Customer Reviews

Attraction (Nerosubianco)

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(aka 'ATTRACTION', aka 'THE ARTFUL PENETRATION OF BARBARA' -1969) Tinto Brass directed this curious, uneven but visually inventive collage of Swinging London during the height of the hippie era, brimming with late 60's iconography, Pop-Art graphics that remind me of The Beatles 'YELLOW SUBMARINE' and just the proper amount of soft-core nudity to make this an Art-House psychedelic exploitation gem.

Even by Brass's standards, 'ATTRACTION' is no lost masterpiece, but it's served as well as anyone has a right to expect, and those interested in 1960s sex and sedition will get a kick from it. Brass spun this stylish and psychedelic vision of Europe during the cultural upheaval of the late-60s, and rumor has it (confirmed) that he turned down the opportunity to direct 'A CLOCKWORK ORANGE' to do this film - probably not a good career move, in my opinion, in spite of my enjoyment of this flick.

Barbara (Anita Sanders) is a beautiful woman married to Paolo (Nino Segurini), an Italian businessman who brings her along when he travels to London on business. Left to explore the city on her own, Barbara takes a walk in the park and sees a band of hippies who are enjoying the day, getting high and having a frolic; as Barbara explores London's bohemian district, she keeps crossing paths with an American (Terry Carter) who is tall, good looking and black. For the rest of the day, Barbara drifts in and out of a world of fantasy where she leaves her stodgy husband for a sexual adventure with the handsome stranger, while a variety of hallucinogenic tableaux play out around her as an acid rock band provides a musical commentary on the action. Filled with the sort of casual nudity and striking visuals that would play a much larger role in Tinto Brass's later work, 'NEROSUBIANCO' (Black and White) or whatever title you find fit to call it (now, now - be nice) is, for me anyway, a great example of a bygone era encapsulated here for our amusement, bewilderment and enjoyment.

'ATTRACTION' (aka 'NEROSUBIANCO', etc.) has been brought to disc in widescreen aspect ratio and enhanced for anamorphic play, transferred from a 16mm print provided by distributor Radley Metzger, so it's no surprise that the image is just a bit soft and the colors sometimes mottled; despite this, the picture is generally clear and the look of this transfer is wholly appropriate to the era. The dialogue and narration are in English, with no subtitles or multiple language options included. This is a big letdown for me and a distraction while viewing, but I believe I'm in a minority here. As a slight bonus, (Cult Epics isn't known for its DVD extras), this edition includes a gallery of lobby cards used to promote the original release, as well as promos for 'ATTRACTION' and 'DEADLY SWEET' (other Tinto Brass 60's titles). Read my review of the 'Tinto Brass Collection, Volume Three', for additional details.

It's another one of those flicks you'll either love or hate, but I found an artful attraction to the penetrating 'Nerosubianco'. Maybe you will too.

I should confess upfront a deep bias in favor of anything done by the director Tinto Brass. I really admire his body of work as I think he portrays a playful, light-hearted and sexy world which more reflects European attitudes and from which we cloistered, uptight Americans can potentially learn quite a bit. I'm obviously referring less to Caligula than I am his string of other frivolously creative Euro-teasers which have spanned the last three decades. (Caligula, however, is also a solid classic and highly recommended; but it is heavy and sordid.) I have collected them all (at least those released here in the US, with one exception as noted below), and I think they are all great fun with unbelievably gorgeous women, charming story-lines, great European scenery, and neat music.

This film (going by the name "Attraction" which seems an ill-fit) is one of his earliest films and has just been released in the US in the last few months along with another early Brass film entitled "Howl." Let me just say that I definitely did not enjoy "Howl" and I was pleased that I had just borrowed it off of Netflix. I also accessed "Attraction" off of Netflix, but I will definitely be buying it. It generally reflects the characteristics I admire in Brass's work.

