User Reviews

On 22 October 2023, after the opening of the Rome Film Festival on 1 November 2023, Ferzan Özpetek's film was released on Netflix.

He wrote the script together with his old friend Gianni Romoli.

The release date of the film was not chosen randomly. The story of the film begins 30 years ago on 1 November.

Özpetek's films are divided into two categories.

A) films with a Turkish crew in whole or in part b) Films with an all-Italian crew.

This film is in the second section.

Ferzan is an incredibly good director and storyteller...

He painted a magnificent 70s Italy and both the background and jukebox music represent both the period and the spirit of the film well.

In 2023, I hope Netflix Italy will continue to surprise us with the second Ferzan Ozpetek film.

The film highlights an interesting point with its scenario that focuses on two men who meet and fall in love in 1970s Rome and spend the next 30 years looking for each other.

It is an interesting detail that the entire world lives in the same feelings between the 1940s and the eighties...

They dressed similarly, watched similar films, fell in love with similar songs and experienced similar political movements.

Sociologists should study this.

In this context, Italy, especially in the background of the first half of the film, will not be foreign to many people.

It's an exploration of an undying love and deep longing.

Something that 'the heart never forgets', come what may. One can do everything to throw roadblocks in one's own way, or detour to distractions, or run away, but the heart is relentless in what it desires.

Good performances from everyone, very believable characters - one could feel the deep ache throughout the movie. But the ending was a bit of a letdown. One would have thought that the sheer force of their feelings would get them to merge, but they inexplicably sabotage themselves again. Though there is an opening left for possible future interaction, the movie actually cuts to an alternate possibility, in the past, when things could have been pleasantly different for them. I wish they had fought for love.

It's based on a true story, so I guess they didn't take liberties.

Gorgeous cinematography. A fabulous soundtrack. Beautiful actors. And some enjoyably full-bodied performances. But for all that Nuovo Olimpo never quite achieves the heights of romantic melodrama to which it aspires. That's partly because the plot is just too silly, even for a Douglas Sirk-style tear-jerker. But also partly because so much of it is just too glossy, too idealised, too calculated for effect. It also doesn't help that the characters have little to no depth. As much as I wanted to surrender to the romance and nostalgia, the clunky artiface of it all constantly gets in the way of any suspension of disbelief. But it's nice to look at, and its worth sticking around for the unintentional comedy provided by a couple of plot twists that you'd only otherwise find in a daytime soap.

So many reasons to like it , from main actors work ( Luisa Ranieri offers a gorgeous portrait of Titti ) to the 70 decade atmosphere, to the humor and, especialy admirable elegance are good reasons to see it. Again.

Because it is one of films using as efficient kick for return across personal memories about encounters and old stories who, after decades, are more fresh or present than in moments when they are real facts.

But the real good point is the wisedom to not propose a manifesto, a lesson or a moral. Only a story about intense love of youth , an accident changing everything, the profession as way of succes .

Sure, the physical beauty of Andrea di Luigi and Damiano Gavino is a not insignificant virtue, but the gift for viewer remains the clever manner to craft a story using smart the cliches of a remarkable director.

The gay crust is just splendid used for a clear- tender- nostalgic state of heart .

So, not bad idea to see it.

I started off really enjoying this movie, and there was a lot of suspense for me. But, about half way through I realized that no matter how this movie ends, its not going to be a happy situation. Then it kinda felt like a waste of time. I think it might have done better as kind of like a "Sliding Doors" situation where you see what happens after they get torn apart, and what would have happened if they had made their date. I might have enjoyed it more. If I were going to compare this to another film it would be Brokeback Mountain. There are a lot of similarities in that two men meet, fall in love, then go on to lead separate lives. Nuovo Olimpo however, they dont meet up in the summers, its more of a "will they ever find each other again? And if they do what will happen?"

The acting and the directing was fine ane there were some clever devices used as well as creative dialogue that made me think "Huh! Well thats clever!"

Also the leads are both very easy on the eyes, and there are a couple of very steamy scenes.

Overall its a well made movie and even though I had some issues with the plot, its nice to see a quality movie with gay leads. They are few any far between.

