The Road to Salina

1970 [FRENCH]

Action / Drama

5
IMDb Rating 6.7/10 10 1173 1.2K

family conflict

Plot summary

Jonas, a young drifter, is wandering in a deserted area on the road to Salina, Mexico. He stops at a desolate roadside service station when Mara, the owner, identifies him as her son Rocky, who disappeared four years ago. Feeling sorry for Mara, he decides to stay on and meets Mara's friend Warren and Rocky's sister Billie, but dark facts are to be revealed about the disappearance of Rocky.

Director

Georges Lautner Photo
Georges Lautner

Top cast

Sophie Hardy Photo
Sophie Hardy as Linda
Mimsy Farmer Photo
Mimsy Farmer as Billie
Robert Walker Jr. Photo
Robert Walker Jr. as Jonas
Ed Begley Photo
Ed Begley as Warren
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
885.98 MB
1280*544
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 36 min
Seeds 1
1.61 GB
1920*816
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 36 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by rdoyle29 8 / 10

Really atypical sun-drenched noir from Lautner

Robert Walker, Jr. Is travelling the titular road when he comes across a small gas station/café in the middle of nowhere. Desperate to seek shelter from the desert sun, he encounters Rita Hayworth, the owner, who declares that he's her son "Rocky".Walker plays along mostly because he needs a place to stay, but becomes increasingly confused when family friend Ed Begley, and then his "sister" Mimsy Farmer don't question his identity. Investigation reveals that he looks nothing like Rocky, and when he confronts Farmer she initiates a sexual relationship.Where is Rocky and why is everyone so committed to him being Rocky?This Italian/French co-production was Georges Lautner's only English-language film. He was a very successful director of crime films that never really made sizeable inroads to North America, and this was clearly designed to address that. It feels nothing like any of his other films. It's a lightly existential, sun drenched noir that feels very much of a piece a certain kind of vaguely countercultural films coming out of Europe at the time. The presence of Farmer and the (really quite good) Pink Floyd-influenced score reminds me Barbet Schroeder's "More", even though the plot couldn't be less similar.It's shot off the coast of Spain and has the Sunny, desolate look of most of the European films shot there in this period. It's an intriguing little film with good performances all around and prodigious nudity from both Walker and Farmer. My only real complaint is that the whole thing has a flashback structure that leads to an utterly pointless narration by Walker popping up periodically.
Reviewed by tomsview 7 / 10

Rocky road

Passions erupt in the lava beds of the Canary Islands.This movie feels a little like those dubbed Spanish and Italian dramas of the 60's although it is entirely in English.However as the story unfolds it defies you to stop watching and features a cast that is hard to take your eyes off.When Jonas (Robert Walker Jr.) arrives at an isolated gas station on the road to Salina, the owner Mara (Rita Hayworth) greets him as Rocky, her long lost son. At first he thinks she is an empanadas short of a picnic, but when her daughter, Billie (Mimsy Farmer), and her neighbour, Warren (Ed Begley), also accept him as Rocky, he decides he is on to a good thing - especially as his newfound sister comes with 'benefits'. However the new Rocky finds the road to Salina a bit too rocky as he and 'sis' explore taboo territory amidst the spectacularly barren landscape of the island.Rita Hayworth was an amazing screen presence throughout her career. She was about 50 here but still striking looking. Sadly she was already experiencing the problems that beset her at the end of her life. One wonders if acting the part of a woman with mental problems was such a good idea for someone who was really experiencing them.A few years before, John Wayne and his crew thought she was rude and insufferable while working on "Circus World". Apparently "Road to Salina" was a happier experience and she got on well with the crew.Still it was hard for anyone in the film to compete with Mimsy Farmer. Her Billie is about the most uninhibited performance in a mainstream movie until Nastassja Kinski prowled her way through 1982's "Cat People".Eventually, Mimsy also shed her film career, emerging as a truly impressive sculptor. Maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise when an actor's creativity shows in other areas of the arts. Many actors have drawn, painted or sculpted well: Gary Cooper, Gail Russell, George Montgomery, Dennis Hopper and Lucy Liu among many others - even Marilyn Monroe."Road to Salina" used to turn up on TV in the 1970's, and seems to have a bit of a cult following these days. It's worth seeking out just for the stars alone.
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