Italy in a Day

I had good expectations for "Italy in a Day" because I had watched other Gabriele Salvatores movies and I liked them. Unfortunately it was a delusion. The idea of creating a collage of various amateurs' footage about their daily life was interesting and challenging but at the same time tricky. Salvatores created a predictable picture of Italy, in which its current problems are brought up as unemployment, distrust in politics, hardship of everyday life due to the economic crisis. Everything is of course sweetened by poetic sentences said by the people filming their selves, videos on new born babies and lovers kissing and hugging each other. As a result the director seems to simplify Italy's life to love and sweet moments while many different things are going on. Probably the title "Italy in a Day" was a little too assuming and it made me think it could convey an important message or give a truthful insight of Italy, while it manages only to give a superficial portrait of the country and its inhabitants.

Interesting format, fast paced, intense with pathos and beauty, a complex ode to Italy, but here Italy is everywhere. Surely, not to be judged on the likeness of a national portrait, but on the quality of the cuts and transitions. Very basic material: Waking up, cooking, eating lunch, going to bed, clouds passing, but sufficiently philosophical and fast so it never gets boring. There are a few temptations of Youtube here (animals, cats), but I can live with that. Worthwhile, not so much for what it may teach you about Italy, but for what it may show you about the love of humans for other humans. Neighborhood dances! Also great: Babies experiencing the wonder of water. No guns, either!