The story is so good. Two main actors are amazing. Screenplay, music...are harmony with this film.

Love declined in all its forms, facets, and contradictions.

It is said that the only loves destined to last forever are the impossible ones. You can believe it. You may think differently.

One thing, however, is certain, impossible loves, or rather, those that do not have the opportunity to be lived to the full, are the ones we remember forever.

And the love told by Nuovo Olimpo is part of this category.

Nuovo Olimpo is a film capable of reaching the hearts not only of cinema enthusiasts or Ozpetek fans but of all those who have loved in their lives.

Nuovo Olimpo is pure romance and having, even if only for a couple of hours, this feeling of amazement, passion, disappointment, melancholy, and nostalgia is a true wonder.

In 1978, the Istanbul-born director Ferzan ÖZPETEK came to Rome. And that's exactly when his semi-autobiographical film, which he directed for the global streaming platform NETFLIX, takes place.

At the end of the 1970s, Rome and its CINECITTA were the center of the European film industry. Filmmaking is becoming a little more difficult (especially due to the increasing popularity of television in Italy), but CINECITTA can still draw on the triumphs of the past. Classics like IL GIARDINO DEI FINZI-CONTINI show the resolute Titti (great: Luisa RANIERI) in her arthouse cinema NUOVO OLIMPO in the north-east of Rome. The cinema is particularly popular as a meeting place for homosexual men who use the toilet for extensive cruising. The film student Enea (Damiano GAVINO) and the medical student Pietro (Andrea Di LUIGI) also get to know and love each other. The beginning of a great love! But times in Rome back then were extremely complicated for various reasons, as we know from numerous genre films from ItaloCinema. Due to a particularly stupid coincidence, the two young men lose sight of each other. It wasn't until many years later that they met again under dramatic circumstances. The ophthalmologist Pietro is now married to the beautiful Giulia (Greta SCARANO), and the celebrated film director Enea is in a relationship with the robust Antonio (Alvise RIGO)...

Beautiful images from Rome (filmed primarily in the Monte Sacro district on the eastern bank of the Tiber), a romantic love story between two men and a wonderfully nostalgic look at the Italian film world! Despite minor weaknesses in the script, Ferzan ÖZPETEK has managed to create a fairytale-like look back at a bygone era.

Is not easy to find a good movie about this. And Nuovo Olimpo is a good one: elegant, touching and beautiful film about love, passion or memories of times already gone, but remain always with you doesn't matter how many years pass.

This movie is a full package: good casting, directing, acting, photography, music , story line, the end and that 70's Italian atmosphere results in a surprinly good film that I wasn't expecting and that feeling is so good, when you have zero expectations and you find something like this. Probably Nuovo Olimpo will make you cry and feel emotional; and it is good , the movie works and touch you.

Old friends long separated are said to have a deeply rooted connection to one another that allows them to pick up where they left off no matter how long they've been apart. The same is arguably true for those who were once romantically linked but have been on their own for some time. And that heartwarming sentiment comes to life loud and clear in this touching but bittersweet new Italian love story about two young men (Andrea Di Luigi, Damiano Gavino) who meet in passing and briefly fall madly for one another, only to be separated by unforeseen circumstances not long thereafter. With no way to contact one another, they thus lose touch and go their separate ways, but their unspoken mutual passion never dissipates, as becomes apparent over the next 30 years until another chance encounter unexpectedly reunites them. But what are they to do then - pursue their hearts' desire or remain committed to the new lives they've created for themselves? Those surrogate existences don't possess the same passion as what they've held in their hearts for each other for so long, but can they realistically walk away from what they've built? In many ways, writer-director Ferzan Özpetek's latest has a robust streak of romantic universality running through it, one whose essence extends beyond the scope of the LGBTQ+ community and effectively embodies the overarching notion that love is love, no matter what one's sexual orientation might be. It's also intriguing to note that the picture's various segments poignantly echo elements of Italian culture and cinema that were in vogue during each of the time frames in which those sequences are set, capturing the look and feel of the periods ranging from the late 1970s to the present day. What's more, the lives of the lovelorn partners are nicely supplemented by an array of colorful supporting players, giving the narrative a degree of depth and diversity that doesn't place the story's entire emphasis on the protagonists' pining away for one another. In all, this is an ideal date night movie that lovers who are truly in love will be able to appreciate and enjoy. Sensitive viewers should be forewarned that there are a few explicit sexual sequences in this offering, but, given that this is a Netflix streaming release, that likely shouldn't pose a problem for those watching in the comfort of their own homes (or bedrooms). Time and space may separate us, but they can't take away what's in our hearts, as "Nuovo Olimpo" so eloquently shows.

