La corrispondenza

A deep love relationship develops itself between Ed Phoerum, a professor and astronomer and Amy Ryan, a young student and movie actress, despite the fact that not only she is much younger than him but also they are apart and at some distance from each other, seldom meeting physically. But he sends her videos with passionate messages. He suffers a sudden death (he was very ill) which does not impede their relationship going ahead like if he was still alive because he had a plan consisting of having written many messages to her and made some videos that without her knowledge he has given to people he knew with the charge of giving them to her at periodic dates coinciding with some important events of her life . This combines her anguish with the pleasure she has on reading his messages (in letter form) and watching his videos and led her to look for those people to get information and take the letters and videos. A quite strange story but well told, directed, acted and filmed.

La Corrispondenza (2016) : Giuseppe Tornatore has earned a good fame in International cinema with Cinema Paradiso (1988) and since then his movies are always gaining attention.Love is the key element is his movies which is shown in different ways and views.The Correspondence is such love story which has bit twisty plot.

Plot: Amy Ryan (Olga Kurylenko),a student and stunt woman and Ed Phoerum (Jeremy Irons),a renowned astrophysicist have affair for 6 years.When Ed goes out of town,both of them keep in touch by text and video chats.But shockingly Amy hears the news that Ed died 2 days back due to cancer.But still she receives messages and gifts under the name of Ed.She never feels lonely since then but still surprised about the mysterious messages and gifts.How did she cope with her life and how is Ed texting and sending gifts even after his death forms rest of the story..

Plus Points:

1)Plot: Though this plot resembles 1997 Korean movie The Letters which is remade in Hollywood as P.S.I Love You where a heartbroken girl receives messages or letters from their deceased love.Correspondence also has same plot but with new backdrop.

2)Music: Music by Enno Moricone is decent and gave the right mood at right place.

3)Performances: Both the lead actors performance is decent.

Minus Points:

1)Screenplay: Screenplay is the major drawback for this film.With such talented cast and crew,Giuseppe wasted with such boring screenplay.Except the initial 20 Min's,rest of the movie starts getting lagged with every scene.

2)Duration: With 2hr duration, this movie seems boring after 30 Min's. into the movie.

So, La Corrispondenza is a wasted potential with dragging screenplay.

My rating 5.5/10

To me It looks like the easier version of Insterstellar. I found it completely moving. From the start to the end. Obviously it depends on your conception of love hic et nunc , and experience. I will suspend judgement about verisimilitude , communication strategies , and the actors' performance (as I watched it dubbed in Italian) and I will say here love is the way (no matter which way) Tornatore reflects on the relation between the logical and illogical. Is it possible to speak about mistakes and blame when love takes over?

However, despite the plot there is something in the idea that moved me and motivated me.

I trust it is not underrated just because it's a "love story", which would be an unjustified categorization.

As compare to his former, exceptionally great, movies like Cinema Paradiso, The Legend of 1900, Malena, Sttano Tutti Bene(Everbodys Fine), Baaria, The Best Offer and The Unknown Women, his Correspondence is somewhat left me in depsair. His direction skills are peerless with impulse of emotions and feeling in most of his movies with touch of comedy. Correspondence is what i will call not a movie of Guissepe.

Years and years ago, Pier Paolo Pasolini would have solved this 116 minutes film with one sentence: "Death does not mean a lack of communication; it is the impossibility of being understood."

And while this concept (twisted, distorted, disfigured) still remains interesting enough, Tornatore's prolix (plain redundant right there in the middle) writing swings between borderline creepy and full-on cheesy.

Among the tear-jerking treacle, his pseudo-philosophical, re-adjusted to the contingency, take on astronomy -- dead stars and all -- is accurate and poetic enough, and really the only element (almost) giving the movie an appearance of tightness, thickness and consistency in its back and forth, back and forth rhythm.