User Reviews

...I would think this was a great movie.

The feeling of loneliness in a crowd is probably familiar to most of people at some point of their life, but going through the whole life with it on their shoulders is not an easy task, and many people are unhappy enough to know what I'm talking about.

The last paragraph of Charles Joe Agnes comment is a great description of it. This is not only the basic truth of this movie, but of many people's destinies as well.

That's why the end of the movie is hard to accept. ***SPOILERS*** Almost as if it was added to satisfy the happy-end loving audience (like Charles Dickens' unnatural ending of 'Great Expectations'.) A couple of minutes before the end all the losers are in their usual position: they have nothing now and nothing to hope for in future. Maria (finally) lost her daughter, what she was afraid of all the time. Lisa has to live with her grandparents against her wishes, but it was a logical destiny (once social workers put you under surveillance...). Her grandparents did legally win, but it was a Pyrrhic victory to have the girl who doesn't want to be there, who doesn't like them very much and now will most likely start to hate them for what they did. And, of course Antonio, always polite and ready to help friends, but never giving himself completely till he met Maria, now rejected by her, fired by his friendly boss, he has to collect pieces of his life and probably never ever open himself again.

Wouldn't it been an ending that would fit in real life of real people that movie shows and Charles Joe Agnes writes about?

***NO MORE SPOILERS*** Otherwise this is movie that could be recommended to people who can take their time to watch a slow, beautiful and clever movie, a modern Italian film that has finally left Fellini traditions and follows Tornatore's paths.

One night while driving home, Antonio almost hits a young girl, Lisa, who has been chasing a cat that had escaped. Antonio is intrigued by what a girl of 12 can be doing alone at night, Lisa confesses she is not supposed to, as the mother, Maria arrives in her motor scooter. Maria is suspicious of this stranger who should have no business talking to her daughter.

Antonio begins to obsess about Maria, a young woman who is having problems running her frozen food store and making ends meet. He begins to follow her. He is a driver who works for a small firm where he is always ready to cover up for a married colleague whenever he is needed. Maria begins to warm up to Antonio to the point that she invites him for a dinner that leads to a romantic night. After that, Maria turns cold toward the young man, which doesn't make sense.

One day Antonio, who is left at the store to cover Maria who has to run an errand, discovers how she has been borrowing money from a loan shark. Antonio stalks Saverio, until he is able to ask him about the money Maria has to pay him. Saverio takes a liking to Antonio, who makes himself indispensable to the money man, who he soon discovers is running illegal apartments for mostly Muslim illegal immigrants.

The problem with Antonio is he can't make Maria accept him completely. She makes no bones in telling him how she views their situation. She tells him point blank how she feels about him and not to expect anything from her. Maria is a lonely woman who dwells on her misery with no hope to accept what Antonio feels for her.

Giuseppe Piccioni bowls us over with his take on these lonely people, that having so much in common, never get to share the intimacy and love they feel for one another. Maria is a wounded woman who can't accept the kind of love Antonio offers her. Mr. Piccioni, who co-wrote the screen play with Umberto Contarello, is one of the best directors working in the current Italian cinema. In this film, as well as in "Fuori dal Mondo", he shows he clearly understands what his characters are going through.

Luigi LoCascio makes a deep impression as Antonio. This complex man is much more than what we see on the surface. He is a compassionate man whose own childhood has been shaped by the absence of his father, who abandoned him and his mother to go to Argentina. Sandra Ceccarelli is also excellent as the wounded woman who has to struggle in order to make a living for her and her daughter under strained conditions. Silvio Orlando, makes a perfect portrait of Saverio, the petty gangster who befriends Antonio and take him under his wing.

The film is also blessed with a marvelous musical score by Ludovico Einaudi that serves to create the moody action well. Arnaldo Catinari's excellent dark cinematography enhances everything one sees in the movie.

Highly recommended for fans of Giuseppe Piccioni.

I will not completely summarize the plot since so many have done this well in these reviews. And although I clicked the spoiler alert I prefer not to spoil the movie's resolution.

The main character is a man who we slowly learn has known loneliness and abandonment in his life. From Antonio's cheery, direct face as he relates to others we might not know that he is in need of another person. He meets Maria and we begin to see Antonio coming to the surface. At first he relates to us, the audience, through the persona of a science fiction character named Morgan. He finds it easier to explain his feelings of detachment through the fictionalized concept of being an alien on another planet. At first I actually found this to be off-putting. But it works. And his feet finally do find the ground. The point that I found to be the most telling about him and about the raison d'etre of the plot came about near the end as Antonio spoke with his employer about the duties of a chauffeur. Knowing when to speak was the number one ability. But secondly Antonio mentioned that in difficult situations he should find a way out. "There's always a solution" he concluded. That gave me his personality. He focuses on fixing. That is the direction he moves in.

I enjoyed the way the story was told. There were times that the camera would follow someone outside the story, and we would notice that Antonio watched life seemingly from actual interest. If we were to project what Antonio might do when he "grows up" it would probably be as a writer, or a filmmaker.

The acting and direction were excellent. The script was real, and spare. These seemed like real people. One of the reviews here criticizes the ending as though it didn't follow the course we expected. I can see why a viewer might feel this way. But endings can be beginnings. It does seem that the term "realism" implies a less than happy ending. With the huge popularity of dystopian prognostications in film I can understand why most people prefer a jaded POV.

I cannot think of a film that supposes the future as an extension of the things that work well in society.