The Place

Not since My Dinner with Andre can I recall a film set in a single location - now we have this 2017 Italian film The Place, a cafe by that name in which a distinguished-looking fiftyish man holds court at a back table. Supplicants come to him with the problems that most deeply disturb them, and he flips through his thick handwritten notebook to one of the red ribbons - the kind you'd see in a Bible to mark a verse - and tells them what act will bring about what they want.

These acts have nothing to do with their problems - a woman who wants to be prettier is told to steal a very specific amount; a blind man is told that raping a woman will give him sight. But once he pronounces an oracular "deal" he has no alternate solution. They are free not to accept it, or to follow through, but each of them wants their outcome strongly enough to make their pact - at least to begin with.

They stop by to report on their progress, which he records in his notebook. The tasks he assigns often overlap, either by his design or by some hand of providence, and some people get what they ask for, some change their minds and drop the whole thing, and some try to convince him they did as he said - but he tells them they didn't. "How do you know?" A man of few words, he doesn't answer, but we know that they didn't. If they had, something about them would be different.

He is an enigma - we learn the names of some characters, but even in the credits he is Uomo (the Man). He's at The Place when they're setting up in the morning, he's there when the waitress is mopping up at night. As she probes, he admits he doesn't sleep much. We don't see him arrive, we don't see him leave. Sometimes The Place is crowded, other times he's the only customer, and the chairs are upside down on every table except his. Why doesn't he get kicked out? What's his source of funds? He eats and drinks all day, but we never see him pay.

For a man intent on details, he offers few of his own. His supplicants ask him questions, including "Who are you?" which he deflects, returning to why they have come. One character accuses him of being Satan, which he neither confirms nor denies. He displays a lordly indifference to what they think of him - his only concern, once he's assigned their task, is what steps they're taking to complete it.

Is his purpose to awaken conscience, or to demonstrate to people that their desires blot out their morality? Or is he an evil being with the power to grant people's wishes - as long as he gets in trade their compromised integrity? Or is he simply a mirror of a self-absorbed culture in which our happiness is so important we're willing to destroy someone else's to get it?

The film keeps you engaged from the start, and leaves plenty to think about when it's over. And yet it is neither preachy nor pretentious. It starts off as a film about the things people would be prepared to do in order to achieve their dreams, but it moves on to other themes, such as what you think you need vs. what you really need, being able to live with oneself having achieved something through trickery and evil deeds, or good outcomes eventually arising from people's intentions to actually do bad things. The film does not involve action, it is based around dialogue. But rest assured, it will never bore you, and it will keep introducing twists that will keep you engaged and constantly guessing what will happen next.

The sheer fact that the whole movie is shot in a couple square meters in an anonymous diner while still keeping you engaged is alone worth a thousand stars. Top it with a subtle, emotional soundtrack and great acting and you have this wonderful piece. The plot is simple yet intriguing and smart, and the fact that a lot of details are easily predictable don't take anything away from it. The protagonist, our mysterious man, is a difficult character, lacking a name and apparently human emotion. The ending was well made, leaving just enough to the immagination.

I recommend this movie to anyone.

A great story, an amazing leading actor.

Do not expect any violence, or action, it is all in the dialogues, plot and acting.

A genre film that can be seen by everybody.

General impression: The movie starts in one place and ends with the very same place. The movie doesn't take us anywhere. Everything happens here and now. But despite the fact that there are no changing locations or special effects, I didn't take my eyes off the screen for a single minute, I was so immersed in the fascinating and interactive process. We are introduced to a man who sits in a cafe all the time, doesn't go anywhere, but people come to him and ask him to fulfill their desires, it could be anything: pregnancy, love, money, women, etc. But the stranger is not ready to just fulfill any coming request. To make their wish come true, each of the guests is asked to perform unusual tasks. The more difficult it is to fulfill this dream, the higher the price. Each of the heroes must make their own choice - how far are they willing to go in order to get what they want.