User Reviews

I walked out of the cinema in which "Tre metri sopra il cielo" had just been shown with mixed feelings. At an immediate level, I was pleased to have seen a nice teenager flick, well acted by promising young people, a captivating story, and so on. But when I discussed the film later with my friend, I found myself to be somewhat angered. Like they had made a fool out of myself.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS: 3MSC is about the world of teenagers in Rome, and the juxtaposition of two worlds: Babi's (a good student, a perfect daughter, a virgin dreaming of a Blue Prince) and Step's (a violent boy, doing anything of his life except earning some illegal money at clandestine motorcycle races, even if he is the son of a rich man). Despite all their differences, the two young people end up falling in love (of course). And of course all their differences will bring Heaven and Hell, moments of joy but lots of troubles in their relationship. Fine. Nothing very original, but it's soooo difficult do produce original flicks nowadays! What worries me a bit (and the reason of my little anger) is "what lies beneath", the thesis of the film: it is obvious that you are supposed to sympathise with Step. Babi's world is fake, full of formal habits that make the lives of this upper-class family empty. Step's life, on the contrary, is the adventure, the excitement, the way to experience the new. This is the film's thesis. But this, even with my 20 years of age and my being a sinistrorse, I can't accept. Nothing could ever convince me that I have to stay on the side of someone who always solves the troubles he faces by beating everyone; who steals; who thinks that the better way to obtain something is to shout louder than the other people around him. No, I won't accept it even if this someone is twenty, has green eyes, a fine smile (when nobody has beaten him in return) and a handsome physical appearance. No, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry because a lot of 14-year-old girls will see this film and walk out of the cinema with an innocent smile on their faces thinking "THIS is the guy I WANT TO MEET in my life". And at this delicate age, this is quite dangerous. That's why I was angered.

I don't want, saying this, to destroy totally this film. As I said, at an immediate level you can actually enjoy a story not very original, but finely shot,&acted by two young actors (Riccardo Scamarcio and Katy Louise Saunders) we'll see often in the future. The important thing, if you are a 12-to-19 person, is not to get badly influenced by what I told before. An average flick? Sure. But a "Film of Cultural Interest" (as they say at the beginning of the film)? A "Cult"? (as on the first page of the book on which the film is based)? Please. Italian cinema nowadays offers far better.

From what I've read of the other reviews this film does not live up to the expectations of the book. May I recommend another film (Spanish, not Italian) under a similar title. Tres metros s o b r e el c i e l o/ Three steps above the sky/ Three meters above the sky. The love story is beautifully portrayed with very real and believable characters. It's definitely worth the watch. Plus, the lead couple are incredibly cute. The main characters are not simply characters who come from a privileged life or a sketchy background. They are more complicated than that which allows viewers to able to relate to them on various levels. There is more to their stories and their true colors are slowly shown throughout the film, just enough to play the emotions of the viewer and to make the viewers empathize with the characters. The film gives you a little bit of everything you look for in a good romance film: laughter, love, life, danger, action, thrill, and a poignant ending. An ending which makes you look back on your own life and wonder if you've found or will ever find the kind of love that too will take you Tres metros s o b r e el c i e l o.

(It was necessary to type the Spanish words for "above/steps" and "sky" with spaces in between in order to submit this review as the system does not recognize them.)

This story about the love between a good, correct girl and a charming, troubled bad boy is beautifully told in the book, but the main aspects of it are blurred or straightly changed in the film, turning it into a shallow, nonsense, boring teenage romantic film. First, the film fails to state the huge abyss that separates Babi and Step. In the book, Babi didn't like Step and his lifestyle, she finds him violent and rude (in the film she actually says she had a great time riding on the back of the motorcycle, which is ridiculous, because it's dangerous and she's just not that type of girl). Despite her objections, Babi falls for Step because she is attracted to him and the freedom and fun with which he faces the world. In the film, Step is presented as a bitter teenager who's constantly angry and doesn't talk much. The 'true' Step is quite the opposite. He is charming, happy and manages perfectly to turn all questionings to his attitude towards the one who is judging him. He is secure, irresponsible and, together with his friend Pollo, feels like he owns the world. They are not stopped by fear, manners, social and legal rules in the way of enjoying themselves and life. In this, the plot manages to engage the reader/viewer in wanting to feel as free as they do, but at the same time to question the illegality of their actions and recklessness towards other people. Just as Babi does. But she surrenders to what she feels for him, despite this. This fact on its own is crucial. It tells about inner conflicts, the judgment call we all have to make about what we can and cannot accept, and how so many times our feelings are not something we can control, whatever our mind says. Step is not only charming but actually shows to be sensitive enough to wait for Babi until she is ready to make love with him. She doesn't feel ready, but he is so tender and caring, doesn't push beyond what she lets him and creates a perfect atmosphere for their first time, just as she had asked (again, this is totally twisted in the film, where Babi is eager to have sex with him, apparently only because he is so hot (since Step is not charming in the film, just violent). This troubled, intense love story ends (in the book) with Babi leaving Step, as she realizes that he is not going to change his violent self. Also, once the initial wave of maddening love is passed, the fact that both hate each other's world becomes too evident. Step is left heartbroken, because he is left with all his wounds exposed, those he had managed so well to hide. The fight with his mother, his loneliness, the origin for all that anger and violence. The end is truly heartbreaking, because he is left alone, with Babi gone and Pollo dead. But at the same time it makes total sense, it couldn't have been any different. He is left to face his issues, deal with them and perhaps make a better man out of himself, more considerate, less violent, more responsible. All this in the book of course. As said, the main facts about the personality and relationship of and between the characters have been totally changed in the film, so one could actually say that the book and film are not the same story, even though they bare the same name. It makes one wonder why people bother to make a film based on the book if they are going to change everything. Such changes are usually based on attracting the wider audiences, but if the book was so successful is for a reason, and they should have realized that. So, out of a great book that managed to engage a whole generation capturing the essence of adolescence and the first love, they made a shallow, not convincing film, with some lousy acting too. In summary, don't bother with the film, read the book.