For anyone who is intrigued by the film's title, it is a cinema that shows retro films and is frequented by bisexual and homosexual men for sexual pleasure, and they also see quality films like Pasolini's ' Mamma Roma ' if they want to. The film takes place in Rome, and starting with the 1970's moves forward to our current decade. What links the time span is the enduring love of two men, both bisexual but tending more towards same sex attraction. At a certain point an accident makes them lose each other, and over time they find other partners, one of them female the other male. If you maybe thinking this is kind of like Ira Sach's ' Passages ' it is in my opinion a million miles away from it. Incidentally both films coming out in this troubled year of 2023. Also in my opinion I think this a great film that will last the test of time, and now I should add why. Andrea Di Luigi is perfect as the student doctor, shy at first and Damiano Gavino as a budding film director who is more forceful in his initial approach are perfect in their roles. The sexuality is as truthfully honest as can be and the actors do not shy away from what we so discreetly call their ' private ' parts and bravo to them for doing so. Rare in a mainstream film, and it is all natural and not crying out for publicity. Luisa Ranieri who is the cashier in the cinema moves with us in time, and she gives a powerful performance equal to the men, and in one no spoilers scene moved me to tears with her honesty and moving depiction of what we call unconditional love. No spoilers as to the ending, slightly spoiled by a scene back in the 1970's. The real ending for me which preceded it reminded me of the empty physical place at the end of Antonioni's ' L'Eclisse ' and needed no follow up scene that almost bordered on sentimentality. Ferzan Ozpetek is one of the finest directors we have and I repeat this is a truly great film, and does not beg for attention. In not doing so I hope he gets it and some awards.

Damiano Gavino and Andrea de Luigi are the two splendid protagonists of this wonderful retro-modern melodrama.

I was partially familiar with the Turkish/Italian director Ferzan Ozpeteck. Years ago I saw his Le Fate Ignoranti - titled in the USA with the unimaginative His Secret Life - I remember loving it. His Nuovo Olimpo belongs to the same universe but miles apart. I saw the film last night and I keep thinking about that ending. Did I see what I think I saw? I was completely taken be the gazes of the two actors. I believed it, totally, but I'll see it again, soon. A surprise and a delight. Thank you.

In an era of films with no emotion or passion, just robotic sequels full of CGI, this was a true surprise. And on Netlix, no less, not exactly a streamer platform known for quality recently. It has a touching story, excellent acting, good direction, and a beautiful setting in Roma. Its mood is poignant, exploring a great love affair of missed opportunities, and the passion for love is emblematic of life itself, full of twists and turns, moments of being (to use Virginia Woolf's phrase), nostalgia, and yes regret. The time and space of the film is handled very elegantly. This is by far the Best Romantic Film of 2023, plus one of the most moving films of the year as well. And the fact that this great romance is between two men can finally, after decades, be considered the most normal part of the story.

Gorgeous Rome makes the perfect setting for this story of romance, lost love, nostalgia, melancholy and the "what ifs" of life. I absolutely loved this quiet, understated, touching film. Two beautiful men meet, in a way that gay and bi men often used to have to meet, and they experience a brief, passionate romance that stays with them all of their lives.

Excellent acting, cinematography and direction is enhanced with some beautiful lines of dialogue. Most people, as they get older, can probably relate to the feeling you get when you remember that love that somehow got away but stays in your heart and your memory forever.

Based on true story.

I did not believe that I would like it. But from the first minutes it took me immediately to another time.

Really good made cinematography and story telling.

The love story that I was waiting to see and the end that maybe wanted to be like this or not.

