JCR-4

Veronica is a teenage girl that has done something to upset the local "Camorra" mafia. Mimmo, a teenage boy who sells ices (slush) on the streets, has been given the task to watch over her until the local boss of the area, Bernado, has time to come along and take care of the problem. Mimmo is unwilling, but compelled to cooperate in his task, while Veronica is flippant and understandably not co-operative. The scene is some deserted warehouse near Naples where the two develop a bond and mutual respect for each other's undesirable position despite the circumstances, both being caught up in the wrongdoings of daily mafia life. The film progresses at a gentle pace, and both characters are likable and inevitably they come to an understanding. Despite the slow pace, for me the film works on several levels. It successfully conveys that feeling of dread, evil, ignorance and misogyny that exists in the all-pervasive Italian mafia life, that feeling of helplessness, of having to accept that this is how things are, without reason but just because it is – the total abuse of power. Great acting from the two protagonists who apparently are debutants on the silver screen, and also by the mafia thugs who remind me of the occasional unsavory types I have come across while living in this great, but severely flawed country, that is Italy.

It's a mixed bag, but as a fan of LOTR this film was a bit of a disappointment for me. There were some well-scripted scenes and welcomed additions to the book, and some good acting, but my main gripe with this film is that the action scenes have become ridiculous and I'm surprised that Peter Jackson succumbed to this industry trend where the main characters survive impossible 1 in a million situations. Worse is the fact that many of the invented scenes were of this nature, extending the film to well over 2 hours and requiring 3 visits. Is it really possible to fall hundreds of feet and survive without a scratch? Or survive huge boulders being thrown all around you while you stand on a moving mountain? Fantasy this may be, but I'd call it ridiculous. Peter Jackson, and other movie makers, should perhaps look to The Game of Thrones for more realistic action and fight scenes. I don't mind if a film veers from the book if it is to cut short or to make connections - but this film adds scenes to bore us to tears with unnecessary, impossible and repetitive action scenes. I won't be going to see the next installment in 1 year - I'll wait until it arrives on satellite TV, such is my disappointment.

I've seen this film several times and it has never failed to move me or hold my interest right to the end. The film starts out with Danny, a lovely guy that has just been ditched by his future wife. In coming to terms with this he meets Jo Jo, a mysterious and attractive woman that takes over his life. Danny is so overwhelmed by her that he follows her on her favourite pastime of attending weddings all over town, uninvited and somehow unnoticed. There is a surreal feel to many of the scenes with the aid of an enigmatic soundtrack. Particularly memorable is a scene where Jo Jo goes to the aid of a bridegroom having doubts and whispers to him some magical words that lift his state of confusion. There's clearly something out of the ordinary about Jo Jo and yet Danny seems too besotted with her to probe into her background. But one day Jo Jo disappears leaving Danny in a bigger muddle than ever. After being knocked-out by some louts outside a bar he is woken by Candice, and on the story goes. The film works thanks to the natural feel to the acting and the clever handling by the director of the paranormal subject matter, i.e. angels. A wonderful idealistic romance that resolves well, but tinged throughout with sadness.