La terra del ritorno

In Lives of the Saints, Sophia Loren proves why she has remained at the top of her game for over 50 years. Her brilliant performance as Teresa Innocente was nothing short of astonishing. Just watch the scene where young Vittorio and Cristina board the bus, and when the mature Vittorio confronts her about the painting. Loren conveys raw emotion that is gripping and entirely believable. If she doesn't receive a Gemini or Emmy award for this performance, it is an injustice. Fab Filippo also gave a remarkable performance. I haven't seen Filippo in anything else but I hope this film springboards him into higher profile roles. He is a performer to watch.

"Lives of the Saints" is definitely finer than any of the feature films I have seen in the past year. Yes, those who are expecting CGI spectacles and light-hearted entertainment would be disappointed, but not those who look for something that attempt to confront life with all its confusion and complications, especially for people torn between two cultures. There is no "good guy vs bad guy" in this film, as there is none in real life. Rather, everyone is a full human, flesh and blood, with likable and repulsive character traits. Fabrizio Filippo gave such a solid and charismatic performance in the leading role--I'd definitely like to see him feature in some high profile film. The character of Rita, however, is less convincing I find--a flaw due primary to the script and less to Jessica Paré. Nonetheless, this is definitely one of those films which try to reach out for something more than prescribed clichés on which 95% of movies nowadays are constructed.

I see this movie back to back both parts, and my overview is Part 2 is much better than Part 1. Overall the movie is very lengthy and is quite boring at time especially the part one.

Story: Part 1; show the life of the boy and his mother struggling to lives in the small town. The mother is having an affair and has another baby before decided to immigrate to Canada.

Part 2; both the boy and his sister grew up trying to deny they horrible past until the day come when the boy father try to attempt to kill his sister. This makes him come back home to his family and along the way he uncover the decades-old secrets that have torn his family apart.

Skip the part one causes it too boring, and I meant it. Go to part two where there are more excitement and when the story wheels start to turn. The casting is excellent and the acting is great. Actually everything here is great apart from the main thing and that is the Story.

Over-View: That is why this movie is certainly not for everyone, only people with loads of time and patient.

Rating: 6/10 (Grade: C)

In post war rural Italy, Vittorio Innocente has his headstrong mother and his loving teacher aunt Teresa Innocente (Sophia Loren) while his father Mario (Nick Mancuso) is away in Canada. He witnesses a mysterious incident where a man runs out of the stable leaving his mother inside. He only half remembers the man's bright blue eyes and a snake. His mother gets pregnant and they set off for Canada. His mother dies on the way giving birth to baby sister Rita. Teresa joins her brother Mario's Canadian farm a few years later. In 1969, Vittorio is teaching Inuit kids with his girlfriend Kate. His half-sister Rita Amherst (Jessica Paré) is living with her adopted family and is being stalked by their estranged father Mario. After a devastating incident, Rita is forced to revisit her past. Aunt Teresa reveals that she has known her father to be Matthew Bok (Kris Kristofferson) all along.

Wow. This turns dark. It starts regular dark and then it goes super dark. Vittorio is such a problematic protagonist. One starts out rooting for him but he just rips out your heart. It's in his blood and it's a tragedy built into his genes. That's why the happy ending seems out of place. It's shot almost like a dream which is exactly what it feels like. This needs a full dark ending or else cut out that one incident. This two part Canadian-Italian mini-series is an adaptation of a book series. I don't know anything about the book and changing major aspects of it can be dangerous. The time jumping could be improved a little. It may be better to do the flashbacks chronologically backwards. The acting is solidly anchored by great veterans. Loren brings gravitas all by herself. Fab Filippo as Vittorio has a difficult task and pulls it off well. Paré is all wild sexuality and a fitting successor to Loren. Kristofferson has the eyes but the movie needs the younger version to paint a picture of his relationship with the mother. This is a TV mini-series that could be turned into an epic theatrical movie if a skilled hand can do some major adapting.

American mini-series should be half this good. This could easily have been a feature film and would have been nominated for an academy award. Almost all the actors give incredible performances, but the true standouts are Sophia Loren and Fabrizio Filippo, who I've had great expectations for since I first saw him in "Ready or Not", more than ten years ago. His performances in the last several years, including "Waydowntown" & "Queer as Folk" have been standout, but here we finally see the true potential he has to be a true leading man. And Sabrina Ferilli also did an incredible job. It's simply impossible to keep your eyes off of her when she is on the screen, as her face says more than her words and you dare not miss an expression.

Visually, this movie is like a painting brought to life, particularly the scenes in Italy. The use of the horizon and colour reminded me of Claire Denis' "Beau travail" and is almost a character itself, saying as much as any of the actual people.

Jessica Paré's performance was fair, though clearly the weak point in the film. Still, I can't think of another film I've seen on television recently, that comes close to matching this one in scope, beauty, intensity, and pure passion. There's no doubt that this was a work of love for all those involved in the making of this film.

If you have the chance, see this movie. You'll be glad you did.