Allacciate le cinture

one of exercises of exploration of large territories of life. love, choices, sickness, Meridional family, marriage, perspective of death, friendship. like many films with same intentions, it is only a kind of essay. different by others films, it has a solid pillar who gives to it few nuances of seduction - the performance of Paola Minaccioni. far to be disappointed , it has the only sin to use same message, same tools, same lesson in same manner of a lot of others films about contemporary crisis. sure, the humor, the small crumbs of poetry are nice. but, in few cases, forced. or fakes. a film who propose questions. who gives perspectives. but who remains a beautiful sketch.

Inspired by the Beauty and the Beast myth, Ferzan Özpetek's latest film has bourgeois would-be café owner Elena (Kasia Smutniak) falling in love with mechanic Antonio (Francesco Arca). Initially it seems that they are totally incompatible, but animal attraction draws them together. After a whirlwind courtship, they marry and have two children. Later on in life Elena contracts breast cancer; Antonio finds it hard to deal with the news, leaving Elena's best friend Fabio (Filippo Schiccitano) to step into the breach. In hospital Elena strikes up a relationship with fellow-victim Egle (Paola Minaccioni), but this is brought to a cruel end with Egle's death. Meanwhile Antonio learns how to cope with his wife's illness, and the two look forward to a certain amount of happiness. Özpetek builds the narrative around a circular structure, beginning and ending with Elena and Antonio's courtship, with the cancer plot in the center. This enables viewers to focus on the ways in which pore-marital dreams are realized or not, as the case may be. Through the use of slow tracking shots and zooms into close-ups of the main protagonists, he invites us to reflect on the characters' emotions, expressed nonverbally as well as verbally. Although this is a clever technique, it seems rather out of place in a slight narrative which basically reinforces the message that love conquers all. There are also some unfortunate implausibilities of plot that jar somewhat: it is highly unlikely that Elena would resume work so soon after having had chemotherapy; and she would certainly not entertain the idea of making love to her husband immediately after having been given another dose of the same therapy. While the film contains at least one stand-out performance by Minaccioni as Egle, as she tries the best to put a brave face on life, despite her illness, it is ultimately very disappointing.

I love that Film. Great Story. Amazing film. Ferzan Ozpetek is the Best FilmMaker.

In the middle of the film, they ask Elena how she feels and she says "confused". It is the director, who is confused indeed. What was the point of the film? Opposites attract? There was no chemistry between the lead characters, even when they were nude. Acting was terrible except for Elena, who tries to shoulder the entire film. Unfortunately, the film does not work as a drama and neither as a comedy. I lose respect for films, in which directors try to talk through the characters. Actually, there is nothing in this film that will require the audience to fasten their seat-belts.

One may like or not Ozpetek's movies, but what is undeniable is that peculiar delicate touch which makes his movies like paintings only sketched and never accomplished, because accomplishment is not what really matters. This does mean his movies are ethereal or lack sense or reality: on the contrary, they are imbued with reality, often with dramatic reality, and "Allacciate le cinture" is a fine example, but what remains is not the sense of drama, but the delicacy of sentiments. In this picture you will not find an original plot, but I have never seen the theme of cancer treated with such strong sense of reality and at the same time with such delicacy and even fun, focusing on a choral world of fear, love, rage, tenderness, amusement… Shooting is always very carefully devised as to close up to the characters' eyes, without the need of too many words, and everything is wrapped around a bright light, enveloping characters and situations in a comforting hug. The cast is also wisely chosen, I was positively surprised by Kasia Smutniak, who leaves the mark, beyond her disarming beauty. And then there's a whole world of recurring characters in his movies, but who touches for intensity and bravura is Paola Minaccioni, who made me laugh and cry so much… I have read negative reviews concerning a melodramatic attitude of the picture: I think melodrama is exactly what Ozpetek avoids, and successfully.