Charles J. Buchinsky’s cerebral satirical novel THE ANTONIO MARGHERITI EXPERIENCE pays a loving but lampooning tribute to the prolific Italian director of B-movies.
More than two decades ago, a fictionalized version of Buchinsky met a man at a film festival who may or may not have been the Italian director of science fiction, horror, sword and sandal, western, action, war, martial arts, comedy, romance, and other genre films whom Martin Scorsese supposedly called “Saint Antonio of The Moving Image.” The book consists of a wide-ranging interview with either Margheriti or a possible imposter on his life, career, and an unproduced screenplay called “Mission Margheriti.”
Margheriti is an actual director who churned out a few movies per year, such as “Cannibal Apocalypse,” “Death Rage,” “House of 1,000 Pleasures,” and “Mr. Hercules Against Karate.” The book is presented as a chance encounter with him in Gdansk, which leads to an in-depth interview. Despite playing it straight with a deadpan tone, the fictional and satirical intent quickly becomes clear as Margheriti seems to have burned down a movie producer’s Hamptons home over an unproduced screenplay, describes himself as a “humble, private man” with the physique of a young Marlon Brando and the intellect of Noam Chomsky, and claims to have authored the best-selling “Lewinsky Prophesies”—which foretold everything from the coronavirus pandemic to the cultural supremacy of superhero movies.
Absurdist in its tone, the freewheeling book is highly entertaining—presenting Margheriti (or his potential doppelganger) as a manic spout of loquacity who boasts that one of his low-budget sci-fi films inspired John F. Kennedy to start the space race, claims he inspired David Bowie to pen “Space Oddity,” and accuses Ridley Scott of ripping him off. In a humorous romp through 20th century cinema, he dishes on collaborators—for instance claiming George C. Scott developed an espresso addiction and went stark naked to St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City to loudly denounce the Catholic Church as “secretly under control of a clan of ocelots back on the Noah’s Ark set in Cinecitta.” The fictionalized version of Margheriti engages in zany antics, such as going to Prague to try to summon Franz Kafka through a medium to punch up a screenplay as a script doctor.
Much of the book traffics in the same over-the-top comedic bombast that’s both knowledgeable and amped up to 11 in a style reminiscent of Mark Leyner. The book is generally funny, but the humor may be an acquired taste for some. Jokes can be hit or miss. For instance, it amusingly boasts a better version of “My Dinner with Andre” but then beats the joke into the ground when less would have been more.
Overall, Buchinsky’s humorous and high-minded novel surveys Margheriti’s low-budget flicks and the history of cinema in a high-octane and affectionate parody.
Charles J. Buchinsky’s THE ANTONIO MARGHERITI EXPERIENCE surveys the B-movie director’s oeuvre with a satirical lens, romping through 20th century cinema in an erudite but delightful fashion.
~Joseph S. Pete for IndieReader