Adored: Diary of a Porn Star (2003/2004) (AKA:
Adored, Poco piu di un anno fa)
Italian writer/director Marco Filiberti
sure must think a lot of himself because here, in
his debut film, he also casts himself in the lead
as Riki Kandinski, the hottest gay porno star ever
to exist on the planet. And while Filiberti is cute
and has loads of charisma, he ain't all that. Well,
to be honest, it only takes a while for us to accept
him because he is just so charming and likable. And
when they do show him supposedly doing a porn shoot,
he has the winning attitude and honest, open, raw
sexual lust that makes us believe this character could
skyrocket to fame as a adult film star in a machismo-based
culture in a country like Italy.
But "Adored" is a complete mess
as a film. Filiberti tries to do far too much. There
are scenes with two cute, young guys trying to research
Riki's career (the subtitles tell us it is supposedly
in 2014) and this lets Filiberti also include documentary
style interviews with people discussing the main character
and his career. But, of course, this also makes us
realize that Riki must be dead by that time.
Then there's a storyline with Riki's
brother, Frederico, coming to live with him after
their father dies and discovering his siblings career.
Although there have been a million films like this,
in "Adored" it is handled with a minimum of drama
and much more realism. Frederico soon begins to love
his brother as he is and to enjoy the freedom of his
lifestyle. They become friends and Frederico becomes
a better father and husband thanks to Riki's lifestyle,
which allows his brother to be himself and relax.
But the film gets convoluted and
far too ambitious when a small orphaned boy named
Plapla is introduced 2/3rds of the way into the film
and Riki tries to adopt him. This storyline is not
only obvious and done-to-death, it does little for
the film but serve the set-up of the futuristic scenes.
We learn what happens to Plapla in the scenes set
in 2014. Another side story that is far to involved
to help the film remain focused deals with Riki's
friend, a sculptor named Luna, who Frederico has a
crush on for a while.
If "Adored" had concentrated more
on the scenes in the future and made the main characters
the teenage boys researching Riki more central to
the story, the film would seem a lot more focused
and a lot more interesting. As it is, "Adored" is
worthwhile viewing that fails to live up to its potential.
The main character hear is really the brother and
that makes the title a misnomer. It really should
be called "The Awakening to Life of a Porn Star's
Brother."
Notes:
In Italian with subtitles and sparse
English.
The film is filled with Italian
and English pop songs pumped way up in the mix.
Released in Italy in 2003, the film
played a few U.S. film fesitvals in that year. It
continued to run in film festivals in the U.S. and
also enjoyed a run in New York City in 2004.
Viewed on Day
Two of Agliff 2004.
