Caos Calmo

Two middle-aged brothers - Pietro (Nanni Moretti) and Carlo (Alessandro Gassman) - play ball on the beach when suddenly two women yell for help while in the ocean. The brothers risk their lives to save the two women, only to find that the women don't even thank them. When the Paladini brothers drive back to Pietro's home, they discover that in their absence Pietro's wife has fallen and died. Pietro's 10-year-old daughter Claudia (Blu Yoshimi) is distraught and asks her father why he was not at home to save his wife. After a quiet funeral Pietro enters an existence of 'quiet chaos', neglecting his duties as a successful executive, choosing instead to sit on the bench across from Claudia's school, waiting each day in numbed silence for his daughter's completion of classes in order to drive her home. His only goal, despite various interruptions from passers-by and family members in incidents both humorous and distractingly serious, is to be there for Claudia, visible through her school window, to reassure her of his constant presence. How Pietro gradually figures out his grief, the world, and his place in it, discovering a new relationship with Claudia, forms the story line of this tender film.

Director Antonello Grimaldi, working with a screenplay adaptation of Sandro Veronesi's book by Veronesi and Nanni Moretti, draws extraordinary performances from his cast of premiere Italian actors. In an classroom scene Claudia's teacher is explaining the word 'palindrome' (a sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction) and shares with her pupils how some things are reversible while other things are irreversible. Grimaldi and his writers and actors demonstrate this term as it applies to human events in this thoughtful story. The film, in Italian with subtitles, appeals both to the intellect and to the emotions. It is a little treasure.

Grady Harp

Those Europeans sure know how to make irresistible movies out of the most unlikely topics, no? This one concerns the choice made by the widower of a young woman who's just died to sit outside his daughter's school every day to wait for her, rather than go to work. What starts off as an odd way to come to terms with his grief, quickly transforms into an emotional journey for him, and his family.

He starts appreciating the simple things in life more, and makes a lot of new friends that he otherwise may not have met. It also turns him into a bit of a minor celebrity... as folks flock to see 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'. Who'd have known that Script song may be based on a real character?!

It's brilliantly acted, with truly heartfelt moments studded throughout. You become wrapped up in the lead's quest to find some kind of personal closure, and the lives of the other participants are almost equally as fascinating. Could us Brits build such a towering edifice with such small bricks? Alas, I don't think so. But... what's to stop us trying? 8/10

The story is surely a good one and the actors all pretty good. The problem I had, and apparently it is a shared view, is that this movie has many unnecessary scenes and superficially shot details which make the result not quite as good as it could have been. A few examples? The first scene with the drowning women is just unbelievable (the sea seems totally calm, it is almost hilarious); the shots in Venice (the only reason I can see is that the film troupe wanted a little break there); the erotic scene between two not so young/not so beautiful actors (pity this scene wasn't between the gorgeous young girl and the brother of the main character, that might have been not necessary either, but at least enjoyable!) the cloying bits with the handicapped; the idealised and quite stereotypical depiction of the Roman school piazza as a nice and friendly environment; the beautiful young girl with the dog so interested in Moretti; even the end titles, with the pelouche monkey name listed... finally the music choice was quite cheesy. Anyway I would lie to say I was not entertained watching it. 6,5/10

Nanni Moretti is not playing his neurotic self this time but he is quite convincing as a man who can't deal with his emotions at all. The good thing about the movie is that all little story lines keep on spinning around him and seem to go nowhere in the end.

Just a few things put me off. I don't know if it was necessary to make the person a top manager. He doesn't seem the type to hold that sort of position. And the symbolism of the reversibility of palindromes is a bit cheesy and over the top.

But the thing that really put me down is that one sex scene. There is nothing wrong with it in itself but it does not fit in this movie at all. The whole atmosphere changes, it is as if the movie stops, the sex scene starts, and when it's over the movie starts again. Not convincing at all.

Oh, what a pleasant surprise: finally an intelligent Italian movie won the box-office battle. Yes, many people went to see the movie because of the notorious sex scene between Nanni Moretti and Isabella Ferrari, branded as obscene by the Vatican, but I hope they understood that behind the four hot minutes there was a movie, a true, heartfelt movie. The screenplay simplified many aspects of the novel, however they did a wonderful job: I prefer the movie to the book, for once, also because I just couldn't get on with the book. The Berlin Film Festival didn't appreciate "Quiet Chaos"; I'm not a professional critic, but I can assure "Quiet Chaos" is a movie full of sensibility, sweetness and depth, and it doesn't tell the usual, banal and cloying story. Nanni Moretti isn't wooden at all; Alessandro Gassman and Isabella Ferrari prove they can act; Alba Rohrwacher, Silvio Orlando and Valeria Golino are great actors and never disappoint; but the most sparkling star is the young Blu Yoshimi, with her impressive eyes and smile and her natural talent. I hope she'll have a bright future. The soundtrack comments the images beautifully; now I'm desperately seeking "Cigarettes and chocolate milk", by Rufus Wainwright, a magnificent song that must be part of my play list.