Bazzoni (Giornata Nera per l'Ariete) directed this stylish and surrealistic giallo thriller reminiscent of such paranoid classics of the form as Il Profumo della Signora in Nero and Tutti i Colori del Buio. Florinda Bolkan stars as a translator named Alice Cespi, whose life is falling apart due to strange memories from childhood when she was forced to watch a film called "Footprints on the Moon" involving an unethical experiment in leaving astronauts stranded on the moon's surface. Alice has terrible dreams and begins to become addicted to tranquilizers, desperate to shake surreal visions such as being chased across a beach by fully attired astronauts. The drugs and her deteriorating mental condition cause her to miss work and she is eventually fired, whereupon she travels to a dilapidated former tourist area called Garma after receiving a mysterious postcard. There, she runs into a girl named Paula Burton (Nicoletta Elmi from Profondo Rosso), who tells her that she looks exactly like another woman, Nicole, currently staying at the faded resort. Alice then encounters a series of strange people and circumstances, all leading her closer to unlocking the possibly deadly mystery. Shot by award-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now), the film -- based on Mario Fenelli's novel Las Huerras -- uses its haunting settings and Alice's disorienting visions to create an air of sustained dread. Peter McEnery co-stars with Ida Galli (aka Evelyn Stewart), Klaus Kinski, and Lila Kedrova. Various available versions run from 88 to 110 minutes, with substantial variations in tone and effectiveness. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this sci-fi chiller, a young woman's peace is shattered when she begins hearing loud screams in her head. They are the agonized wailings of an astronaut deliberately marooned upon the moon by a double-crossing experimenter. Soon the woman becomes possessed by the astronaut. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Vittorio De Sica's A Brief Vacation (Una Breva Vacanza) stars Florinda Bolkan as a downtrodden working woman. Forced to support herself, her children, her physically incapacitated husband and her obtrusive brother and mother, Bolkan contracts tuberculosis. She is granted a brief vacation at a health spa, where a whole new world--and potential new life--is opened up to her. A Brief Vacation was scripted by the prolific Cesar Zavattini, who like De Sica had once been a guiding force in the Italian neorealist movement. Though not De Sica's final film, A Brief Vacation was the last of the director's work to be released in America. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
When the man he's trailing is killed a street-tough cop finds he's on someone's hit list, too. ~ All Movie Guide
When several young boys are brutally murdered in a small southern Italian village, the superstitious locals react with ignorance and violence. All misfits are immediately suspected, such as big-city tart Barbara Bouchet, the local village idiot, and voodoo practitioner Florinda Bolkan, who is brutally murdered by the villagers in a startling and powerful scene. Cop Tomas Milian (Almost Human, Amistad) comes to investigate, and is rather curious about a young priest who censors the town's reading material to keep it free of corruption. The peculiar clergyman seems to envy the dead boys, who will never grow up to be corrupted. Milian soon becomes convinced that the priest wants to send the kids' souls to Heaven and feels guilt about desiring the boys sexually. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This thin French drama takes place on a barren prison island. Pierre (Omar Sharif) has been sentenced to a life of hard labor on an island which lacks even a proper prison building: the men live in tents year 'round. Despite the grim conditions and brutal guards, he manages to hold his temper in check. His wife (Florinda Bolkan) campaigns for the right to visit him and finally succeeds. His inner discipline disturbed by her visit, Pierre reacts almost normally to abuse from a guard, and tragedy follows. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Sharif, Florinda Bolkan, (more)
Despite the objections of his wife (Florinda Bolkan), a safe-cracker recently released from jail (Kirk Douglas) decides to try one last job. With the help of a circus gymnast (Giuliano Gemma), the thief plans to defeat a fool-proof safe in Germany and make off with $1 million. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
