This ambitious film uses five actors to portray different characters in four different stories about the nature of love and fidelity. The actors have the same names in each story, but their characters are actually different.
It's an interesting concept, but not entirely successful. As with most portmanteau films the shift from one story to the next leaves each feeling somehow unresolved.
Using the same actors in different roles is confusing rather than clever. If the four stories looked at the same characters in different time periods, it might have been meaningful, but instead we get 20 different characters having love affairs that do not always add up.
Another problem is that most of the stories are meant to illustrate the writer's points about good vs bad people, trust vs deceit, fidelity vs infidelity, and justice vs injustice (as in many stories the bad prosper and the good suffer). It's a good idea, but some of the characters lack depth, especially the women characters, who fall too easily for bad guys and suffer from jealousy constantly.
The film has no other user reviews yet. I suspect that many people stopped watching before the end due to the shortage of likeable characters.
Some Italian reviewers have liked it, but somehow there are no reviews in English.
Here is my plot summary if you want to know what happens.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
A. In the first story Frederico is a heartless man who fires his normal friend Andrea, causing Andrea's girlfriend of five years Dafne to dump him and probably transfer her affections to the heartless guy. Andrea asks his father Ludovico to help (perhaps he owns the business?), but the father dies of a heart attack, and Andrea in desperation tries to shoot the heartless Frederico, but accidentally kills himself. Meanwhile Frederico pretends to fall in love with a woman Guilia in order to persuade him to sell her bookshop to him, and then he callously dumps her after he has sealed the deal, leaving her desolate.
B. In the second story Frederico and Guilia both work at a clothing store, where Ludovico is the boss. They begin a relationship, then meet Andrea who is a friend of Frederico and his fiancé Dafne for dinner. Andrea is making a movie and invites Giulia to try out for a role. Giulia comes for a photoshoot and Andrea flirts with her in front of Dafne. Frederico is also jealous when he follows Guilia and finds her having coffee with Andrea. When Ludovico promotes Guilia ahead of Frederico, he sulks. Frederico argues with Guilia about the promotion, then with Ludovico and loses his job when he is rude to Ludovico. Giulia tells Frederico that she loves him but he must trust her. To test him she goes to a bar alone and gets drunk. Staggering home, she meets Andrea who drives her home to where Frederico is playing a computer game and patiently waiting. But when Andrea gets home, Dafne is suspicious and drives off in their car leaving him alone. The story suddenly ends, unresolved.
C. In the third story, Andrea meets Dafne, who is a visiting foreigner, for a first date (maybe met on an app) and they go to a shop where Giulia works. Dafne has shoulder pain, and Giulia suggests she visit her husband (Frederico) who is a physical therapist. Frederico treats her, with a bit of flirting and bare skin on her part. Later Giulia is jealous as she doesn't trust Frederico, but she suggests they go on picnic with Andrea and Dafne. On the picnic, Dafne tells Giulia she wants to be her friend, and Giulia says she doesn't trust Frederico and wants to test him. Meanwhile Andrea and Frederico argue, Andrea saying he wants to sleep with many women, and Frederico saying he believes in fidelity. Giulia asks Dafne to test Frederico by inviting him for a drink and then back to her hotel room. Frederico passes the test and tells his wife that he believes in marital fidelity, and at last she believes him.
D. In the fourth story, Frederico is an academic and fiction writer. He runs into Andrea an old friend at one of his talks. Andrea is still a deejay, and Frederico mocks him and tells him to get a real job. But he then finds out that Andrea is popular and famous. His publisher, Ludovico, calls him, and offers him a contract to ghost-write a novel for Andrea. He writes a second-rate book out of anger and jealousy, but it sells well because Andrea is a celebrity, and somehow wins a literature prize. Andrea has dinner with a woman in a restaurant and is taken by Giulia who is a waitress. He waits for Giulia who is reluctant to go out with him, but she eventually relents and after a time moves in with him. Andrea now treats Frederico with scorn and demands an apology for Frederico's treatment when they first met. Andrea also treats Dafne, Ludovico's assistant (or daughter?) like a servant, making her serve him. Giulia senses Dafne's hostility towards her, and starts to give Dafne orders. Dafne responds by sleeping with Andrea, something he is still willing to do. When Giulia catches her with Andrea, she leaves him. As she leaves, Frederico asks Andrea for more money, since the book was a hit. Andrea mocks him some more, then strikes him on the head with a pot, knocking him into Andrea's pool and apparently killing him. Andrea acts as if nothing important has happened and takes a business call on his phone.
