(filming) Barbarella "movie within a movie" ca 1995-2013?

there's a movie that dates from around the late 90s to early 00s, i think, possibly Italian, in which a director is making a movie very much like Barbarella in the 60s, only the "backstory" to that movie is even weirder and involves spys and robots (I think) on earth in the 60s.

it wasn't quite as weird as barbarella, but the movie WAS fanciful

I tried googling it using various keywords and got nowhere.

many thanks in advance to anyone that remembers this semi-surreal hommage movie

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"It's bad luck just seeing a thing like that."

Take a look at CQ (2001)

that's it! wasn't expecting anyone to remember it.

was trying to recommend it to a barbarella fan

plus rep +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

thanks