Is 'The Last Mistress' Just A Longform Version Of Asia Argento's Small Role In 'Marie Antoinette'?

Or at least, you have to admit the visual similarities are uncanny.

In Sofia Coppola's 2006 film, "Marie Antoinette,"Asia Argento played the low life Madame du Barry or Contesse du Barry. Antoinette essentially loathed Barry because she was a simple prostitute and had no place in the King's court in Versailles.

Directed by French provocateur Catherine Breillat ("Romance," "Fat Girl,")," the film was originally tiled, "Old Mistress," and Argento told the Times back in June of 2007 that the sexually transgressive role was a bitch to play because of her challenging director.

Argento plays a Spanish courtesan who laps the blood off the wounded chest of her lover. Later they have tearful sex net to a funeral pyre of their dead baby. Sounds like a ball of laughs. Argento frequently clashed with notoriously mindfucky-agitator Breillat. “We had a few horrible blowups. She can terrorize people. She doesn’t like to be dominated, "Breillat told the Times of Argento. "She would burst into tears and go, ‘Catherine doesn’t like me.’ And I would say, ‘Look, your tears are costing us time.’ ” Argento said the director was “a tough cookie,” “a great intellectual,” “a control freak,” “like my mother” and “a crazy bitch.” "I thought, I’m such a soldier, she’s not going to hurt me,” Argento said. “But she did. She knew how to push my buttons."

"The Last Mistress" opens up June 27 via IFC Films in a limited release (you can probably rent it OnDemand or Netflix the day it comes out, as is the usual case).

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'Boarding Gate' Features Brian Eno, Robert Fripp And Amazingly Absurd Sparks Collab With Giorgio Moroder

Say what you will about French director Oliver Assayas (sometimes, he's grossly overrated), but the filmmaker does know how to make some choice mixes for his films.

2002's "Demonlover" featured original music composed by Sonic Youth and and Chicagoan avante-composer Jim O'Rourke, 1996's cult-fave "Irma Vep" featured more SY and Luna, and 2004's "Clean" featured a shitload of the warm, sonic atmospheric bath that is Brian Eno, plus tracks by the Notwist, and Metric (who made a cameo playing themselves at a gig).

The the recently released pseudo-thriller / sexual psychodrama, "Boarding Gate" (which we thought was his best so far) continues the filmmakers strong predilection for the moody ambient sonics of Eno, plus this time uses a track from the glabrous composer's frequent collaborator, avante-guitarist/ ex-King Crimson guitarist, Robert Fripp (from their 1973 inagural album No Pussyfooting)

The coup de grace though is the 2nd half of Sparks inspired collaboration with '70s disco maestro Giorgio Moroder, "The No. 1 Song In Heaven" (from the 1973 album, No. 1 in Heaven) which is used sublimely (and somewhat absurdly) in the film's credits. At any rate it showcases Assayas' sense of not taking himself too seriously in a film that many might feel is largely pretentious.

Oh, also note the one-sheet poster to the left which slyly displaces a moment in the movie where star Asia Argento plays with her hoo-ha, with a conveniently placed handgun. Three cheers for photoshop!

Music used in "Boarding Gate"
Brian Eno - "Lizard Point"
KLF - "What Time Is Love"
Brian En0 - 2/2
Fripp and Brian Eno - "The Heaven Music Corp"
Lin XI - "Shy Zhou Mo"
Dickey Cheung - "Younger Days"
Ai Jing - "Desire Of Flying"
Bai Kwong - "Waiting 4 U (2003 Remix)"
Sparks - "The No. 1 Song In Heaven"

Download: Brian Eno - "Lizard Point"
Download: Brian Eno - "2/2"


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Exotica: Oliver Assayas' 'Boarding Gate' Is Stylish & Sexual Mood Porn For Cinephiles (But Contains Thriller Narratives For You Geeks Too)

A taut and wandering thriller, a sadomasochistic sexual psycho drama and a stylish, but oblique international intrigue story, Oliver Assayas' latest film"Boarding Gate," is either attempting to subvert genres or just not clear what it wants to be, but either way it makes for a unique experience.

First off though, we take issue with the "Irma Vep," crowd that adores that aggressively average 1996-made paean to filmmaking (Maggie Cheung is a wooden actress as far as we're concerned; and yes, we love JP Léaud too, but he, a movie does not make), and unfairly compares all of his work to the supposed brilliance of 'Vep.' So that's an unfortunate irritant, but we digress...

A bedraggled and hot Asia Argento stars as Sandra, an ex-prostitute once involved in twisted sexual games with former client turned lover, the bloated and twisted millionaire businessman, Miles (Michael Madsen).
She returns to Miles for seemingly thin reasons (cause he calls?) and they recap their sexual past while Madsen smokes, seems genuinely loose cannon-y and Argento masturbates (basically as it all happened in real life).

Argento gets involved in drug smuggling machinations and suddenly, her and Madsen's transgressively erotic sexual games are on again and we're in softcorn S&M porn territory. And just as that's getting interesting (and intentionally or unintentionall funny, it doesn't matter), Argento "offs" Miles with a bullet to the head and then the "plot," starts to finally reveal itself.