E. In the end Giulia wanders into the bookshop from the first story, and Frederico enters. It's a full circle.
It's an interesting concept, but not entirely successful. As with most portmanteau films the shift from one story to the next leaves each feeling somehow unresolved.
Using the same actors in different roles is confusing rather than clever. If the four stories looked at the same characters in different time periods, it might have been meaningful, but instead we get 20 different characters having love affairs that do not always add up.
Another problem is that most of the stories are meant to illustrate the writer's points about good vs bad people, trust vs deceit, fidelity vs infidelity, and justice vs injustice (as in many stories the bad prosper and the good suffer). It's a good idea, but some of the characters lack depth, especially the women characters, who fall too easily for bad guys and suffer from jealousy constantly.
The film has no other user reviews yet. I suspect that many people stopped watching before the end due to the shortage of likeable characters.
Some Italian reviewers have liked it, but somehow there are no reviews in English.
Here is my plot summary if you want to know what happens.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
A. In the first story Frederico is a heartless man who fires his normal friend Andrea, causing Andrea's girlfriend of five years Dafne to dump him and probably transfer her affections to the heartless guy. Andrea asks his father Ludovico to help (perhaps he owns the business?), but the father dies of a heart attack, and Andrea in desperation tries to shoot the heartless Frederico, but accidentally kills himself. Meanwhile Frederico pretends to fall in love with a woman Guilia in order to persuade him to sell her bookshop to him, and then he callously dumps her after he has sealed the deal, leaving her desolate.
B. In the second story Frederico and Guilia both work at a clothing store, where Ludovico is the boss. They begin a relationship, then meet Andrea who is a friend of Frederico and his fiancé Dafne for dinner. Andrea is making a movie and invites Giulia to try out for a role. Giulia comes for a photoshoot and Andrea flirts with her in front of Dafne. Frederico is also jealous when he follows Guilia and finds her having coffee with Andrea. When Ludovico promotes Guilia ahead of Frederico, he sulks. Frederico argues with Guilia about the promotion, then with Ludovico and loses his job when he is rude to Ludovico. Giulia tells Frederico that she loves him but he must trust her. To test him she goes to a bar alone and gets drunk. Staggering home, she meets Andrea who drives her home to where Frederico is playing a computer game and patiently waiting. But when Andrea gets home, Dafne is suspicious and drives off in their car leaving him alone. The story suddenly ends, unresolved.
C. In the third story, Andrea meets Dafne, who is a visiting foreigner, for a first date (maybe met on an app) and they go to a shop where Giulia works. Dafne has shoulder pain, and Giulia suggests she visit her husband (Frederico) who is a physical therapist. Frederico treats her, with a bit of flirting and bare skin on her part. Later Giulia is jealous as she doesn't trust Frederico, but she suggests they go on picnic with Andrea and Dafne. On the picnic, Dafne tells Giulia she wants to be her friend, and Giulia says she doesn't trust Frederico and wants to test him. Meanwhile Andrea and Frederico argue, Andrea saying he wants to sleep with many women, and Frederico saying he believes in fidelity. Giulia asks Dafne to test Frederico by inviting him for a drink and then back to her hotel room. Frederico passes the test and tells his wife that he believes in marital fidelity, and at last she believes him.
D. In the fourth story, Frederico is an academic and fiction writer. He runs into Andrea an old friend at one of his talks. Andrea is still a deejay, and Frederico mocks him and tells him to get a real job. But he then finds out that Andrea is popular and famous. His publisher, Ludovico, calls him, and offers him a contract to ghost-write a novel for Andrea. He writes a second-rate book out of anger and jealousy, but it sells well because Andrea is a celebrity, and somehow wins a literature prize. Andrea has dinner with a woman in a restaurant and is taken by Giulia who is a waitress. He waits for Giulia who is reluctant to go out with him, but she eventually relents and after a time moves in with him. Andrea now treats Frederico with scorn and demands an apology for Frederico's treatment when they first met. Andrea also treats Dafne, Ludovico's assistant (or daughter?) like a servant, making her serve him. Giulia senses Dafne's hostility towards her, and starts to give Dafne orders. Dafne responds by sleeping with Andrea, something he is still willing to do. When Giulia catches her with Andrea, she leaves him. As she leaves, Frederico asks Andrea for more money, since the book was a hit. Andrea mocks him some more, then strikes him on the head with a pot, knocking him into Andrea's pool and apparently killing him. Andrea acts as if nothing important has happened and takes a business call on his phone.
E. In the end Giulia wanders into the bookshop from the first story, and Frederico enters. It's a full circle.
