The Place

The Place is a vivid example of why European cinema will always be relevant. A simple tie is maximum, all the actions of the film take place in one place. Ordinary actors (perhaps in Italy they are known, but I only know Marco Giallini). And dialogues. The whole film rests on them. They are as simple as possible - everything is shot in a regular eight. Nice simple chamber story.

The sheer fact that the whole movie is shot in a couple square meters in an anonymous diner while still keeping you engaged is alone worth a thousand stars. Top it with a subtle, emotional soundtrack and great acting and you have this wonderful piece. The plot is simple yet intriguing and smart, and the fact that a lot of details are easily predictable don't take anything away from it. The protagonist, our mysterious man, is a difficult character, lacking a name and apparently human emotion. The ending was well made, leaving just enough to the immagination.

I recommend this movie to anyone.

From a first minute this movie holds all your attention. So unusual plot makes watch until the end no special effects or changing scenery. All actions takes place in cafe, but thanks to characters with their stories you moving to different places as an observer. Many different people come in this cafe for get what you want but in exchange they have to do strange task. Will they be able to make a deal with their principles? We have the opportunity to observe the internal struggle and the consequences of their choice. And the way of their life cross making the plot even more confusing.

How far will you go to get the things you desire? Is there any limit at all?

Another creative writing from Paolo Genovese, the director of Perfect Strangers (Post #38 on Zoetrope360, Instagram). This movie is thought provoking as it explores the dark side of us, what are we willing to do to get the things we want.

The entire movie happens within a cafe, The Place. It's like reading a book, you visualize the things happening outside based on what people interact in the cafe.

I kind of enjoyed The Place even though it has lots of flaws. The acting and dialogue was spot on and the story had enough twists to keep me interested until the end. The film did however have lots of problems for me. First of all the editing and cinematophy were really dull and I had a very hard time finding a motivation behind certain choices that were made. The soundtrack also didnt work for me at all. The music was very uninteresting and generic, it would probably have worked better with no music at all, or at least with some restraint. The horrible music at the end left me running away from the theatre.

In conclusion: director Paulo Genovese is good at directing his actors and keeping a story interesting like in his previous film Perfect Strangers, but the style of the film was very poor and undermined the potential of the story greatly.