The Best Day of My Life
A boxoffice hit in Italy when it opened in April, five months later The Best Day of My Life is the surprise winner of the Grand Prix of Americas, top prize at the Montreal World Film Festival. While a crowd-pleaser and obviously appealing to the jury, Life was one of three Italian films in competition and was hardly universally loved. Most likely its win here will not increase the drama's lackluster commercial destiny beyond southern Europe.
Centered around a family struggling to cope with itself, with much of the action taking place in the villa of the domineering widowed grandmother, Life is talky, overloaded with narration and mostly so overlit it's distracting. Three grown-up siblings are messily working through life issues, with lovers, hapless husbands and children caught in the shifting currents.
Alas, it's possible to not develop a burning interest in Rita (Sandra Ceccarelli), who hasn't had sex with her husband (Marco Baliani) since she had a second daughter. Rita starts to fall for a younger man (Jean Hughes Anglade). Then there's her older sister Sara (Margherita Buy), who compensates for being a depressed widow by fretting over her son (Francesco Scianna).
Of primary concern is whether the young man will turn out to be another Claudio Luigi Lo Cascio), Rita and Sara's gay brother, who has not come out to the entire family. The sisters are not heartless, just typically self-absorbed. There's one scene that vibrantly captures the milieu. In a dog-related case of kismet, Claudio's lover (Marco Quaglia) wanders onto the villa and is discovered by Irene (Virna Lisi), the aging matriarch who spends a lot of time remembering the glories of the past, when the family was together all the time.
Irene insists that the young man stay for dinner, with Claudio put in the awkward position of having to treat him like a stranger, until Irene's opinions about gays and just about everything else causes the meal to break up. From then on, things get better for Claudio, but there's little beyond good acting, some situational comedy and occasional snappy dialogue to keep one's attention focused.
Directed with minimal flair by Cristina Comencini, also a novelist, and co-written by her with Giulia Calenda and Lucilla Schiaffino, Life weirdly turns arty with several sex scenes near the conclusion that practically insert the camera between participants. It's hardly a joyful release.
Ultimately, the film becomes a predictable, heady melodrama fixated on Italian family values that tries to win approval with its universal themes. But for some, it will be a fruitless task to sit through.
THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
Cattleya, Rai Cinema
Credits:
Director: Cristina Comencini
Screenwriters: Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Lucilla Schiaffino
Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Stabilini
Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti
Production designer: Paola Comencini
Editor: Cecilia Zanuso
Costume designer: Antonella Berardi
Music: Franco Piersanti
Cast:
Irene: Virna Lisi
Sara: Margherita Buy
Carlo: Marco Baliani
Claudio: Luigi Lo Cascio
Rita: Sandra Ceccarelli
Marco: Francesco Scianna
Davide: Jean Hughes Anglade
Sandro: Ricky Tognazzi
Luca: Marco Quaglia
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Centered around a family struggling to cope with itself, with much of the action taking place in the villa of the domineering widowed grandmother, Life is talky, overloaded with narration and mostly so overlit it's distracting. Three grown-up siblings are messily working through life issues, with lovers, hapless husbands and children caught in the shifting currents.
Alas, it's possible to not develop a burning interest in Rita (Sandra Ceccarelli), who hasn't had sex with her husband (Marco Baliani) since she had a second daughter. Rita starts to fall for a younger man (Jean Hughes Anglade). Then there's her older sister Sara (Margherita Buy), who compensates for being a depressed widow by fretting over her son (Francesco Scianna).
Of primary concern is whether the young man will turn out to be another Claudio Luigi Lo Cascio), Rita and Sara's gay brother, who has not come out to the entire family. The sisters are not heartless, just typically self-absorbed. There's one scene that vibrantly captures the milieu. In a dog-related case of kismet, Claudio's lover (Marco Quaglia) wanders onto the villa and is discovered by Irene (Virna Lisi), the aging matriarch who spends a lot of time remembering the glories of the past, when the family was together all the time.
Irene insists that the young man stay for dinner, with Claudio put in the awkward position of having to treat him like a stranger, until Irene's opinions about gays and just about everything else causes the meal to break up. From then on, things get better for Claudio, but there's little beyond good acting, some situational comedy and occasional snappy dialogue to keep one's attention focused.
Directed with minimal flair by Cristina Comencini, also a novelist, and co-written by her with Giulia Calenda and Lucilla Schiaffino, Life weirdly turns arty with several sex scenes near the conclusion that practically insert the camera between participants. It's hardly a joyful release.
Ultimately, the film becomes a predictable, heady melodrama fixated on Italian family values that tries to win approval with its universal themes. But for some, it will be a fruitless task to sit through.
THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
Cattleya, Rai Cinema
Credits:
Director: Cristina Comencini
Screenwriters: Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Lucilla Schiaffino
Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Stabilini
Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti
Production designer: Paola Comencini
Editor: Cecilia Zanuso
Costume designer: Antonella Berardi
Music: Franco Piersanti
Cast:
Irene: Virna Lisi
Sara: Margherita Buy
Carlo: Marco Baliani
Claudio: Luigi Lo Cascio
Rita: Sandra Ceccarelli
Marco: Francesco Scianna
Davide: Jean Hughes Anglade
Sandro: Ricky Tognazzi
Luca: Marco Quaglia
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/9/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Best Day of My Life
A boxoffice hit in Italy when it opened in April, five months later "The Best Day of My Life" is the surprise winner of the Grand Prix of Americas, top prize at the Montreal World Film Festival. While a crowd-pleaser and obviously appealing to the jury, "Life" was one of three Italian films in competition and was hardly universally loved. Most likely its win here will not increase the drama's lackluster commercial destiny beyond southern Europe.
