Eher geht ein Kamel durchs Nadelöhr

Delightful little debut film from Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. Part family drama, part surreal comedy, and definitely not for all tastes, but if you're in for something unusual, edgy but entertaining, this is the film for you. My personal highlights are the scenes where Federica, the main character (played by Bruni Tedeschi herself) flashbacks to her years as a kid, especially the one where the feared kidnappers (she comes from an extremely rich family, so she could have been a target for kidnappers, as often happened in Italy during the seventies) are invited home for dinner and are joined in a chorus of 'El Pueblo Unido' by the whole bourgeois family.

Yes, this film is a charmer, albeit a very strange one. So strange that even critics don't get it - for example, see Reel Film Reviews under "External Reviews". To begin with the obvious: Federica is rich. Richer than most of us can imagine being. So rich her mother tells her kids: "You have no right to cry, you've got everything." She goes through life with a sense of guilt, asking herself what she's done to deserve such wealth, and how she can justify her existence and avoid becoming a useless parasite.

Our not-quite-heroine chooses to write plays, learn ballet and be nice to everyone. She never outgrows the well-behaved little girl she was long ago, retaining a permanent smile and a squeaky voice. Even her boyfriend is a near-perfect embodiment of her bad conscience: a socialist history teacher who sings the "International" at the wheel of her Jaguar. Naturally, Federica joins right in. Even when they quarrel after he tells her he considers her writing a hobby, not work, she doesn't really defend herself. Instead, she keeps having escapist fantasies of a perfect world where rich and poor live in harmony. The "ridiculous" episode mentioned in the Reel Film review, where her parents have a congenial dinner with her kidnappers, is obviously such a fantasy, and meant to be absurd.

Apparently, the actor-director drew heavily on her own life for this story. Her own wealthy family moved to Paris after the Red Brigades started abducting rich kids. Federica's mother is played by Bruni-Tedeschi's real mother (and God knows how she got her to do it!). I admire the director for the courage it must have taken to make a film so personal, and with so much potential for misunderstanding and ridicule. I also admire the actress for her precarious charm. Do go see this one if you have a Really Rich friend who agonizes over money. Thereafter, please present said friend with a bio of George Soros.

It's difficult to believe that no one has seen fit to comment on this charmer - that word does double duty here for it's equally applicable to triple-threat writer-director-star Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in her first time at bat on bullhorn. Tedeschi is a fine actress and has illuminated many films with her quiet, understated beauty that leaves most of the 'glamor' girls dead in the water. She doesn't make it easy on herself opting for an intricate storyline requiring both a large cast and ensemble playing and allegedly basing her screenplay loosely on her own life. If I were producing a screenplay that called for an actress who could convey guilt about being very wealthy convincingly I'd be unable to come up with anyone other that Bruni-Tedeschi. At close to forty she can still do gauche and make it come out charming and more than this she is able to extract equally fine performances from the likes of Yvan Attal, Denis Podalydes, Chiara Mastroianni and not least her own mother playing the mother of the fictional-but-lightly-based-on-Valeria herself Federica. She brings it off superbly and takes her rightful place alongside such other distinguished female directors as Agnes Varda, Diane Kurys, Ann Fontaine, and Agnes Jouai. Roll on her second trip to the plate. 8/10

The French film "Il est plus facile pour un chameau. . " was shown in the U.S. with the translated title "It's Easier for a Camel... (2003). It was co-written and directed by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. Tedeschi also stars in the movie.

You have to accept the basic premise that Federica (Tedeschi) is awash in guilt because she's rich. In fact, the title of the film is derived from the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John. Jesus told a young, rich man that it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to go to paradise. Federica goes to a priest to confess that she's guilty of being rich, and he quotes this Gospel passage.

Tedeschi--who was, indeed, raised as a rich child--directs herself as a very insecure, timid woman, who lacks confidence in her own abilities. This is in contrast to Chiara Mastroianni, who plays her sister Bianca. Bianca is always on the verge of hysteria, but she has plenty of confidence.

Flawed protagonists can make a plot interesting. Tedeschi almost gets there, but for me Federica is not really someone I could care about. All this money, and no creative way to spend it. In fact, the only person with whom I really identified in the movie was Federica's lawyer, portrayed by Souzan Chirazi. She tells Federica, "If you have too much money, start a hospital in Africa."

However, Federica would never get her act together to do anything that practical. She loves her dance class, she (sort of) loves her partner and also her former lover, she deals with her sick father and the rest of her family, and she continually visits the priest, until he tells her that he's a priest, not a psychologist.

We saw this film on the small screen, where it worked very well. It has a dreadful IMDb rating of 5.6. It's not a great movie, but it's not that bad. I gave it a 7. If you're looking for a unusual film, with an unusual protagonist, you could do worse.

Difficult as it may be for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, it is even more difficult for a rich woman to make a good movie.

If anyone needs proof that money can't buy good taste or competent film making, this movie will surely convince them.

The strange attempt at an autobiography lacks any redeeming social or cinematic value.

One can only assume that Carla Bruni, who is not know for her good sense,still had enough sense not to get involved in this debacle.

It seems virtually impossible that they couldn't have gotten competent writers, directors, etc. and created a film with at least a modicum of taste and/or watch-ability.