Monday, January 23, 2012

Movie Confessions contd....

It had been quite long since I last wrote a movie review. So, after watching an Italian movie lately, I thought of writing a review for it. Some of my previous reviews are here, here and here.

Facing Windows (La finestra di fronte - Italy)

Don't be content to merely survive.
You must demand ....
.... to live in a better world
.... not just dream about it.

Wise words coming from a wise man! A dialogue from almost the end of the movie. I think it was kind of a punchline for me of the entire movie. I don't really know how to explain my feelings for this movie but I can give an example. Sometimes, when somebody offers you a new kind of sweet to taste, you are not completely able to guess its ingredients. While that sweet melts in your mouth, you feel that you have almost guessed it correctly before actually loosing it again and then it comes back and go again. You are so lost in enjoying the sweet, that the moment you actually try to concentrate on the ingredients you start loosing the taste. So, you come back to the taste and go back again. This movie was such kind of a sweet for me and left me with a similar feeling.

The movie is about a couple (Giovanna, Fillipo) married for nine years with two kids and are living a monotonous life. Giovanna is not happy with her life, where she is making compromises like working as an accountant in a chicken factory to make ends meet. Fillipo works in night shifts at a gas station. Giovanna fantasizes about this guy, Lorenzo, who is a banker living across the street and she occasionally peeps into his apartment through her kitchen window which faces his window. Emine is Giovanna's neighbor and colleague at work who always has pretty amusing comments. One fine day, Giovanna and Fillipo encounter a strange old man on the streets who addresses himself as Simone and seems to have forgotten his memory. They have pity on him and take him home to later hand him over to the police. But the man has a history of his own. He turns out to be a holocaust survivor and has his own love story to tell. While trying to find Simone his home, Giovanna is helped by Lorenzo. Over time, Giovanna develops a strong bonding with Simone and apparently, Simone has some life changing effects on Giovanna. What becomes of Giovanna and Lorenzo? What effect does Simone have on Giovanna? I won't give out much so that this review doesn't becomes a spoiler. But the chemistry between all the characters of the movie is pretty amazing. The background score in the movie was outstanding! I simply loved it :)

The story is simple and straight forward but has its twists and turns which keeps the audience fixed. The human instincts of voyeurism, the goodness in one's self, and taking decisions to make life good for one's self are portrayed quite well in the movie.   

I find the lead actress of the movie, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, really really pretty. I had seen her before in the movie, Love in the time of Cholera. Her closeups are pretty well done in this movie. She looks beautiful with her smile but not so good when she laughs.

2 comments:

Purba said...

Giovanna Mezzogiorno - is it a Hollywood production? You didn't name the actress though.

the.orchestra.of.life said...

Yes, I think it is from Sony Pictures. Actually, the name of the actress and the name of her character are same in the movie :)