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4.0 out of 5 stars
LESBIAN LOVE ON THE RUN!, October 17, 2003
GASOLINE (BENZINA): LESBIAN LOVE ON THE RUN
When a movie starts out with a shot of a dead blonde woman, seemingly
murdered and surrounded by what appears to be cocaine, you know you're in for a
wild ride. And in "Gasoline", your companions on this road trip are two young
lesbian lovers named Stella and Eleonora. "Oh, no! Not another movie about
a pair of killer lesbians!" you may be saying to yourself. But "Gasoline"
("Benzina"), the new lesbian-themed action flick imported from Italy, stands out
in that the action is seriously bolstered by the dynamics between the two
chicks. They're in love, and it's both tender and hot to watch at the same time.
These two gals on the run may both be a bit crazy, but they're certainly not
as delusional as the pair of sapphic lovers in "Heavenly Creatures" or as
deranged as the duo of murderous gals in "Baise Moi". Stella (Maya Sansa) is a
tomboyish brunette with a "don't-f*ck-with-me" kind of attitude. Eleonora is a
mousy, bespectacled blonde who seems fragile... and possibly a bit mentally
unbalanced. At a somewhat isolated gas station/coffee bar, Stella (who may
remind you of a butch Winona Ryder) does the car repairs, while Eleonora (or
"Lenni") tends the bar. Their quiet life is disrupted when Lenni's glamorous
mother (Mariella Valentini) pays a surprise visit. Mom is upset about her
daughter's living conditions, and she gets more upset when she peeks in the window
and sees the two girls engaged in a passionate kiss-- at one point confronting
Eleonora with, "You've quit school to become a lesbian gas station attendant?!"
Like in "Thelma & Louise", Stella and Eleonora inadvertently find themselves
in a bad situation. In "Gasoline", the bad situation is the accidental death
of Eleonora's mother. So... the two gal pals take off on a road trip that
doesn't, shall we say, go quite as smoothly as planned. Just what are they
going to do with Mom's dead body? With 20 million lire in hand (the equivalent of
about 12,000 American dollars), the two lovers plan to dump the body and
escape to Tunisia. At this point, we the audience have just the barest minimum of
character development. But we learn more about the two young ladies towards
the the middle of the movie...
Will the girls have an easy ride? Well, two guesses won't be necessary.
Stella and Eleonora accidentally strike a motorcycle-riding priest with
their car, forcing them to reluctantly offer the middle-aged holy man a ride--
with the mother's dead body still in the trunk! As if that dose of Catholic
guilt weren't enough, Lenni is hearing her dead mama's voice in her head during
the whole trip-- and needless to say, it ain't a voice of approval. To make
matters worse, the two lovers are stalked by a trio of troublemakers-- two guys
and a girl-- who are seeking revenge for Stella scratching their car at the gas
station earlier in the movie. In between the volatile situations, the two
girls find some time to engage in some very hot lovemaking scenes. Whoa!
"Gasoline" cumulates into a finale which, quite literally, is no less than explosive.
"Gasoline", the directorial debut of Monica Stambrini, succeeds as both a
tense thriller as well as an unorthodox love story. It makes you think:
Italians may already have the upper hand when it comes to cooking, opera singing,
and making love. With "Gasoline", they may just show that they can blow us
away when it comes to making sexy action flicks as well. Buon lavoro! (In
Italian with English subtitles.)
@
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