Caos calmo

Oh, what a pleasant surprise: finally an intelligent Italian movie won the box-office battle. Yes, many people went to see the movie because of the notorious sex scene between Nanni Moretti and Isabella Ferrari, branded as obscene by the Vatican, but I hope they understood that behind the four hot minutes there was a movie, a true, heartfelt movie. The screenplay simplified many aspects of the novel, however they did a wonderful job: I prefer the movie to the book, for once, also because I just couldn't get on with the book. The Berlin Film Festival didn't appreciate "Quiet Chaos"; I'm not a professional critic, but I can assure "Quiet Chaos" is a movie full of sensibility, sweetness and depth, and it doesn't tell the usual, banal and cloying story. Nanni Moretti isn't wooden at all; Alessandro Gassman and Isabella Ferrari prove they can act; Alba Rohrwacher, Silvio Orlando and Valeria Golino are great actors and never disappoint; but the most sparkling star is the young Blu Yoshimi, with her impressive eyes and smile and her natural talent. I hope she'll have a bright future. The soundtrack comments the images beautifully; now I'm desperately seeking "Cigarettes and chocolate milk", by Rufus Wainwright, a magnificent song that must be part of my play list.

Title of the movie that is. There's always bad things happening to people and I'm pretty sure, that you as a reader have experienced grief and loss in your life. Some talk about the yin and the yang of life (let's just say that I personally do also believe in that ... believe).

The title character is portrayed wonderfully by an apparently popular Italian actor. I've seen him before, but I'm not as aware of his biography as other reviewers here. Maybe that makes me more open to his performance, I can't say that for sure. But since this is a character piece/movie it does help that the main actor is as good as he is. Of course the support cast, does help him a lot too.

Since this movie is all about feelings, it's only normal that near the end there is an "explosion" of emotion ... it's also normal, that some of the female audience members were bedazzled (in a bad way) by that particular scene. And the end is just ... normal. But then again, that's life for you (and me) ...

Chaos is part of the human condition, as is death. Combine those three aspects in a narrative that explores the grieving process of a well-to-do business man, and you have the basic plot for this film.

Each of us grieves in our own way but generally in a manner that's well-known and understood. The man of this story, Pietro Palladini (Nanni Moretti) is different, however, when his wife dies unexpectedly (in the first ten minutes): his attitude is one of apparent indifference. Moreover, his behavior takes another turn when he insists on remaining outside his daughter's school every day, all day, instead of returning to his highly paid, high-powered position as a senior executive with a company that's infighting a merger with an American outfit. When called by his office, he insists he can do his work in his car, or while sitting on a park bench opposite the school...

That sort of aberrant attitude raises questions and helped this viewer to stay with the story to peel back the layers and find out what's eating Pietro.

As the widower, Nanni Moretti gives a quietly brooding and pensive performance that has an almost di Nero quality. It's contrasted nicely with Carlo (Alessandro Gassman), Pietro's celebrity brother who is as extroverted as Pietro is the opposite – the veritable chalk and cheese. Between the two is Pietro's daughter (Blu Yoshimi) who also displays a marked lack of affect after the death of her mother. On the periphery to those three are the women who intrude upon Pietro's solitary quotidian watch over his daughter's school: Marta (Valeria Gollino), his nervously unstable sister-in-law; Eleonora (Isabella Ferrari), the woman whom he rescued from drowning in the film's opening sequence; and the stunningly ravishing Jolanda (Kasia Smutniak), the young woman who insists upon walking her dog – and herself – closer to where Pietro sits, with each passing day. As Pietro sits and watches her, his gaze tells us he's wandering into fantasy, without a doubt...

And, from time to time, some of Pietro's colleagues from the office turn up to discuss office politics and the impending merger – capped, I might add, with a cameo from Roman Polanski as Steiner, the business mogul who wants to use Pietro to help with the merger.

Except for one torrid, animalistic sex scene – simply a cry for connection between two lonely people – this is a gentle story that's beautifully photographed around Rome and Lazio, Italy. The acting, especially from Moretti and Yoshimi, is without fault, I think; and Valeria Gollino always gives pleasurable viewing. The soundtrack is adequate; the pacing is in sync with a story that is very much about self-analysis and introspection i.e. some might think too slow – but the editing and direction keep the narrative moving well.

So, enjoy the views, the music, the shaded park, and the transient visitors as Pietro comes to terms with his loss. Highly recommended.

Two middle-aged brothers - Pietro (Nanni Moretti) and Carlo (Alessandro Gassman) - play ball on the beach when suddenly two women yell for help while in the ocean. The brothers risk their lives to save the two women, only to find that the women don't even thank them. When the Paladini brothers drive back to Pietro's home, they discover that in their absence Pietro's wife has fallen and died. Pietro's 10-year-old daughter Claudia (Blu Yoshimi) is distraught and asks her father why he was not at home to save his wife. After a quiet funeral Pietro enters an existence of 'quiet chaos', neglecting his duties as a successful executive, choosing instead to sit on the bench across from Claudia's school, waiting each day in numbed silence for his daughter's completion of classes in order to drive her home. His only goal, despite various interruptions from passers-by and family members in incidents both humorous and distractingly serious, is to be there for Claudia, visible through her school window, to reassure her of his constant presence. How Pietro gradually figures out his grief, the world, and his place in it, discovering a new relationship with Claudia, forms the story line of this tender film.

Director Antonello Grimaldi, working with a screenplay adaptation of Sandro Veronesi's book by Veronesi and Nanni Moretti, draws extraordinary performances from his cast of premiere Italian actors. In an classroom scene Claudia's teacher is explaining the word 'palindrome' (a sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction) and shares with her pupils how some things are reversible while other things are irreversible. Grimaldi and his writers and actors demonstrate this term as it applies to human events in this thoughtful story. The film, in Italian with subtitles, appeals both to the intellect and to the emotions. It is a little treasure.

Grady Harp

Nanni Moretti (playing the role of an experienced TV executive) at some point says: "...Take care about Italian cinema? Yes, of course. It's everyone's priority!". It's not the first time that filmmakers mix art and reality and this time the result fits perfectly. "Caos calmo" has a simple but intriguing plot. Most of the movie takes place around a bench in a park but there's nothing surreal (A part probably from a spicy sex scene...) and it never looses rhythm or credibility. If you like Moretti's movies you're gonna love it but you'll be much more interested if you are wishing to see a fresh and sweet'n'sour story. Despite a mournful start (The death of a mother/wife) Grimaldi tries not to show us tears or desperation. We see a huge number of hugs instead and a large amount of children (The bench is in front of a school). We see sunny days and professionals on their break, enforcing the "human" aspect of every character. The film is never raw as it's never too soft. I think that next time Grimaldi should be allowed to push a little bit more in order to find his own mark.