Nuovo Olimpo

Gorgeous Rome makes the perfect setting for this story of romance, lost love, nostalgia, melancholy and the "what ifs" of life. I absolutely loved this quiet, understated, touching film. Two beautiful men meet, in a way that gay and bi men often used to have to meet, and they experience a brief, passionate romance that stays with them all of their lives.

Excellent acting, cinematography and direction is enhanced with some beautiful lines of dialogue. Most people, as they get older, can probably relate to the feeling you get when you remember that love that somehow got away but stays in your heart and your memory forever.

So many reasons to like it , from main actors work ( Luisa Ranieri offers a gorgeous portrait of Titti ) to the 70 decade atmosphere, to the humor and, especialy admirable elegance are good reasons to see it. Again.

Because it is one of films using as efficient kick for return across personal memories about encounters and old stories who, after decades, are more fresh or present than in moments when they are real facts.

But the real good point is the wisedom to not propose a manifesto, a lesson or a moral. Only a story about intense love of youth , an accident changing everything, the profession as way of succes .

Sure, the physical beauty of Andrea di Luigi and Damiano Gavino is a not insignificant virtue, but the gift for viewer remains the clever manner to craft a story using smart the cliches of a remarkable director.

The gay crust is just splendid used for a clear- tender- nostalgic state of heart .

So, not bad idea to see it.

In an era of films with no emotion or passion, just robotic sequels full of CGI, this was a true surprise. And on Netlix, no less, not exactly a streamer platform known for quality recently. It has a touching story, excellent acting, good direction, and a beautiful setting in Roma. Its mood is poignant, exploring a great love affair of missed opportunities, and the passion for love is emblematic of life itself, full of twists and turns, moments of being (to use Virginia Woolf's phrase), nostalgia, and yes regret. The time and space of the film is handled very elegantly. This is by far the Best Romantic Film of 2023, plus one of the most moving films of the year as well. And the fact that this great romance is between two men can finally, after decades, be considered the most normal part of the story.

In 1978, the Istanbul-born director Ferzan ÖZPETEK came to Rome. And that's exactly when his semi-autobiographical film, which he directed for the global streaming platform NETFLIX, takes place.

At the end of the 1970s, Rome and its CINECITTA were the center of the European film industry. Filmmaking is becoming a little more difficult (especially due to the increasing popularity of television in Italy), but CINECITTA can still draw on the triumphs of the past. Classics like IL GIARDINO DEI FINZI-CONTINI show the resolute Titti (great: Luisa RANIERI) in her arthouse cinema NUOVO OLIMPO in the north-east of Rome. The cinema is particularly popular as a meeting place for homosexual men who use the toilet for extensive cruising. The film student Enea (Damiano GAVINO) and the medical student Pietro (Andrea Di LUIGI) also get to know and love each other. The beginning of a great love! But times in Rome back then were extremely complicated for various reasons, as we know from numerous genre films from ItaloCinema. Due to a particularly stupid coincidence, the two young men lose sight of each other. It wasn't until many years later that they met again under dramatic circumstances. The ophthalmologist Pietro is now married to the beautiful Giulia (Greta SCARANO), and the celebrated film director Enea is in a relationship with the robust Antonio (Alvise RIGO)...

Beautiful images from Rome (filmed primarily in the Monte Sacro district on the eastern bank of the Tiber), a romantic love story between two men and a wonderfully nostalgic look at the Italian film world! Despite minor weaknesses in the script, Ferzan ÖZPETEK has managed to create a fairytale-like look back at a bygone era.

It's an exploration of an undying love and deep longing.

Something that 'the heart never forgets', come what may. One can do everything to throw roadblocks in one's own way, or detour to distractions, or run away, but the heart is relentless in what it desires.

Good performances from everyone, very believable characters - one could feel the deep ache throughout the movie. But the ending was a bit of a letdown. One would have thought that the sheer force of their feelings would get them to merge, but they inexplicably sabotage themselves again. Though there is an opening left for possible future interaction, the movie actually cuts to an alternate possibility, in the past, when things could have been pleasantly different for them. I wish they had fought for love.

It's based on a true story, so I guess they didn't take liberties.