Film Reviews by JA

I wasn't sure whether I would find this film too self-indulgent based on the plot summary and one of the reviews here. In the interviews included on the DVD one of the cast, who is an amateur and a friend of the director, reveals he didn't think it'd be a success when they were making it. Another member talks about it not being what you expect of a film. Di Gregorio has focused in on a slice of (Italian) life you don't normally see, observing ordinariness and drawing out what makes us happy at any age. As with the first reviewer I found it funny and also uplifting.

There were 2 other benefits for me. Shots of parts of Rome where I have stayed: Monteverde Vecchio and Trastevere and listening to the dialogue. As this was not a fast paced action film, it was relatively easy for me as an intermediate level student of Italian to follow the dialogue. The interviews with Di Gregorio and cast members were also very easy to follow as they spoke clearly and were interesting and enjoyable. Because of the nature of the film I was surprised to discover Di Gregorio was the screenwriter on films like Gomorrah, clearly a man with range. I'll now try renting Salt of Life.

I'm borrowing films in Italian to improve my language learning so not always the same bar applies as for a totally free choice. However this was excellent, no run of the mill thriller. It was full of suspense, atmospheric, with good use of silence and the audience as quiet observer. The 2 leads put in powerful performances and only occasionally did I query the credibility of the premise. There are also quite interesting short films on how it was made. As for the language it was not too difficult and I had the pleasure of recognising several grammatical structures I had recently learnt. My level of Italian is intermediate so sub-titles are still necessary on first viewing.