No Limite das Emoções

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.

There's a strange sort of paradox at work in "Remember Me, My Love," an Italian film that seems to be operating under some bizarre inverse law of quantum physics. For while the movie itself moves at a breakneck pace, hurtling from one scene to another with near-reckless abandon, we can't help noticing that the faster it goes, the slower it seems. Perhaps, we simply wear ourselves out trying to keep up with it and it is this exhaustion factor that ultimately accounts for our restlessness and ennui.

"Remember Me, My Love" focuses on a family of four, whose members haven't been getting along too well of late. The parents, Carlo and Giulia, are both trying to find ways to cope with a bad case of middle aged crisis: he, by rekindling a romance with a beautiful former flame, and she, by pursuing the career in acting she abandoned when she became a wife and mother. Their children, Valentina and Paolo, are typical adolescents, all caught up in rebellion, identity crises and complicated affairs of the heart.

Although the film attempts to provide some insight into the complexities of modern family life, the characters come across as so whiny and self-indulgent that any sympathy they might have engendered on the part of the audience quickly turns to indifference and even irritation. The actors do their best (particularly Laura Morante as Giulia), but the characters they are called on to play never engage us much beyond the surface level. This lack of depth is further compounded by the whirlwind nature of the storytelling, which rarely allows the actors the time they need to settle down and work out the subtle nuances of their roles.

In all fairness, I must admit that, in the second hour, the film improves considerably, trafficking in some genuinely raw emotions that exemplify the devastating effects that a disintegrating marriage can have on all members of a family. Moreover, the film ends on a courageously inconclusive note, which goes a long way towards mitigating some of the theatricality and artificiality that permeate the rest of the movie.

Taken as a whole, "Remember Me, My Love" turns out to be much less than the sum of its parts, but the performances and a few good scenes do make it palatable.

"Remember my Name", directed by Gabriele Muccino, kept reminding this viewer about his previous film, "The Last Kiss", because in both, the main characters at the center of each story are named Carlo and Giulia. Could this 2003 has anything to do with the other one? Or was it just a coincidence? We don't get any actual fact to tie both movies together, but in a way, the two movies deal with an inner crisis that the two Carlos must face and come to terms with.

This new film has a frenetic pace in the first hour. It seems as though Giulia and Carlo's relationship is strained, despite the somehow normal family life they lead. This is a film that asks a lot from its viewers, as they try to keep pace with the quick tempo Mr. Muccino gives the picture.

It's clear to see that things aren't exactly the best between husband and wife. Carlo is at a point in his life where he can't deal with a job he doesn't care about and Giulia wants to go back to an acting career that didn't materialize when she married Carlo. Valentina, the young daughter, wants to pursue a career in television where beauty and a fast friends view her as a desired commodity. Paolo, the son, is an uncool youth who wants to belong in a world he is not cut out for.

When the gorgeous Alissia enters the picture, Carlo can't resist seeing her again; they have been lovers before, but have lost track of each other in the succeeding years. Their relationship has a negative effect on both households, as Alissia is by now married, and Carlo loses his head when he decides to quit his job and renew his relationship with Alissia. When Carlo suffers a freak accident that sends him to the hospital for a long time, Giulia and the children rally to support him. In fact, this should be something to change Carlo's attitude in forgetting Alissia, but is it? We realize the accident and his gratitude to his wife and kids will be questioned again when we see him in the final moments of the film in the supermarket where he sees Alissia with her two young children as they make last minute Christmas preparations.

Fabrizio Bentivoglio makes us care for the complex Carlo, a man whose passion has been dormant for a long time. Laura Morante, plays Giulia, the woman who has to make choices and wants to keep everyone together. Monica Belucci is seen as Alissia, the one that never stopped loving Carlo.

The movie has a great look thanks to the camera work of Marcello Montarsi. The music by Paolo Buonvino is also an asset in the film. Gabriele Muccino, with this new movie proves to be an important voice in the Italian cinema today and we await for his new film with interest.

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.

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.