No matter what, this movie have to be on top rates and seen from many people.

Different to be is not bad.

Is the one point of the movie.

And the secret life is the second point.

No boring moment, great music with great actors.

The Make-up for 50-60 years old was to much but it's ok.

Well done to all of you :)))))))))

This is more of a reaction than a review. I don't know how I've came across this film but not a bit of regret for watching it. It's a beautiful and well performed film. It's like being with the characters, or at least you can relate with what they are feeling.

There was suspense and excitement, but mostly, hope and love. It showed how the test of time consumes us as we get and move on with our lives, how we get ourselves confined within the walls we created unintentionally.

The story spanned for decades and I was impressed by how it was depicted. Although it was a long period, the delivery of the story didn't feel like you've been dragged. You see the characters and you just know that years have passed.

There was one particular scene where I found myself crying along with the character. I just so feel the emotional turmoil. The other characters were also well portrayed, understanding what they were going through as well, thinking what would I have done if I were in their shoes.

Personally, I didn't like the ending. But that was the story. I was emotionally overwhelmed that I had to write this reaction as an outlet. I hope you'll like the movie too.

There are few words that can describe the feelings that this movie triggered. Love, passion, joy, happiness, and then sadness, disappointment, devastation, loneliness. All at once and all in such a versatile way that it makes you wonder what your next emotion will be.

The plot is magnificently put in place to create all these feelings to the viewer, who is silently being engaged in a story that starts as a simple unintended romance to end in a complicated sequence of dramatic events.

Aside from the excellent cast, the movie's music is exceptional, as it powerfully invades the most important scenes and dresses the atmosphere with charm and beauty.

This is a true masterpiece.

In my opinion, this is Ozpetek's weakest film. It looks like he wanted to imitate Almodovar, but this is a very weak fake. One of the advantages is a good idea, a wonderful script and beautiful camerawork. Everything else is full of flaws: completely incompetent, empty dialogues, as if the characters have nothing to talk about with each other at all (including in the finale, when they go to meet each other for no reason), there are a lot of frankly drawn-out scenes when everything is clear from the first minute, and the scene lasts for minutes 10. Very weak acting work by Damiano Gavino (Enea) against the background of better work by Andrea Di Luigi (Pietro). There are a lot of scenes with nudity, it is completely unclear why - they cause nothing but awkwardness and are essentially "antierotic", devoid of any poetry and real love passion. The main prize in the film (and 10 points) I would award a cameo role to Titti, beautifully played by Luisa Ranieri. In general, a very strange, almost helpless director's work, more a soap opera than a real drama.

The Nuovo Olimpia is the type of cinema that existed in many cities of the world in the seventies where gay or bi men cruise. I've been to similar in London, Cairo, Bochum and Paris. It's an institution that no longer seems to exist in the West now things are "liberated".

In Rome, Enea and Pietro hook up in the cinema, fall in love and lose each other. The storyline on IMDb tells the outline of the plot. They never forget each other and think about meeting again for the next thirty years. If only they had swapped more than first names!

Life carried on until an accident brought them back together again. But both men had obligations now. I choked up when Antonio said about Enea that he was his life.

Added poignancy was supplied by cashier Titti whom Luisa Ranieri played to perfection.

Yes, there were a couple of coincidences that didn't ring true, but it's a film! The overall direction, acting and writing rendered them unimportant.

The ending was a corker, the final shot of Pietro walking home and then the camera slowly turning in a half circle into the other direction and taking us back in time by its motion to what could have been.

I'd been apprehensive about the length of the film at an hour and fifty minutes but the time flew by as I was sucked into the story. This is a definite recommend.

That was a movie worth watching. The cinematography, the script and more importantly the acting is amazing. There are so many things one can say about it. The fact that you still think about it days after you watched it, the sadness that creeps under your skin for days, the harsh reality that this is a story most of us have experienced, the aesthetic of the landscape, the words that are not being spoken but can be heard though the eyes etc. I may never forget this beautiful story. Because it is so beautiful and true and sexy and heartbreaking. Enea, Pietro and Titti will always stay in my heart. Andrea Di Luigi and Damiano Gavino, this is your masterpiece.