by Michael Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Today marks the start of UNM's South West Film Center's gay and lesbian weekend, and it hopes that "Gasoline" will ignite the celebration.
"Gasoline" is an Italian film that presents the story of two young lesbian lovers who are thrown into a world of conflict.
The conflict begins when Lenni (Regina Orioli) is visited by her mother, who quite obviously disapproves of her daughter's lifestyle choices, including her lesbianism and her choice of work, tending a gas station with her girlfriend, Stella (Maya Sansa.)
Mariella Valentini superbly plays the mother and, although her character quickly dies, her character has a strong presence throughout the entire film, via her dead body and her critical voice.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The movie has been justifiably compared to "Thelma and Louise" but there are many aspects of originality in the film, especially for American viewers who are unfamiliar with the Italian language and film techniques.
The best thing about this movie is the way the subtitles are evenly spaced, allowing viewers to easily read the content of what the actresses are saying while also appreciating the beauty of the flowing Italian language. However, that's about as far as the good qualities go. The plot is contrived and the originality only goes so far, ending at the display of lesbianism in a very explicit way as opposed to the less overt tones that most movies tend to prefer.
The characters are very flat and one-dimensional, representing the stereotypes of the weak-willed, feminine lesbian who needs someone stronger always around her and the angry, man-hating lesbian who will eventually betray her weaker lover.
The saving grace is the strong character of Lenni's mother, who is never given a name, perhaps to help retain her everyman quality. Valentini has a magnificent voice and expresses her displeasure at her daughter in such a harsh way that the viewer immediately empathizes with Lenni.
More background on their relationship would have made for stronger scenes than the absurd chases that Lenni and Stella engage in during the later scenes of the movie.
While running from some mean-spirited Italian kids, Stella and Lenni go to a rave, a junkyard, an after-hours diner and, finally, back to the gas station where they started. Along the way they have, of course, made some enemies who ridiculously give chase causing Stella and Lenni to always be looking over their shoulders, which, predictably, they always are.
The movie ends in the only way it really could have, but it's fitting and it actually felt better once it was over and done with. There are plenty of deep, static shots of the two young lovers staring at each other, as though if they looked hard enough at each other for long enough, they would finally see the solution to all their problems. This is a nice idea, but as anyone can tell you, it very infrequently works.
The movie is weighed down by its own pretensions, trying to be a life lesson and an arty film at the same time, but does show remarkable promise of first-time director Monica Stambrini.