The key to enjoying this film is that you have to go into with the right expectations. If you are expecting a coherent, standard story arc you will probably be disappointed. There is probably some vague story here, but your interpretation of it might be much different from mine. Suffice it to say, the film begins with a very attractive woman being admired by a black man in a park, and then continues with the woman being followed by him, or at least encountering him many additional times, throughout the city in which they live (which I think is London, but various billboards and what-not were in Italian, so it kind of confused me). The two have an obvious mutual chemistry, and they play a prolonged game of cat and mouse as they wander the landscape of the city in those passionate and vivid days. My interpretation is that the woman is very attracted to the man, and she is contemplating an affair (in the spirit of the heyday of 60's free-love) with him, even though she is married.

The music is FABULOUS. I'm not sure precisely who the musicians are (it shows the band playing in many scenes) but this music is both hypnotic and evocative. I guess my primary attraction to this film is that it does a potent job of seizing and conveying a vision of 60's radicalism, or at a minimum, 60's sexual ambience. It shows the styles, the attitudes, and it does a compelling job of capturing the celebratory vibe of the era. So, if you just sit back, and do not rigidly expect too much in terms of story, plot, or other precise meaning, you may find yourself transported back to what I consider to be the coolest era in recent western history: that charming window of optimism, sexual freedom, anti-Vietnam war revolt, generalized angst, and provocative fashion which existed between 1966 and 1973, give or take a year or two on each side.

Ultimately, as I watched this, I was repeatedly reminded of the Goddard documentary of the Rolling Stones, "Sympathy for the Devil." People either love that film or hate it due to its seemingly unconnected set of depictions. As with that film, I think if you sit down with the full expectation that this is more of a montage of interesting, tenuously-connected scenes, and you accept that, you'll find yourself enjoying this quite a bit. Particularly for those people who enjoy Brass's work in general, or films which capture the unique ambience of the 60's, you'll want to add this to your collection. (Again, I don't feel that way about "Howl" at all; possibly this gives me some credibility. That movie sucked. So, it's not like I'm saying everything Brass does is enlightened. He made one mis-step and that was it!)

Tinto Brass was feeling experimental when he made "Attraction" ("Nerosubianco," originally released in English as "The Artful Penetration of Barbara"). Immediately following his pop art giallo film Deadly Sweet and right before his hallucinogenic The Howl (the film he turned down the chance to direct A Clockwork Orange for), "Attraction" seems to have been a canvas for his ideas as a filmmaker, a sort of branching out of styles and motifs to see where he would eventually land.

"Attraction" is more of an extended music video than anything else. The band featured is Freedom, a psychedelic rock back formed by two former members of Procol Harum, guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison. The band provides the entire soundtrack, as well as appearing in various sequences, dressed in full striped pants and psychedelic rock splendor.

The story, such as it is, is provided by Barbara (Anita Sanders) who encounters a nameless black American man (Terry Carter) in a park, then spends the day wandering the city while being pursued by the strange man. The married Barbara is at first scared and resistant, but soon cannot deny her own rising attraction and excitement at being pursued and the taboo nature of the proposed encounter.

Not that the story is anywhere near so straightforward. Mixed into the pursuit of Barbara by the unnamed man and the scenes of the band Freedom, there are television clips of Vietnam war protests, random imagery of nudity and violence. Brass plays with the camera lens, splitting screens or drawing everything into a single black circle, basically experimenting with every possible technique and technology that existed at the time.

If you are a Tinto Brass fan, you will recognize some of the scenes he plays with. Barbara's initial stroll through the park, where she encounters couples in various stages of loving, would be repeated in a more explicit nature in the later film Cheeky!. And although he has not yet blossomed into the glorious worshiper of the female form we all know and love, Brass' unique world of playful sexuality slowly starts to emerge in the free-form of "Attraction."

The Cult Epics print of "Attraction" is rough in points, and there doesn't seem to have been much restoration done on it although it is listed as a "Restored new transfer." It is possible that the previous print was in really horrible condition and some improvements have been made. However, to have a copy of this rare film available in any condition is a treat for Tinto Brass fans, as I believe this is the first English-subtitled release since the 1970s.

In the main concerns somebody, in this case a young lady, wandering around London in the 60's, being encouraged by an amatuer film maker to wander in and out of some off-beat situations, mixing this an interested gentleman.
Together with this, a varied collection of poor quality stock footage from earlier days including war and public rioting to do with war.
A very strange and not particularly entertaining offering from Mr Brass.