Ricordati di me

The only way this soap opera turned into a feature film could have redeemed itself would have been with a "Godfather"-like ending: all of the offending parties (and God knows this family was filled with nothing but 'tipi antipatici') would be liquidated at the very end, as just retribution for their total 'antipatia'. This movie has not a single character in it who is likable, which, I suppose, makes for an interesting cinematographic exercise: you'd like to get up and leave these horrible people to themselves and the screen, but you can't bring yourself to do it because you're hoping that the director will obliterate them for you at some point in the film.

I watched "Ricordati di me" and it felt like a polite conversation that avoids self criticism and only accepts one's personal dreams and ambitions. A conversation that accomplishes nothing since the subconscious is too scared to embark on the dreams because there is no safety net.

'Remember Me, My Love,' as it is known in North America, is a great film that reveals the superficial mask of the family unit. It is the story of a family and its progressive loss of balance between the self and the public sphere of conventional happiness. This film begins beautifully with the personal woes of the family members and the audience can sense the inevitable tipping of the cauldron.

The crossroads for most of the characters is based upon their personal potential and their own self-interests versus the ones created by their environments. For Carlo Ristuccia (played wonderfully by Fabrizio Bentivoglio), Giulia (another great performance by Laura Morante) and Alessia (played by the very talented Monica Belucci) the question at hand is based upon their waning existence. They all seem to feel lost and monotone while they struggle to feel the youthful sensation of bliss and love. The opening sequence is perfectly written and shot to portray the Ristuccias one dimensional life. The screenplay, subtle in its work, progressively displays the inevitable choices to be made by the members of the Ristuccia family.

However, as the characters embark on their selfish adventures, they digress from their intentions and they seem to blindly be repeating their mistakes. Giulia attempts to reconcile her acting career yet fails to see the theme of the play as a reflection of her own state. Carlo, failing to write the last chapter of his novel, never completes his work because he is afraid to risk and lose. He, along with the rest of his family, tries to balance between the want and the need. A problem that is never realized - even in the end.

"Remember Me, My Love" is a film that could have benefited from some slight editing, especially concerning Valentina's storyline, yet the end product leaves you feeling like the characters - a false sense of hope but a bigger sense of loss. This film strikes a reminiscent chord for its audience because it deals with loss - the loss of dreams, the loss of love - and its battle with throwing in the towel. None of the characters experience true happiness however they've convinced themselves at times. The first and final shot sum up the film beautifully as it questions the choices made by each of the man characters. It's all a facade, so enjoy the show.

I am not a big fan of Muccino, and this movie didn't change my opinion. What I don't like is the ambiance and the social setting of his movies -it is too often the same Roman middle class, kind of leftist, ordinary people and the same Roman settings that probably reflect his life, family and friends, it looks like Muccino can not direct a movie with different stories, people and situations. This one is full of stereotypes and quite predictable - it is still a nice movie, with some good acting and dialogues, but there is nothing really new. Laura Morante and Gabriele Lavia are good, and when they are on screen together the movie is worth watching. The other actors are OK, but nothing really memorable. The happy (?) ending is definitely meaningless

Ok, we read/heard/saw a lot here in Italy about Muccino's new production before its release and perhaps i was somehow expecting too much when I finally saw it. The movie deals with the difficulties of an italian family whose members either face their youth's broken dreams or try (too?) hard to make them become real.

It opens nicely: the characters' personalities are presented in a lively and pleasant way. Carlo's (F. Bentivoglio) routine life is shaken up after meeting casually a former love from high school, Alessia (M. Bellucci); both turn out to be left unsatisfied by their present situation, for slightly different reasons however (one lost his ambitions of becoming a writer, the other is simply hurt by the husband's behavior). They feel attracted by each other again, then decide to catch this opportunity for a brand new start. Carlo's frustrated wife Giulia (L. Morante) once wanted to be an actress on stage but ends up a school teacher because supposedly of her husband's jealousy. It's at the moment her daughter Valentina (N. Romanoff) decides to become a TV starlet that she's offered her first role. Few can be said concerning Carlo's pot-smoking son, Paolo. Well, he appears in sharp contrast with all the other protagonists by his lack of ambitions; his main problem appears to be finding (and keeping) a girlfriend.

I really enjoyed the first hour: the rhythm goes higher and higher as the main two characters start again to burn for each other. The scene between Carlo and his boss is simply fantastic in the italian version. Monica Bellucci looks very natural as a beautiful and decided mother in her late thirties. The action is well served by a succession of short but efficient scenes with a very mobile camera and sharp dialogs.

Afterwards, the movie sinks into a moralistic tale for conventional italian middle-class. A long description of the superficial and twisted world of TV where Valentina wants to dig her own hole at any cost; is there anything original inside all that ? Besides, not a single minute is spent on her feelings; could it be a 17yrs old girl with no apparent problems filled only with egoism and cynicism ? If yes, what about explaining that a little bit ? Meantime Laura Morante shows all her (big) talent in her hysterical scenes but this doesn't save the day because of many shortcomings in the script. Among many others: how it can be that someone who's ready to leave his family completely forgets to call back for days and weeks ? What about the TV guy getting mad in his house because of his child he cannot see: does this bring anything to the movie's main concern ? And this ultimate try of Carlo trying to meet again with Alessia despite the fact it's not known if he's still able to have sex anymore ...

A question raises naturally: why did the director choose to represent every woman (either Alessia or Valentina) who wants to achieve something different compared to the standard italian housewife in such a negative way ? Besides, I've not been able to understand if Carlo's book is crap or not or if Giulia's play is interesting or ridiculous (at least we know it's noisy!). All these points are left open and this prevents the watcher to make any kind of judgement about the adults while the kids are depicted in a simplistic way.

All in all, it could have been a great movie: good actors involved in an interesting plot shot in a beautiful location. However, the second part of the film leaves the impression that the director hasn't been able to make all that stick together and then decided himself for a dull conclusion.

*** out of 5.

Soap opera enthusiasts will love this film. Each scene telegraphs what predictable nonsense will follow. The only element rising above such overwrought displays is generally apt use of camera and sound to capture an authentic flavor of life in a neurotic sort of middle-class Italian household, circa early twenty-first century.

The plot is too obvious even to discuss in this forum. Others may do so, but I consider it an exercise analogous to a dog chasing its tail. Each main character is moreover annoying to the point of inviting frenzy as the only resolution to trying to understand what, exactly, each one is about. There is as well much shouting and physically running around, cell phones in hand.

Watch it for its sets, its scenery, its depiction of contemporary Italy -- a cosmopolitan milieu eschewing travelogue vistas in favor of modern kitchens, television studios, and panoramic street scenes in residential neighborhoods.

Providing, of course, that there is nothing better on the adjacent channel.