So the narrative is confusing, but it is orchestrated that way, but the point of the story is less about the grammar and more about the feeling and this is where Assayas scores with the noir-ish unease, moody cool, and the beautfiul atmospherics. It's what leads many to call this empty stylishness over substance, but we found ourselves deeply drawn into the ellipitcal haze (assisted by the dreamy strains of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp).

The sexual tension is great, the fucked up psychodrama entertaining and the noirish elements create an icy anxiety but when Madsen dies and the film travels to Beijing, it becomes trapped in thriller cliches. But a claustrophobic and kinetic camera (or was it just cause we had to sit up front?) marvels with implied wariness around every corner and gives every scene an odd, and heightened sense of unease.

It's one of the best thing Oliver Assayas has ever done, but it also shits the bed in the end as it becomes some sort of a strange techno-international thriller (out of nowhere featuring Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon in a stilted cameo - no more than 5 words per dialogue line please - barking orders in Cantonese at her pleebs).

Despite having a small, but vocal cult following, we always felt Assayas' work was near-amateurish and his low production values and B-list actors never helped us change our minds (He's like Canadian television that way), but faults aside, "Boarding Gate" alluring ambience and dark impressionism is pretty hypnotic. [B+]

Senior Village Voice critic J. Hoberman may have disliked the film (aside from Argento's, ahem, comely assets), but Nathan Lee was moved enough by the film, or Argento's performance anyhow, he penned a full-blown, near-hagiographic feature on the actor/directress. Even those that dislike the film seem to unanimously agree, Argento is magnetic supernova (or a volcanic dynamo, take your pick) worth watching. The NY Times' Manhola Dargis says, "I’m fairly certain one reason that the French director Olivier Assayas made 'Boarding Gate' is that he wanted to watch the Italian actress Asia Argento strut around in black underwear and punishing heels," which amuses us. She also aptly calls it an anti-thriller. It's only playing in New York right now, but give it a shot when it comes to your city, it's a very decent bet. Read more...

J. Hoberman Slyly Suggests The Only Thing Good About 'Boarding Gates' Is Asia Argento's Hoo-Ha

Random Short Cuts

And we thought we were bold. The Voice's chief film critic J. Hoberman says there's only one real reason to see Oliver Assayas' new film "Boarding Gate," and the accompanying photo is of the lead Asia Argento playing with her poontag. Hoberman, we hardly knew yee. [Village Voice]

Remember those awful Harrison Ford/Jack Ryan Tom Clancy-penned CIA agent films? ("Patriot Games," "Clear & Present Danger," ok, "Hunt For Red October" was alright, but it had Alec Baldwin). Well, Paramount wants to revise the franchise with Sam Raimi at the development/director reigns. Was the hurt of not getting "The Hobbit" that bad? Ugh, best of luck with that turd. [Variety]

Micheal Cera is threatening to act outside his hilarious, but one-note awkward shtick. The young Bob Newhart of his day is in final negotiations to star in "Scott Pilgrim's Little Life," based on Canadian artist Bryan Lee O'Malley's manga graphic novel, about an indie-rock slacker who must defeat seven ex-boyfriends before he can win over the girl of his dreams (ok, maybe it's not totally out of his wheelhouse). Overrated "Shaun of The Dead" comedy director Edgar Wright is set to helm the picture. [Hollywood Reporter]

The 10 Greatest Albums Made By Actors - Vulture is pinching our shtick before we can even spit out the ideas. Oh, multiple writers. [Vulture]
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Vincent Gallo Eschews 'Retirement' To Star In Francis Ford Coppola's 'Tetro'

If you thought Vincent Gallo was full of shit when he announced he was retiring from film you were right. If you thought the filmmaker / musician/ artist / renaissance man was "retiring" as an excuse to get away from his starring aside his ex-fiancée, Asia Argento, you would also be correct.

To back up for a sec, Argento's father - the renowned Italian horror maestro, Dario Argento - had cast Gallo in his upcoming film, "Giallo." However, Argento went and did a thing like hiring his daughter Asia to also appear in the film, and then Gallo started to develop cold feet and every excuse in the book-itus.

"I've been trying to get out of it. I'd rather not be in a movie with her. I'm not a fan. I was a fan of her father's. I am retiring," Gallo apparently told the press.

Well, the "retired" Gallo has just signed to on to star in Francis Ford Coppola's latest film, "Tetro," alongside Oscar winner Javier Bardem and "Y Tu Mama Tabien" female lead Maribel Verdu, who will play Gallo's love interest (best of luck to her).

The film is said to be drama set in Argentina about a family torn apart by rivalries and betrayal. Relative newcomer Alden Ehrenreich will the younger brother who searches for Gallo in Buenos Aires and Bardem plays an Argentinean literary critic.

After a decade of cinematic silence Coppola is a bit on a creative tear, having just released his metaphysical drama "Youth Without Youth" in late 2007. There's no distributor yet, but the production is hoping to release the film sometime in 2009. The film's budget is less than $15 million and will begin production in Buenos Aires at the end of March and by April we should presumably hear all of the stories about how working with Gallo is pure hell.

Would he dare be a jackass to the maestro Coppola? That would be some high-grade disrespect in our book.

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