A review: "Anni felici" [2013 Italy]

Directors like Daniele Luchetti thrive in delving into nostalgia, and his semi-autobiographical "Anni felici" [Eng. Title Those Happy Years] looks back at his family while growing up amidst the crazy 70's art scene.

 

Guido (Kim Rossi Stuart) is a restless sculptor and art teacher craving for notoriety and recognition in Rome's art world, and yearns for praise from his often critical mother. He hopes that his success would help him provide for wife Serena (Micaela Ramazzotti) and kids Dario (Samuel Garofalo) and Paolo (Niccolò Calvagna). For Serena however, art doesn't hold any particular interest - all she wants, is for Guido to get more involved in their relationship. When an art installation of his draws scathing reviews from critics, a distraught and confused Guido disappears from family for a while. Simultaneously, Serena and kids join art boutique owner Elke on a 'feminist' holiday to a beach in France. Time away from husband and new acquaintances - especially her intense bonding with an openly lesbian Elke, will open up Serena's mind to things she hadn't considered in the past, including understanding what she wants in life...

 

Narrated by an adult Dario, the film is a rose-tinted look at his growing up years in what would later become a turning point for him and the family as he once knew it. It was also when he'd begun to understand complexities in relationships, and appreciate his family for all its shortcomings. Dario's words, "Without a doubt, they were happy years, too bad none of us realised it then!", nevertheless reveal a tacit acknowledgement that memories will always paint a rosier picture of events than it truly did.


The film functions well as a narrative-led character study. It is aided by strong performances, notably by the fine portrayal of Serena's character by Micaela Ramazzotti, the supporting presence of Martina Gedeck, and Samuel Garofalo and Niccolò Calvagna as the couple's precocious and thoroughly engaging kids. The cinematography evokes the feeling of nostalgia, and while the film might not be as richly layered as Luchetti's earlier drama that also drew from personal life - Mio fratello è figlio unico, it is nevertheless engrossing with an intelligent screenplay. Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon.it DVD Link [PAL]

 

The Nudity: Micaela Ramazzotti, Martina Gedeck, Kim Rossi Stuart, Angelique Cavallari, Silvia d'Amico, and others
There is intermittent nudity earlier in the film, from various models either posing or performing in the nude for Guido - from Angelique Cavallari, Silvia d'Amico, Maria Teresa Capasso, Giulia Anchisi, and Benedetta Cesqui. Micaela Ramazzotti herself appears nude at an art installation in broad view of a gallery. She later appears nude alongside Martina Gedeck (credited as Martina Friederike Gedeck) when they go swimming in the sea. Additional topless and fully nude women appear at the feminist resort where Serena spends the summer along with her kids.



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Micaela Ramazzotti & Francesca Inaudi in "Questione di Cuore" [2009 Italy]

Francesca Archibugi's drama, "Questione di Cuore" [Eng. Title: A Question of the Heart] is a breezy comedy about friendship and mortality. As entertaining and well-written the script is, what sticks in my mind though are the charming images of common-man's Rome where the film is set - a city and its people that I'd always loved visiting, and where I want to go again now.

Storyline:
Angelo, a car mechanic and Alberto, a film script-writer meet as inpatients at a hospital ward - both had suffered a heart attack. They strike up an unlikely but close friendship during their stay, sharing each others dreams and fears. While Alberto recovers early, it isn't the case with Angelo whose weaker heart is attributed to heredity. Angelo had worked hard to provide for his family - his mother, wife Rossana and their two kids, with one more on the way. He worries about leaving his wife an unhappy widow, and desperately tries to make arrangements in view of his impending death. There is also a joking comparison by Alberto to the Odyssey during a passage of play after Angelo tries awkwardly to make his friend Rossana's suitor. To the film's credit, it doesn't descend into farce or cheesy melodrama - it ends in the most apt manner.

Ms. Archibugi has made a typical but way above average mainstream film here - and although I have seen only one other film of hers to date (Lezioni di Volo), I do like her style of film making. They are usually packed with a constellation of well known stars, more so in this film where additional cine personalities have walk-ins as themselves, Alberto being the well known script-writer. Actors playing the main characters - Kim Rossi Stuart as Angelo, Antonio Albanese as Alberto, and Micaela Ramazzotti who plays Angelo's wife Rossana give a fine account of themselves, as does Francesca Inaudi who plays Alberto's estranged girlfriend Carla, although hers is possibly the least developed character among all. Nevertheless, for an entertaining and thoughtful piece of cinema, this one is Recommended Viewing.

Amazon DVD Link




Compilation: Micaela Ramazzotti, Francesca Inaudi, and Leila Virzí
There is only brief nudity in the film - the main reason for my post is to write something about a title which I think is less well known outside Italy.



Scene Guide:

• Rossana trying on maternity underwear that Alberto had presented earlier. A pregnant Micaela Ramazzotti give's a good performance as Rossana.
• Alberto reminiscing a fond memory of his time with Carla, played by beautiful Francesca Inaudi. Mr. Albanese though could use the services of a chiropodist.
• Now this one, is nice..! Alberto, a northerner, explains to Angelo why he prefers living in Rome, quoting an incident from a warm summer night many moons ago. The woman by the window is played by Leila Virzí. Rome personified, if you ask me..! :)

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