Purely Joyful Movie!

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's great to be back to my rental run. Now it's the turn of my favorite Spanish actress Penélope but as i have watched a lot of her movies, this would be quick. I never understand European cinema because we never heard about it in France, except the blockbuster ones. So it's only because i have thoroughly checked her filmography that I pick this one. It's about a cheating husband and it's not the only movie that Penélope did in that field. The movie illustrates clearly why it happens : just because the cheater (whose i saw younger in « Le Grand Bleu ») has better life with his new lover than with his wife, who is a look alike of Sienna Miller. For sure, after it's the usual dilemma as this cheater fails to choose and act morally. It's hard to understand why he falls for Pénelope as she has really nothing for her : no happy past, no future, almost jobless and living in a ruin. Anyway, it's only because she is that lost soul with a heart and smile of a princess that Pénelope is really exceptional ! So the movie is sometimes a bit long, needlessly too erotic but at the end, it has a real story, moving moments, it made us alert with its Italian background and it's finally an excellent recommendation and her best Italian movie!

other than a very beautiful face (which ain't quite so good looking as it once was) that gets her jobs in fashion magazines slathered with makeup, what qualities does Ms Cruz have to get her on the big screen so often? her multilingual ability? maybe thats it. doing films in 4 different languages would increase the number of scripts available.maybe its those perky tits she likes to show off numerous times.this film was a definite disappointment. Im glad the local library has a big selection because if I had rented this one I would demand a refund.it jumps all over the place in location and date, full of surprises ie too much of an average thing, and is way too loaded with symbolism and lacks dialog which EXPLAINS wtf is going on in the film. gee, kinda like how is the viewer supposed to know what the message was in that scene/film if it lacks audio/visual CLUES ????? 'dont move' is said once in the film and has no bearing on the story, so what exactly is the story?

If you are to tell the story of this film you cannot escape the melodramatic lines, the lack of credibility and the cheap sentimental and predictable turns of the plot. A doctor's daughter suffers a motorcycle accident, and while she is in surgery he remembers the love story with a simple abused woman, that happened by the time the daughter was born. That was his true love and his true feelings, but destiny rather than he chose career and an easy life to true love. The story looks like a soap opera, smells like a soap opera, is acted like a soap opera, so it must be a soap opera, right? Well, not exactly. First because director Sergio Castellitto films in style, and the choice of his locations is good, especially when he shows the poor district where the house of his love interest lives. Then we have the acting, both Penelope Cruz and Sergio Castellitto himself act fine, and give life and emotion to a couple of characters who otherwise would have fallen in ridicule.Yet, this is not enough for a good film. The flaws of the script are really too big to be filled and despite the actors performance no real justification about the reasons of the relationship crosses the screen. We are left with a stylish soap opera, but yet a soap opera.

This movie was one of the most beautiful and moving films I have ever seen! There is a fascinating and intricate balance between the characters and the effects of their actions. It is a study of the deepest of human emotions and the necessity for passion and unrestricted love.Timoteo is a wealthy surgeon who seems to have the perfect life - a beautiful wife, a luxurious beach house, the perfect job and a ready-made social circle. But these superficial trappings are not what he wants out of life. Notably, Timoteo's relationship with his wife is clearly lacking passion and true love. Feeling detached from life, Timoteo is reawakened when he encounters a destitute woman named Italia and rapes her.Italia is a woman of lower class who is most likely uneducated. A key aspect of her character is her appearance - a slight gape in her teeth, thrift store clothes, and an overall impoverished countenance complement her quirky personality. To the audience, however, there is something downtrodden and lonely about her. Initially afraid when Timoteo rapes her, she becomes attracted to the passion between them and their encounters become frequent.Passion grows into love, and both Timoteo and Italia are happiest and most "alive" when they are together. Italia saves Timoteo from becoming an emotionless shell and Timoteo returns the favor by pulling Italia away from her cliff of loneliness.The film isn't about sadomasochism or a "study in the devious sexual behaviours of some individuals who received devastating emotional shocks by their fathers in their early teens", nor is it "a study in sadomasochism". The sexual behaviors exhibited by the lead characters are simply a result of their mutual unrealized longings for passion and love. Though the initial encounter between the two was entirely physical and . . . criminal . . . the desires that grow between them develop into one of the most beautiful and heart wrenching love stories captured on film. Throughout their year-long affair, the intensity of their love is evident in the way they hold each other and look into each other's eyes. Timoteo also refuses to take Italia into the abortion clinic when she becomes pregnant with his child, a sign that he dreads the thought of potentially putting her in danger or destroying the life they had created together.Despite the argument that briefly tears them apart, Timoteo and Italia are reunited only hours before the tragic ending. Timoteo does everything in his power to save Italia though her fate is inevitable and she dies as she sleeps next to her lover.Red proves to be a powerful symbol of passion throughout the movie, which is beautifully filmed, most notably in the red shoes Timoteo buys for Italia.Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this film is that it is so realistic. Each character faces daily struggles that could have just as easily happened to anyone in the audience. The film appeals to the basic desires that each of us seek to fulfill - true love, passion and happiness - in the rawest and grittiest fashion. The film is as far as one can get from a fairytale love story, and the ending is far from happy. Timoteo learns to be content with his wife and loves his daughter with all his heart. Italia is buried in a simple coffin without a marker and Timoteo is forced to face reality and let Italia become nothing more than a memory and a lesson about the beauty and complexity of life.The acting in this movie was excellent; Cruz delivered an awe-inspiring performance as a character whom is far from Cruz's usual portrayals and Castellitto's acting and directing delivers a perfect balance of sadness and passion.Perfect 10!