Juste un baiser

This film was a total dissapointment. I sat through 2 hours of watching mature males acting like adolescents and bemoaning the fact that life after 19 contains responsibility. If the movie had anything real to say about the post-20 angst it would have been worthwhile but it doesn't. It no doubt sets a record for number of times characters can scream at each other on the phone but that is rather a dubious achievement. Melodrama with no soul. There's 2 hours of my life I won't get back.

We saw Gabriele Muccino's latest romantic comedy at the Seattle International Film Festival, and it certainly justified our wait in line. What stands out most about this movie is the pacing, the editing and the stylish intercutting of the various plots. What's most surprising about the film is how little the writer/director injects his own ethical judgments into the action. One might argue that the whole movie disapproves of the universal infidelity portrayed, but there are several sequences in the movie that call this into question. Muccino seems to enjoy most poking fun at everyone's hypocrisy, and this is always great to watch, especially with an expressive, passionate Italian cast. The movie has just enough of a traditional romantic centre to make it all hang together, and yet a great enough diversity of characters to make a wide range of witty points.

Well worth seeing. 8/10.

Carlos (Stefano Accorsi) is a twenty-nine years old man, who works in an advertisement agency and has been living with his girlfriend Giulia (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) for three years. When she gets pregnant and he meets the delicious eighteen years old Francesca (Martina Stella), his relationship with Giulia have a crisis, since he is not ready to reach adulthood. Francesca has a crush and dreams on Carlos. His three best friends have also problems with their mates: Adriano (Giorgio Pasotti) has just had a son and has problems to take the responsibilities of the fatherhood, while his wife Livia (Sabrina Impacciatory) becomes very connected to the baby, neglecting their marriage; Alberto (Marco Cocci) has no ties with any woman, limiting to use them sexually; and Paolo (Claudio Santamaria) has a passion for his former lover. Meanwhile, Giulia's mother, Anna Stefania Sandrelli), has a middle-age crisis, jeopardizing her marriage. "L'Ultimo Bacio" is a beautiful and delightful movie about relationship in different phases of life. The story is very intelligent and realistic, reaching characters of different ages to show the crisis that most of the persons pass along their lives in their relationship with their mates. Whose teenager has never had a passion for a man or woman, like the character of Francesca? And the doubts and insecurity about fatherhood or motherhood, like Carlos, Giulia, Adriano and Livia? And the love jealousy, like Paolo? And the middle age crisis, like Anna? Therefore, the story certainly catch a phase in the life of the viewer himself or herself, and he or she will certainly identify the situation of a character as his or her own. The beauties of Giovanna Mezzogiorno, with her magnificent blue eyes, and Martina Stella, with her wonderful body and look, are another attraction in this lovely and highly recommended movie. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Último Beijo" ("The Last Kiss")

"L'Ultimo Bacio" is probably a movie most men will recognize themselves in all too well, because it was based on what most of us actually feel when they are finally expected to grow up when they are around thirty. They are expected to settle, to get married and to start a family. All very important decisions and we never feel very comfortable making them. Do we want to give up life as an irresponsible "bachelor", will we try to spend the rest of our lives with only one woman, are we ready to raise kids...

If you expect any answers from this movie, than I'll have to disappoint you, because you won't really find any good ones. It shows how four male friends desperately try to be free. One of them meets an 18-year old schoolgirl at a wedding party, falls in love with her and betrays his pregnant fiancée, jeopardizing his entire future and family. One of the others only fights with his wife, the third one wants to escape form his dying father and the last one wants to keep living as a hippie. They all have their reasons to leave their actual lives and they start making plans to make a trip around the world, but will they leave or finally accept the real life...

In a way this is a very typical Italian movie. Personally I love that, but I guess there are several people who don't. The style, the music, the acting, it all can be found in similar Italian movies and less in other European productions. So if you absolutely hate Italian movies, than you better don't even start watching it. In my opinion this isn't a movie for very young people either. I'm not saying they shouldn't watch it, but I think an 18-year old probably can't understand all too well why it's so difficult to make that important step once you're thirty, just because he or she doesn't have to think about it yet. Being almost 27 myself, I know all too well, what it means.

All in all this is a very nice movie that I would recommend to most people. Despite what you might think this isn't a very corny movie and has absolutely nothing to do with how most Hollywood comedies with such a message would look like. It's wonderful, it's realistic, it's everything I need in a movie and that's why I give it an 8/10.

This was acclaimed as one of the 'masterpieces' of last year's Italian cinema. I do not think so. It's true that it is a realistic and honest portrait of generation X in Italy, with all their (our) contradictions, feelings, dreams and lifestyles, but the movie in itself is just nice, not good. Acting is reduced to shouting, running around, launching mobile phones and shouting again, nearly every time there is a conversation background music starts (that might be the reason why they scream that much!), and as in most Italian movies locations are quite improbable. A special mention goes to Martina Stella - really great, and the only character absolutely worth saving in the whole movie, and Sabrina Impacciatore - she really put her heart in this role !