(Note: Currently I am work so I can't access the site that would give me a picture of the box to display here. I'll rectify that when I get back to The Compound. - DW)
So, last night I finally got to watch this documentary. Basically the premise is that Jess Franco is filming the picture, BLIND TARGET, and this little documentary got made in the process. They were allowed to be there the entire time of shooting.
So, what does this give the true Franco fan? It's like living with Jess Franco for a while. The camera focuses on him throughout the trials and tribulations of making this low budget picture. There are breaks in the course of the documentary where they sit and talk with Jess and his reasons for making a film with such a political bent to it. BLIND TARGET is more of an action, political film than the usual erotica themes that he has been exploring recently.
Some of the highlights that stuck out for me were the scene where the incredibly gorgeous Tatiana couldn't say the line 'I think I am in good Shape'. The woman is a slim, brunette knockout, but you could see the frustration that Jess was having with her inability to say the simplest of lines with the proper inflection. She really could not pronounce the word 'shape'. This went on for an hour and you could feel the tension in the hotel room where they were shooting.
It was great to see Jess manning the camera even during dolly shots where he would sit in a wheelchair and they would move him and the camera around to get the shot.
Everyone in the film looked excited and happy to be there and they were all trying their best, well except for Tatiana, who may have been trying her best, but she was just a bimbo.
There are even scenes from his convention appearance in Chicago back in 2000. I remember it vividly because that's where I met him for the first and only, so far, time. No, I didn't end up in the movie, but it was cool to know that I was where they had done some of the documentary.
In the end ANTENA CRIMINAL is an intimate portrait of one of my favorite filmmakers and a true gem for anyone who can call themselves a fan of Jess Franco. In fact, after watching it I went to bed and actually dreamed that I was hanging out with Jess Franco. He wasn't making a film, just relaxing at home and Lina Romay was there and we made some food together and it was very nice. Of course Sheri Moon Zombie was there wearing a scuba suit and duct tape on her nipples, but I have no idea what that could have been about.
ANTENA CRIMINAL is available from Trash Palace at
www.trashpalace.com. Even with priority shipping and insurance on the package it cost less than twenty bucks and they even include a copy of BLIND TARGET in the price. Go get yours now!
