User Reviews

Spoiler Alert I was unlucky enough to see this awful movie at its presentation in Venice Festival last week. Experts may be put off by various technical aspects of the movie, how the actors played, photography, etc. I took offence at the incredible screenplay. Two examples of what I consider an absolutely outrageous way to treat audiences' intelligence:

1. Emma (Barbora Bobulova) is a surgeon. She is reviewing some images of an operation just finished in the middle of the night (do you know of any planned surgery to take place in the night?) during which she had to take over and finish what the lead surgeon, Leonardo (Stefano Dionisi), having had a nervous breakdown episode in the operating room, could not. Leonardo appears in the dim lit room and forces himself onto her, in a clear attempt of a rape. She fights back, hits him where it hurts most (HURRAY!). He falls on the ground, semi-unconscious (double hurray!). She freezes. Without even re-arranging her dress and underwear, leans towards him and utters: "I am sorry, did I hurt you?" Unfortunately, she means it, literally, and falls into his arms for a passionate encounter. WHAT?!? For a slightly more credible outcome of a situation like this one, I would have expected anything between a call for help or a stabbing of the bastard, Tosca-style. Not this pitifully unbelievable comedy.

2. Matteo (Stefano Accorsi) is a specialist in emergencies. He works on ambulances (I may be wrong, but, at least in Italy, there normally are no doctors on ambulances.... but let us not digress...) On the same night of the scene above, Elena (Violante Placido), a volunteer trainee, is on his ambulance. The long night is over. They drop off the driver (?!?!?). Accorsi takes the wheel. Here comes the twist of the movie: a feat flying in the face of all possible chances of destiny. While they are driving on one of Rome's numerous bridges, they come across a driver coming from the opposite side who is, obviously, losing control of his car. Accorsi steers straight into the side of the bridge and off the bridge and into the Tevere (which, in this sequence seems as deep as the giant reef fault...). Incredible? Wait and hear who was the other driver... The same Leonardo who was not following his lane because he was receiving a call back from Emma after their idyllic encounter, none less. How is anyone possibly expected to find this even remotely admissible? Probably a question for Messers Contarello and Piccolo who authored this masterpiece of Screenplay.

My final thought goes to the performance of Stefano Accorsi, an actor whom I have come to greatly appreciate in all his previous works. In this film one needs to wait until the last scene in which he appears in a full frontal nude to realize his attributes. Unfortunately, not the artistic ones.

Will a departed husband keep on caring for his wife and child, long after he is gone? That seems to be the question asked by this Italian film which we saw recently. Directed by Michele Placido, himself an actor, we are presented with a drama that takes a sort of magical twist that serves as perhaps a disorienting factor for viewers. The film has been compared with "City of Angels" the 1998 American movie with a theme that deals with a similar subject.

Matteo, a doctor at a large Rome hospital, volunteers his time in his off duty hours to help the paramedics that ride the city streets to help people facing life threatening situations. He is supposedly happily married to Emma, a neurosurgeon, who works in the same hospital. They enjoy a good living; they are obviously leading a happy life. But are they really?

We have indications the relationship between Matteo and Emma has seen better times. Emma, after a difficult operation, is visited by her colleague, Leonardo, whose intervention during the procedure almost ruined what the team was trying to do. Leonardo clearly shows he is in love with Emma. He forces himself into having sex with her, despite her protests, making her feel terrible for what she has done.

Matteo, who also instructs students about emergency procedures, is clearly taken with Elena, the young woman that volunteers to go with him during one of his night tour at the ambulance. As they respond a call, going over one of the bridges over the Tiber, the vehicle almost collide with a car, which is driven by Leonardo. In order to avoid the impact, the ambulance plunges into the waters where Elena tries to save them.

The rest of the story shows how Matteo and Elena get out from the water, staying away from contacting their families. The tragedy weighs heavily on Emma, who feels guilty about the sex she had with Leonardo, probably at the same time he was going under. The search for their bodies fail to locate the bodies, but Matteo's presence is felt in his apartment as he tries to find closure with his loved ones, especially little Ada, his beloved child, while at the same time, being constantly with Elena has another unexpected meaning.

Michele Placido contributed to the screenplay with Umberto Contarello, Francesco Piccolo and Domenico Stamone. The film, shot mostly at night, takes an eerie feeling as it shows a Rome where most of us do not see. The cinematography by Luca Bigazi works well with the narrative as it gives an aura of nostalgia as well as darkness. Mr. Placido, an actor himself, gets good all around performances from his cast. Stefano Accorsi is splendid as Matteo, showing his state of mind as he examines his life. Barbora Bobulova does justice to Emma, a woman in turmoil with the developments ahead. Violante Placido, daughter of the director is fine with her Elena, bringing her beauty and freshness to her role. Finally Stefano Dionisi plays Leonardo with assurance.