L'ultimo paradiso

Perfect music choices, high production values, sets and skillful actors in an otherwise average drama that appears to miss its point. The main character being somewhat of an antihero doesn't get much sympathy from me either. The premature plot twist too early makes the end of the film quite uninteresting and almost pointless. It may be the way the film was cut, or it's just as it is, a story that does well on a novel but not on a film.

It certainly has the look and feel of the old italian films in general and that gave a very positive vibe to me. It's not a new masterpiece though.

Watching this film made me feel what my father must have witnessed as an 8/9 yr old in Calabria. And l can confirm that this was as accurate as it can be, l know this because l was told as a young woman from the horse's mouth as they say. Young women being preyed just because they were poor and desperate.

Two of these women were family members of mine. One being my grandmother, my father's mother and the other my Aunt my mother's sister both, bore children from it!

The Italians suffered badly at the hands of greedy land owners and of course the Mafia! And to think these were the 50s not the dark ages. It makes me sad and angry to sit and watch what my father had to witness and many others the sufferance they had to endure.

Even though l had to watch this alone with my own feelings and thoughts, a good illustration of the times in southern Italy. The end was a bit fuzzy but l suppose With all the sufferance, they wanted to sugarcoat a bit with a happy ending. Concetta Gallo

A movie good enough for open minded people we're able to find on Netflix these days. We find quality acting. The movie is sometimes brutal. Original storytelling based on a true story ? The end is really weird though.

An Italian drama based on real events. Not a love story completely takes a turn in the middle of the movie. It is about a married man whose mistress is the daughter of one of the lords of the town and the process of being discovered. Quality. The time spectacularly recreated. Good performances. Good effects on the few that are needed. He talks about the almost authoritarians of the people, the abuse of power, the repressed rebellions, the revenge. The only problem is that it has a good rhythm and after the middle it plummets and becomes slow and limp, making you lose interest at times. With a rather bittersweet interpretive ending, since they make you understand other things. Ideal to spend the afternoon.

I enjoyed the movie, beautifully shot and an interesting drama. However Rocco Ricciardulli was hopelessly mis-cast as the father of Riccardo Scamarcio. He didn't look like his son, he was far too young to be his father and was acting "too handsome" to be the sorrowful character he was supposed to be. In addition his wife looked more like his mother. So I checked the movie out on IMDB. Mystery solved. He co-wrote and directed the movie. Tip: don't cast yourself in a movie unless you fit the part.