I always thought I had seen the 1987 film SIESTA. Maybe I was getting it confused with SLAM DANCE or STRAPLESS. They are both from the same period, and began with S. I finally realized I hadn’t.
I wasn’t missing much.
SIESTA stars Ellen Barkin as a stuntwoman, planning a big jump into a volcano. Her husband is Martin Sheen, who is organizing it. She gets a letter in the mail, five days before the jump, and runs off, planning to be back.
She finds herself, five days later, lying in a red dress, covered in blood, at the foot of a runway in Spain. She has no memory of how she got here.
She then has to figure out what happened with her life.
Trust me, it isn’t worth following her journey.
SIESTA was the first feature of director Mary Lambert. Lambert was a popular music video director, responsible for many Madonna videos as well as some from Sting, Janet Jackson and Lionel Richie. She would go on to make PET SEMATARY, probably her most popular film to date.
This can be seen more as the work of its producer, Zalman King. King, for those that don’t remember, was the Uwe Boll of the 80’s and early 90’s. He was responsible for crap, err, films like WILD ORCHID and THE RED SHOE DIARIES. Not only did he produce this, but his wife wrote the screenplay (as she does for most of his work).
The film is more a product of his style than Lambert’s polished style. It even features his trademark annoying jazz score (this one credited to Miles Davis!). I will give King credit for one thing. His TWO MOON JUNCTION was a lot more fun that this.
Like TWO MOON, the film does have a lot of stars slumming a bit. Grace Jones pops up for a scene. Gabriel Byrne (who married Barkin in 1988) plays her boyfriend. Isabella Rossellini and Julian Sands also appear.
And then there is Jodie Foster.
I would say this is another example of how a very intelligent actress like Foster is able to choose yet another terrible film (I still can’t understand how she made a film as bad as HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS) but then there is the fact that in this film, she looks like she is having so much fun! It is one of her lightest performances. I really can’t blame her for taking it. She is making the most of it.
Released to theatres and video by Lorimar, I would assume that means the rights are now held by Warner. They haven’t done anything. And, I don’t see why they need to.
For Ellen Barkin fans, it might be worth seeking out (used VHS can be found for $3). Maybe even for Jodie Foster fans. But for everyone else, it isn’t worth looking for.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
FORGOTTEN FILM: SIESTA (1987)
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2 comments:
I'm not sure I ever expected to do this, but I think today I must defend Zalman King... Well, I need to note that he's a better moviemaker and his success is much more easily understood than Uwe Boll.
Ok, that wasn't so hard. I can think of fewer ways I could defend moviemakers that would be less complimentary.
I also think most of his work as a director is much more watchable than Fiesta, even if not actually better by any significant measure. It's certainly both better and more watchable than the work of Uwe Boll, whose work defies any reason to watch, aside from staring with jaw open in wonder how they got made and distributed.
If nothing else, Zalman King's movies have hot famous people naked!
Siesta was most likely confusing and too slow for mainstream audiences, yet it offers an unusual story told in a moody, surreal fashion. It's not a typical Hollywood formula movie, more closely European cinema in flavor and style, which is often the kiss of death for American viewers. The production style, the odd cameos and semi-haunting score made it appealing to offbeat people such as myself.
Not everyone appreciates Salvador Dali's work, and so too with Siesta.
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