La città proibita

Gorgeous movie. A really nice mix of drama, comedy and action, with an unexpected blend of cultures and locations. The best way to read it is probably as a melodrama, with the final scene that almost feels like an opera. Tons of themes, lots of different tones, it pulls on several emotional strings. Flawless direction. Sound not quite perfect.

Sometimes you do not need to come up with a pun or a summary line (though as always no pun intended) ... you just use the self explanatory German title of the movie ... et voila here we go. I like the director and the movie begins quite ... well if you are into action, this will be quite the opening for you.

From the training montage, to the action scene ... after that it will slow down a bit. But you will still get the occasional action bit to enjoy. And you will also get a love story ... well actually more than one love story ... not just between characters ... but also the city and maybe even building/objects ... just saying.

Well acted, the script may be a bit of a small let down ... I'd be surprised if you didn't guess the "big" twist ... but hey, this is entertainment so here we go (and no not everyone was Kung Fu Fighting ... actually many were not - plus Ghost Dog vibes! Same same, but different)

Gabriele Mainetti returns with another, genre-bending film. While his storytelling is too indulgent regarding runtime, there's no denying the sheer energy and inventiveness he brings to the screen. This time, he plunges us into a vivid, chaotic, and deeply human story that fuses action, humor, and social commentary.

Enrico Borello ( The Invisible Thread, Settembre, Familia, Supersex) delivers his most mature performance yet, shedding the supporting roles of his early career to fully embrace a lead character as rugged as he is endearing. His portrayal of a Roman cook navigating a whirlwind of conflicts-both personal and external-anchors the film with a raw, unpretentious charm. Watching him embody this role with such ease and charisma suggests he's ready for even bigger challenges ahead.

A standout element is Yaxi Liu, who doesn't just bring physical prowess to the screen with her martial arts skills but also a compelling emotional presence. Meanwhile, Marco Giallini and Sabrina Ferilli add depth and charisma.

What sets this film apart is Mainetti's ability to merge stylized action with deeply rooted cultural elements. Multicultural Rome, in his hands, becomes more than just a backdrop; it's a living, breathing character, full of contradictions, grit, and poetry. His fearless approach to blending different genres makes for an exhilarating experience .

Rating - 7.8: Overall, a true melting pot of a movie as it is a kung-fu, familial drama, and romance all wrapped up in one that juxtaposes Chinese and Italian cultures to make an entertaining experience; but, it is really held back by its dual climax structure because you have such an adrenaline dump after the first that you really do not want to go through a second.

Direction - Pretty Good to Good: The direction on a macroscale is good, as they show this Chinese world is embedded in Rome, and they do an amazing job building the kung-fu action sequences, as it makes this movie feel like an action-packed adventure; The direction on a microscale is good, as the movie is built on its interpersonal sequences between the characters, as it makes you empathize with their struggles; The storytelling is good for the most part, as you get invested in the story, but the structure feels like an adrenaline dump, as there are two climaxes; Tension is built well, as you really get emotionally invested in these characters, and tension is built well in the action sequences

Story - Pretty Good to Good: The concept is unique and interesting because it is a familial story told with different cultures that are interesting, with a Kung-Fu and romance movie attached as well; The plot structure is pretty good for the most part because it is a main story with two subplots, but this kind of hurts the ending because there is a climax and then a second climax right after because it had to end the main revenge story and then the familial conflicts right after; Character writing is good because you care about these characters and their struggles, painted with a lot of depth that makes them memorable

Screenplay - Good: The dialogue is good and well written; The humor is definitely there and helps make the movie feel genreless at times, and it helps ease the tension in the movie; The symbolism is strong in this movie because it touches on familial topics, cultures clashing and melting together, and romantic interests; The foreshadowing is decent

Acting - Pretty Good: Enrico Borello - Decent to Pretty Goof (A little bit stiff at first, but comes into his own towards the midway point and plays a lead with some range well; has good chemistry with Liu), Yaxi Liu - Good (Has a good amount of range and really embodies someone mourning the loss of her sister; shows poise and expertise in the action scenes; has good chemistry with Borello), Marco Giallini - Pretty Good to Good (Feels like an experienced actor who really steals scenes he is in and lifts up his cast mates; has good chemistry with Borello), Sabrina Ferilli - Decent to Pretty Good (Plays her role well; Has pretty good chemistry with Borello; Isn't really given that much to work with), Chunyu Shanshan - Pretty Good (Plays the typical menacing villain well), Rest of the cast - Decent to Pretty Good (Everyone plays their roles well and helps lift up the cast)

Score - Good: Blends Chinese and Italian influences to make this movie feel like a melting pot of both cultures; Used effectively to build tension and help set the tone, especially in the action sequences

Cinematography - Good: Executed and shot well, really helps bring to life the action sequences

Editing - Good: Executed and shot well really help bring to life the action sequences

Sound - Good: Executed and shot well really helps bring to life the action sequences

Visual Effects - Good: Help really brings the actions to life, especially with the use of practical effects

Production Design - Good: Helps show the juxtaposition of this Chinese culture inside Rome

Pacing - Pacing is pretty good for the most part, but gets kind of slow at times; The way the climaxes are structured, everything in the end of the movie feels slow as you had an adrenaline dump from the first climax

Climax - Climax is a big issue with this movie because there are two separate climaxes; When the first climax ends, you have a huge adrenaline dump that doesn't allow you to experience the second climax

Tone - Tone is a mix of many genres, as this is truly a melting pot a kung-fu movie, a familial drama, and a romance

Final Notes - Saw premiere at Fantastic Fest.

The main story is truly boring if it were not for the girl who fights very well and for the action scenes there would really be nothing interesting, and in my opinion the film had to continue on that line, that is, the line of revenge until the end but instead it offers us unnecessary dialogues and completely redundant situations that is that they are still repeated and again, the story is really too trivial to be able to fill 2 hours and 18 minutes of film, as if it were not enough, Guilty, then in addition to all many clichés there is also an improbable love story with the Vespa but not in Ostia Mare, the love story is truly inherent and cannot create any kind of interest and emotion because there is no minimum of chemistry between the two and the script does not even try to create this chemistry TAR The two protagonists are sincerely disappointed by this script, love of love 4, Thriller 5, fights 8, final vote 3.5.