º»¹® ¹Ù·Î°¡±â ¸Þ´º ¹Ù·Î°¡±â

ARCHIVE

5th(2003)



Gasoline / Benzina

Monica Stambrini

  • Italy
  • 2002
  • 90min
  • 35mm
  • color

SYNOPSIS

Gasoline is a lesbian thriller that is as explosive as its title, and also a lesbian buddy movie reminiscent of Thelma and Louise (1991).
 Stella, owner of a shabby gas station, is in love with Lenni, who works at the caf?in Stella¡¯s gas station. One day, Lenni¡¯s wealthy mother (dressed like a heroine in a noir film) visits, with the intent of taking her daughter home, and is accidentally killed by Stella. Not knowing what to do with the body, the huge sum of money in the mother¡¯s bag, and a particularly vicious gang, they are driven toward an unexpected ending, resulting from the conflict and tension created by the situation.
 Through the provocative motif of matricide, the film explores the simultaneous love and hatred between a mother and a daughter. Like the ghost of Claudius in Shakespeare¡¯s Hamlet, the ghost of the dead mother appears recurrently to talk to her daughter. This leads Lenni to reveal her unconscious affection for her mother, her desire to detach herself from her, as well as the guilt caused by that desire. The two women¡¯s journey is filled with action and adventure, and this journey is what leads to liberating visions of annihilating the conflicts between women¡¯s autonomy and male-centered norms that threaten it. (Joo You-shin)
 

PROGRAM NOTE

Gasoline is a lesbian thriller that is as explosive as its title, and also a lesbian buddy movie reminiscent of Thelma and Louise (1991).
 Stella, owner of a shabby gas station, is in love with Lenni, who works at the caf?in Stella¡¯s gas station. One day, Lenni¡¯s wealthy mother (dressed like a heroine in a noir film) visits, with the intent of taking her daughter home, and is accidentally killed by Stella. Not knowing what to do with the body, the huge sum of money in the mother¡¯s bag, and a particularly vicious gang, they are driven toward an unexpected ending, resulting from the conflict and tension created by the situation.
 Through the provocative motif of matricide, the film explores the simultaneous love and hatred between a mother and a daughter. Like the ghost of Claudius in Shakespeare¡¯s Hamlet, the ghost of the dead mother appears recurrently to talk to her daughter. This leads Lenni to reveal her unconscious affection for her mother, her desire to detach herself from her, as well as the guilt caused by that desire. The two women¡¯s journey is filled with action and adventure, and this journey is what leads to liberating visions of annihilating the conflicts between women¡¯s autonomy and male-centered norms that threaten it. (Joo You-shin)
 

Director

  • Monica StambriniMonica Stambrini

    Born in 1970 in the US, Monica Stambrini studied cinematographic directing in Milan. She worked with many Italian directors, and made the making of Besieged (1998) by Bernado Bertolucci. She has made many shorts and six documentaries. Gasoline is her feature debut.

Credit

  • ProducerGalliano Iuso
  • Cast Maya Sansa, Regina Orioli, Mariella Valentini
  • Screenwriter Monica Stambrini, Elena Stancanelli, Anne Ritte Ci
  • Cinematography Fabio Cianchetti
  • Editor Paola Freddi
  • Music Massimo Zamboni
  • Sound Emanuele Cecere