Saturno contro

I saw the premiere of this film in Florence the other night, with Ozpetek and a lot of the cast (including Accorsi and Buy) in attendance. It will soon have its release throughout Italy but I highly doubt (despite its esteemed cast) that it will make it abroad--for good reason. Having liked "Le fati ignoranti" and been less impressed with "La finestra di fronte," I came to this hopeful but with some reservations. The basic theme (though not the plot, which is too uninteresting to go into) is the same as in those other movies--that family is something one forms among friends and lovers rather than the traditional tight/strangling norms that define Italian family bonds. When Ozpetek really brought this out in "Le fati ignoranti", he seemed like a fresh voice in Italian cinema: unjudgmental, sane, equally interested in straight and gay relationships, kind with actors. Things haven't really changed in the intervening years, but his approach now seems a limitation, or rather, there's nothing to get excited about or involved with in this new film. The stakes seem low, the actors seem unplugged, the melodrama feels forced, and with no especially compelling central character (like Accorsi's in "Fati ignoranti"), there's no real involvement for the audience. Tears are shed, lessons are learned, compassion is shown. This could be a TV movie. It's only the sad state of Italian cinema in general that makes something like this pass for a serious drama. It's not really a bad film or a terrible failure, just something slightly better than mediocre. Is that good enough for one of Italy's leading directors?

This really beautifully cast ensemble piece (the best group I have seen since THE METHOD)is wonderfully directed by Turkish director Frazan Ozpetik, whose films I intend to find and watch....not just at premieres. The one actress who is quite remarkable as one of the most interesting and amusing and attractive cast members Ambia Angiolini. The cast, very attractive and some for plot reasons. What is so surprising to me is why Hollywood hasn't grabbed actor Luca, who is a heart throb and grabbed him like they did a lot of Almodovar's leading men. One of the reasons some of the reviewers complain about the film is mostly because it is a bit grand and for sophisticated tastes including the homosexuality driven plot which is not for most online reviewers even though the film took a handful of Italian Oscars. For those who claim it may be soap operaish, they forget that prior to reality shows, the world, not just Americans, thrived on soaps in most every country for decades; and still do in some. This film is made fascinating by the mixture of both gay and straight characters with little homophobic focus. If SATURN IN OPPOSITION isn't grabbed and remade either by the Weinsteins or some tasteful British group, I will be surprised. What I also have to mention is the stunning photography, lighting, art direction and most of all, the music. I am going to see about finding if there is a soundtrack which is really inventive and organic.

This is a film that tries to do for men what countless movies have done for women: expose the real pain men feel when love is lost. We've seen the genre exploited for the female market ad infinitum. We rarely see it for men.

That's the theme of this movie: how do men deal with the loss of love? For those of you who have seen it and are questioning what the movie was about, consider it. . . . There's the lover who abandons, the lover who is abandoned, the father who rejected, and the lover whose lover dies.

Aside from the title, a major clue is the reference to "Rebecca," a film about a man who grieves for lost love, and yet who is accused of murdering that love. It is perhaps the ultimate movie about submerged male emotion. In that film the woman (the second wife) is both a participant and an observer, as is the case with most of the women in this film. Then there's the title, a reference to a Saturnalia, a "party" where traditional roles are reversed. In this movie, it is the women who observe the men dealing with lost love, not the other way around as it usually is.

It's not difficult for me to understand the "tepid response" of some reviewers, particularly those who are male. Males are so unplugged from this part of life that it is understandable they could watch a whole movie about lost love and not recognize what it is.

Ferzan Ozpeteck returns to familiar territory but without the nerve, and self assuredness that he shown in the much better "Le Fatte Ignoranti" This time we're introduced to an unusual little group of friends doing all the usual things. Loving and and deceiving, being honest and compassionate, blatant, timid, courageous, self effacing. At times I thought "Saturno Contro" was going to deal with the tough theme that a gay lover is not a relative with all its thorny connotations but not such luck. Our characters are much more sophisticated and, apparently, the society they all live in, as well. There is no real conflict, really. Death is the thing and death is always powerful, specially when it touches the unsuspecting. Pierfrancesco Favino is wonderful. Human to the hilt. Even when he's given a far too long close up with tears that seem to, awkwardly, fight their way out. Luca Argentero, his lover, is definitely beautiful and gets, like Gabriele Garko in "Le Fatte Ignoranti" the most loving, lingering close ups. Again, I couldn't quite connect with Stefano Accorsi as a character or as an actor. Marherita Buy is a delight, as usual and Serra Yilmaz has become already Ozpeteck's good luck charm and she's always fun to watch. All in all, I was moved and annoyed at the same time.

Ennio Fantastichini, a wonderful Italian stage actor, weeps as he watches Meryl Streep in , I believe, "Out of Africa" He also establishes he is not gay but a fagot..."Isn't that the same thing?" "Yes, but I'm old fashioned" is his replay. I wish the tone had been like that, a bit more Almodovaresque. There is a need to be deep in Oztepek's world and that makes everything seem banal. Even death. Well I don't want to be too harsh. The Turkish filmmaker is one of the best Italian directors around but his universe seems to be tiny, tiny, tiny. He has a wonderful eye for beautiful men - Luca Argentero, a veteran from the the reality show "Big Brother" is scrumptious and Pier Francesco Favino is, without question, one of the best actors we've got. But, what was the film about? Friendship? Love? Death? Ping Pong? I couldn't tell and that's why I couldn't get into it. It seemed like a random trip without destination. Maybe that's it, maybe its about the aimless wondering of us humans during our brief stint on this earth. Wow! Around tables talking - with Sierra Yilmaz as a constant comic relief and a couple of wonderful moments. I wish the daringness that is, quite clearly, within Oztepek's range, could go all the way and tell us, in no uncertain terms, what its all about. He has the talent, the vision and the sensibility. Now he needs a story and a full proof script. Maybe next time.