Centered around a family struggling to cope with itself, with much of the action taking place in the villa of the domineering widowed grandmother, "Life" is talky, overloaded with narration and mostly so overlit it's distracting. Three grown-up siblings are messily working through life issues, with lovers, hapless husbands and children caught in the shifting currents.
Alas, it's possible to not develop a burning interest in Rita (Sandra Ceccarelli), who hasn't had sex with her husband (Marco Baliani) since she had a second daughter. Rita starts to fall for a younger man (Jean Hughes Anglade). Then there's her older sister Sara (Margherita Buy), who compensates for being a depressed widow by fretting over her son (Francesco Scianna).
Of primary concern is whether the young man will turn out to be another Claudio Luigi Lo Cascio), Rita and Sara's gay brother, who has not come out to the entire family. The sisters are not heartless, just typically self-absorbed. There's one scene that vibrantly captures the milieu. In a dog-related case of kismet, Claudio's lover (Marco Quaglia) wanders onto the villa and is discovered by Irene (Virna Lisi), the aging matriarch who spends a lot of time remembering the glories of the past, when the family was together all the time.
Irene insists that the young man stay for dinner, with Claudio put in the awkward position of having to treat him like a stranger, until Irene's opinions about gays and just about everything else causes the meal to break up. From then on, things get better for Claudio, but there's little beyond good acting, some situational comedy and occasional snappy dialogue to keep one's attention focused.
Directed with minimal flair by Cristina Comencini, also a novelist, and co-written by her with Giulia Calenda and Lucilla Schiaffino, "Life" weirdly turns arty with several sex scenes near the conclusion that practically insert the camera between participants. It's hardly a joyful release.
Ultimately, the film becomes a predictable, heady melodrama fixated on Italian family values that tries to win approval with its universal themes. But for some, it will be a fruitless task to sit through.
THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
Cattleya, Rai Cinema
Credits:
Director: Cristina Comencini
Screenwriters: Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Lucilla Schiaffino
Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Stabilini
Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti
Production designer: Paola Comencini
Editor: Cecilia Zanuso
Costume designer: Antonella Berardi
Music: Franco Piersanti
Cast:
Irene: Virna Lisi
Sara: Margherita Buy
Carlo: Marco Baliani
Claudio: Luigi Lo Cascio
Rita: Sandra Ceccarelli
Marco: Francesco Scianna
Davide: Jean Hughes Anglade
Sandro: Ricky Tognazzi
Luca: Marco Quaglia
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Centered around a family struggling to cope with itself, with much of the action taking place in the villa of the domineering widowed grandmother, "Life" is talky, overloaded with narration and mostly so overlit it's distracting. Three grown-up siblings are messily working through life issues, with lovers, hapless husbands and children caught in the shifting currents.
Alas, it's possible to not develop a burning interest in Rita (Sandra Ceccarelli), who hasn't had sex with her husband (Marco Baliani) since she had a second daughter. Rita starts to fall for a younger man (Jean Hughes Anglade). Then there's her older sister Sara (Margherita Buy), who compensates for being a depressed widow by fretting over her son (Francesco Scianna).
Of primary concern is whether the young man will turn out to be another Claudio Luigi Lo Cascio), Rita and Sara's gay brother, who has not come out to the entire family. The sisters are not heartless, just typically self-absorbed. There's one scene that vibrantly captures the milieu. In a dog-related case of kismet, Claudio's lover (Marco Quaglia) wanders onto the villa and is discovered by Irene (Virna Lisi), the aging matriarch who spends a lot of time remembering the glories of the past, when the family was together all the time.
Irene insists that the young man stay for dinner, with Claudio put in the awkward position of having to treat him like a stranger, until Irene's opinions about gays and just about everything else causes the meal to break up. From then on, things get better for Claudio, but there's little beyond good acting, some situational comedy and occasional snappy dialogue to keep one's attention focused.
Directed with minimal flair by Cristina Comencini, also a novelist, and co-written by her with Giulia Calenda and Lucilla Schiaffino, "Life" weirdly turns arty with several sex scenes near the conclusion that practically insert the camera between participants. It's hardly a joyful release.
Ultimately, the film becomes a predictable, heady melodrama fixated on Italian family values that tries to win approval with its universal themes. But for some, it will be a fruitless task to sit through.
THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
Cattleya, Rai Cinema
Credits:
Director: Cristina Comencini
Screenwriters: Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Lucilla Schiaffino
Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Stabilini
Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti
Production designer: Paola Comencini
Editor: Cecilia Zanuso
Costume designer: Antonella Berardi
Music: Franco Piersanti
Cast:
Irene: Virna Lisi
Sara: Margherita Buy
Carlo: Marco Baliani
Claudio: Luigi Lo Cascio
Rita: Sandra Ceccarelli
Marco: Francesco Scianna
Davide: Jean Hughes Anglade
Sandro: Ricky Tognazzi
Luca: Marco Quaglia
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/9/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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