HOLE IN THE FOREHEAD (1968)

According to experts in the field, there are two possible ways of inserting a small hole into your forehead. The first method is commonly known as trepanning: Which is a simplistic surgical procedure that is used to abate mental health issues. Whereas the second method can be seen in this 87 minute movie made in 1968. It was Directed by: Giuseppe Vari; and Starred: Dragomir Bojanic, Claudio Undari, with Rosy Zichel.


Hole in the Forehead - Italian Film Poster On The Wall

THE STORY:

So you and your men think you have me at your mercy, General Munguya (Claudio Undari)? But no. You don't. You don't have me, but rather, I have you. Or to be more specific about it, I have something you want more than that prostitute hanging off your arm.

It's a playing card, isn't it Amigo? A simple looking playing card I prized out of the dead hands of one of your compatriots, whilst I was staying at a monastery a day or so ago.

Now to the average man this item is worth nothing. Yet to you and I it represents one third of a puzzle that will point us towards a secret stash of gold bullion, hidden somewhere out in the whiles of America.

So go on, you evil b*stard. Make your play. What are you going to do about this situation we are faced with? I know you already have one of the cards in question. Where as one of your pimps has the other. So go on. Move. Cause if you don't I promise you that I will make your life a living hell.    

 

Then again, that's most probably why what next transpires all goes rather loco, when General Munguya says to me, 'Stranger (Dragomir Bojanic). I'm going to kick your f*cking head in'. As you can't have a party without any blood - a punch in the face slaps much harder than mud - a gang of prostitutes eventually save my hide - and at the end of the day, another trip to the monastery turns out to be a really wild ride.

[ GERMAN TRAILER ]

THE REVIEW:

I'd say from a narrative point of view 'Hole in the Forehead' is a very ill paced film, and at first glance suffers greatly from a story-line that isn't very easy to understand. Honestly, dear reader. I'd estimate you'd have to at least watch half of it before you understood the actual pretext. And then, once you've finally reached this stage of the plot, you might find some difficulty wanting to watch any more due to its abysmal dubbing plus tried and tested characters.

Now please don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to imply this flick would be a total waste of your viewing time -- cause there were two aspects about it I thought were very good indeed.

For a start I best mention that the main villain of this piece -- as played by Claudio Undari -- comes across as a damn right dirty b*stard. Straight up! He's the sort of bad guy who kills women, children, and most probably small animals for the shear hell of it. And he does it so well you really-really want to see him get his comeuppance sooner or later.

Thankfully, the main hero of this piece -- as played by Dragomir Bojanic -- does just that. And he does it with a style that makes him appear like Clint Eastwood light. Just with a less menacing squint and a gruff demeanor to match.

No offence intended of course.  

Now the second aspect about this film I enjoyed doesn't directly have anything to do with the actual plot or any of the characters involved. You see, during the party scene there were two men having an arm wresting competition. But this wasn't your normal home-grown garden-variety competition, folks. Placed of either side of these two opponents were a bed of nails, forcing the winner to thrust the losers hand down onto the opposing spiky surface.

Yeah! I kid you not. This sequence was so engrossing I'd go so far as to say that it was the best thing about this western. As it had me on the very edge of my seat until... until... no... I won't go there methinks. I don't want to spoil the surprise. Especially when you can also check out the following filmic-facts, Ha! (1) 'Tigielle 33' first released this production in Italy on the exact same day the Rolling Stones first released their song, 'Jumping Jack Flash'. It was on the 25th of May, 1968. (2) Loosely translated, this project was entitled 'Challenging the West' in Brazil; 'When I Draw Is to Kill' in France, and originally it was called 'Kiss on the Forehead' in its native Italian tongue. (3) Giuseppe Vari was the nice Italian gentleman that directed this movie, and throughout his twenty-four years in show-business, he has used such pseudonyms as Al or Walter Pisani, plus Joseph Green or Joseph Warren. (4) The Italian language import of this flick has a Super-8mm version included on its laserdisc. (5) Dragomir Bojanic is in fact an actor that originated from Serbia, not Italy, and is best known for his comedic roles in the 'Lude godine' series of films. (6) Adriano Bolzoni, who wrote the original screenplay for this western, has written sixty-six screenplays throughout his fifteen year career. This includes 'Blood, Sweat and Fear', 'Flatfoot in Africa', and 'They Died with Their Boots On'. (7) The Italian based production company that devised this adventure, 'Tigielle 33', was in the business from 1965 to 1970, and they had developed twelve films in total. (8) After this picture slurped its last noodle, Dragomir Bojanic starred in the German-thriller, 'U raskoraku'; Claudio Undari starred in the war-time-drama, 'Battle of the Commandos'; and Rosy Zichel quit the industry altogether.

Overall 'Hole in the Forehead' was a pretty so-so film to sit down and watch. The story-line seemed to have a mind of its own. The actors didn't do a bad job considering what they had to follow. And all in all -- yeah -- a somewhat ill-paced movie, with some fairly nice music plus a couple of scenes that propped it up a notch or two.

Nuff said.

THE RATING: B-