The Anonymous Venetian

A beautiful film that made a great impression on me at a very early age. Although basically it is a love story, it has many other emotions which are wonderfully portrayed by Florinda Balkan and Tony Musante. Apart from the story, the theme music haunted me for months if not years. The photography of Venice is superb and will be appreciated by anyone who has ever visited there.

Only two actors ,and it is much to their credit to sustain our interest throughout ;Florinda Bolkan was a beauty legend of the Italian cinema and American Tony Musante often worked in both country (notably in the excellent Dario Argento 's thriller "l'ucello dalle piume di cristallo"1967) .

It could be a mushy melodrama, it's a delicate treatment of the last day of a couple :they were married ,but even after divorce ,something remains who strangely looks like love ; not dwelling on the sordid side of live, the truth about the ex-husband is only revealed at the 50 th minute ( the pills and the injection disconcert the viewer though ).

It's a wandering through Venizia , Enrico taking his ex-wife to places when they were deeply in love ;and however ,he was not a faithful husband ,it's really a warts-and-all depiction(Enrico throws away the bouquet) inside a romantic journey through the past.

The parallel between dying Enrico and the town itself sinking and turning into silt has always been used , but here it's done in a tasteful way ;for a man without a future, who is afraid of dying in his sleep , clinging to memories is the only thing left to him ; the future is only this child , he won't see growing up, but who maybe will play his records (hence the gift ).

The music bears more than a distant resemblance to Francis Lai's score for "love story";as both movies were made at about the same time, it's probably a coincidence .

Enrico (Toni Musante) is a Venetian musician and maestro with a terminal disease, who invites his wife Valeria (Florinda Bolkan) to visit him in Venice without disclosing the reason for such invitation. Although still married, since there is no divorce in Italy, they have been living separated of each other for seven years. Valeria lives with their son and with her new mate, a wealthy industrial in Ferrara. When they meet each other, they walk along though Venice and recall their relationship since their first encounter, disclosing their intense love through flashbacks. Enrico lives a conflicting emotional moment of his life while recording the concert Anonimo Veneziano for oboe and strings.

"Anonimo Veneziano" is a melancholic and beautiful romance, an elegy to a terminal man in a dying city. There is a parallel in the story between the healthy of Enrico and the decay of Venice. Although being from 1970, this movie has surprisingly resisted to time and remains absolutely updated. Even the costumes are not completely old fashioned, since they are classic and elegant. The marvelous soundtrack of Stelvio Cipriani is depressive but certainly one of the most beautiful in the cinema history. The first time I saw this movie was on 04 July 2003 in a VHS of poor quality of the sound (mono) and color. Now, on 15 August 2009, I have just watched again on DVD. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Anônimo Veneziano" ("Anonymous Venetian")

Note: On 15 Aug 2009 I saw this film again.

Note: On 17 May 2012 I saw this film again.

Note: On 06 Dec 2017 I saw this film again.

One of the most romantic films ever made and that still bears the pass of time despite some camera cliches of the 70's. Venice at its best is the setting for a poignant story of lovers parting for ever in a day's time. Sensitive and powerfully emotional, but never corny, with Musante and Bolkan as passional as you may wish lovers can be. A wonderful soundtrack and a beautiful cinematography help to make this film be a delight thirty-two years after it was made. Not to be missed.

in my case, not exactly a movie. only slice of my childhood. mixture of magic and delicate colors. music as shadow. Venise as large tomb - nest. it is something special with this film. with its touching beauty. with its image of letter from a lost time. with two actors who are jewelers of common strange roles. a love story, broken love story, in a place as map of soul. the escape - a musical score. words, past - Venice as huge labyrinth of memories - and the harsh circle of fall. all as pieces from an old toy of dreams dust. I do not know if it is a good film. it seems be like many others of its period. but, different. for the crumbs of sufferance as fruit of deep joy. for the search of sense who define each character. for soft victory. and, for ash of feelings - part of new kind of beginning.