Um Amor Quase Perfeito

This was a chance rental, recommended by the owner of my local rental shop and it was a wonderful surprise. We are introduced to the perfect marriage at the outset, Antonia, the wife (played winningly by Margherita Buy) and Massimo, the husband ( played by Andrea Renzi) It is fifteen years along into the marriage straight out of high school and it is sexy and fulfilling, with a wonderful house on a lake, a full time maid and no children by choice.

And just like that, Massimo is killed in a traffic accident and thus begins the story of the unfolding of the secret that he withheld from Antonia for seven years.

In her detective work, Antonia, an AIDS doctor, uncovers another life that Massimo has lived.

Enter handsome Michele ( played by Stefano Accorci), who lives an openly gay life, filled with friends, some straight, some gay, some transgendered. Michele is real, flaws and all and conveys the promiscuous life of a lusty gay male.

Antonia and Michele fight a burgeoning attraction for each other with Antonia repulsed at times by his sexuality with other men. She also becomes bonded with his friends (she has made Massimo her raison d'etre and abandoned other friends for him) and slowly begins to understand his grief process.

Nothing is drawn in black and white here. One senses that Antonia and Michele are right for each other. Massimo was never an intellectual whereas Michele and Antonia are. There are many layers to the story and some wonderful characterizations. The part of Antonia's mother is a particular delight as is the part of Serra, they both have their secrets too.

I gave it a 9 out of 10 for the Italy that it shows, a colourful, complex Italy and the characters that clamp around the heartstrings and don't release for a long time afterwards. The only flaw was in the measly subtitles but at times my Italian was good enough to pick up the nuances and the unsubtitled dialogue and background.

Bravo and Brava to all.

This is my first encounter with a film by Ferzan Ozpetek and a more than satisfying one. This modest drama about a woman's growing understanding of the often hazardous and confusing life the homosexual friends of her dead husband lead is extremely convincing.

Almodóvar came to mind when seeing the commune of transsexuals and gay characters so lovingly and believably portrayed. Without the hysterics of the Spanish master Ozpetek manages to show the witty bitchiness, the hurt of and compassion for the Aids victims.

Mature is the word that springs to mind when the story unfolds and its old fashioned but unforced warmth pervades you. Without winning prizes for originality this film shows that, when made with heart, involvement and wit, one can tell an old tale over and over again.

It's also nice to find exploitation veteran Erica Blanc in a quirky but well perceived bit part.

Antonia was living the life of most women would dream of. A good medical career, a loving husband, and a wonderful marriage. All that came to a crumble one day when he died in an accident leaving Antonia is grief and mourning.

But an accidental discovery of a painting hinted that Antonia's husband Massimo has another lover. Burning with anger, Antonia sought to find out more about this lover. But there is a catch; Massimo's lover is a man, Michele. Which shocked Antonia more to realising that her husband had lead a double life; one a straight married man, the other a gay lover.

Through Michele, she learnt more of her husbands secrets. A circle of friends Massimo has known through Michele, drag queens, immigrants, gay men, quirky apartment neighbours, and also AIDS patients. This circle of friends shared a warmness that all frienships has. Her open minded curiosity led her to befriend Massimo's circle of friends. Indirectly, she has replaced the vaccuum left by Massimo's death. At the same time, there is a growing attraction between her and Michele, as both are brought closer together. She then contrasts her life with Massimo and then with this 'new life' she has found after his death. Furthermore, she has to address her growing affections for her departed husbands lover.

Turkish director Ozpetek captures the warm bindings of this motley group of friends and in realistic detail in the confines of Michele's flat which serves as the groups meeting point for dinners and chats. The audience can feel the warmth emmitted from the togetherness of these people. A beautiful scene is where we see the dance party which is played to the tune of a slow song number overshadowing the dance beat in the background. We see all the circle of friends, Antonia and Michele included having a good time, bonding (yes even literal bonding!). Longing glances were exchanged between Antonia and Michele. This serves as a powerful scene and many assumptions or predictions can be made from this tease.

There are many side stories to Antonia and Michele's friendship as well such as dealing with rejection, pain suffered by an AIDS patient. Some of these issues are delicately dealt and while some humorous. There is plenty of humour in this film. Never has it made me laugh out loud. We see quirky characters like Louiselle the quirky supermarket cashier, Serra the 'apartment secretary', Mara the drag queen turned transvetite, Ricky, Sandora and Emir, all of them add together the humouros elements and warmth. A special mention would be Antonia's mother whose opened and profound views on life and adultery really had my sides splitting. The main leads by Margherita Buy and Stefano Accorsi depicts two people coming in terms of both of their loved one's death are very well potrayed. The emotion and the passion is felt from these two actor's performances.

Cheers to Ozpetek for creating such a warm and sentimental film! Almost made me shed tears when the ending loomed.

Here is a film that is both unconventional and deeply touching.

The best thing about this film is the absence in it of any clichés. This holds, first of all, for the main gay character, Michele. In Italian films gay characters tend to be described in extremely stereotyped ways; in other films, such as "Philadelphia", there are gay characters that tend to be described as if they were sort of saints. In this case, instead, the main gay character is a complex man, with contrasting aspects; the tension between his love for someone he will never be able to fully share his love with and his inability to requite the affection of those who could; the tension between his attraction for the widow of his late lover, in whom he finds an echo of aspects he loved in him, and the hatred he feels for his rival; the bitterness for the love lost and the willingness to engage in fast sex; all makes this character a fascinating one.

Even more so for the main female character. For once Margherita Buy plays a different character from the neurotic, insecure women she has often played in the past, and is given a wonderful opportunity to show her dramatic skills. She's hurt and yet not bitter, she's open-minded and yet has a morality of her own, she's curious and yet not intrusive; she plays a thoughtful, sensitive, tender and deeply human character, for whom one can feel nothing but sympathy.

Many foreigners seem to especially like films which depict Italy and Italians in strongly conventional ways, such as "Mediterraneo", "Life is Beautiful" or "Cinema Paradiso": a rural country, populated by childish, superficial and sentimental people surrounded by beautiful landscapes, preferably in Tuscany, and artistic beauties. This film, set in a dilapidated district of Rome, will probably make them understand that Italy is a country quite different, in many ways, from the one they like to see represented in some Italian films.

If film is about the message it wants to convey to its audience, this film has definitely achieved it. The subtle depiction of the gay community is so much different from the usual Hollywood stereotype gay men - your Queer as Folk kinda guy. While the soapy detail of Queer as Folk casts the image of the gay community as something really really different from the straight community hence giving it some sort of exclusivity (despised by many of the so called straight righteous community), Le Fate Ignoranti portrays the gay community as just 'the other human being.' Different maybe, but it doesnt emphasize the difference to the level that no straight mortal will be able to immerse let alone understand it. Le Fate Ignoranti portrays the gay community as just another 'group' in our society, facing the same humane problems - that gay men are nothing but another human beings deserve the same humane treatment and respect.

Michele is so differently refreshing from his Hollywood counterparts, full of dignity and no cynicism towards the world that you usually find in those so called gay Hollywood films. While Hollywood gay men show only insecurity with their identity, Michele is oozing with confidence and is perfectly comfortable with his sexuality.

This film and director Ferzan Ozpetek has definity done great job in the effort of establishing more insight into a 'more real' depiction of gay community.