Complicated Italian Tragicomism They say that the golden age of Italian cinema ended a couple of decades ago, and I agree. Although periodicals Italians make very good pictures that are worthy of attention. First Beautiful won the Palm Springs International Film Festival, won three prestigious awards of the National Italian Film Academy Donatello (Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay) and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film in 2010.
This is the story of a beautiful Italian woman who loves men too much to stay with only one of them (and the men reciprocate with her), and of her two children (towards the end comes a third, whom she had to see from a distance - he grew up with his father). History covers a period of 38 years. It begins in 71, when Anna Nigiotti suddenly becomes the first in a beauty contest among women with children. In a fit of jealousy, the father kicks the mother and two children out of the house. The film simultaneously unfolds in two time layers. In the second, Bruno’s grown-up son, who has problems with drugs (the whole film he is looking for somewhere to get something to drop in – in general, a polydrug addict-loser), a gymnasium teacher who has long broken up with his mother, still goes to her hospice, where she dies of cancer. With her sister Valeria. The mother finds herself on painkillers, but still cheerful enough to throw herself at him with kisses, and then escape from the hospital to the cinema and the dance floor, where she dances with her son until she faints, and her mouth is bleeding.
The picture has many touching and emotionally intense moments. But, alas, despite the fact that the genre is designated as tragicomedy, I would not call a funny film. It is shot in Italian energetically, between the characters now and then “screams”, but the picture is infinitely sad. Because you know perfectly well why your son has such psychological problems that led him to drug addiction, and that Anna, in fact, lived a dissolute and unhappy life, jumping from one bed to another. She gave birth to her third son in some strange triple union - while having sex with a lawyer and his wife, he hired her to work as a secretary.
Valerio Mastandrea, who plays Bruno as he ages, certainly plays his part magnificently. He deserved the Donatello Award. It is very funny to watch his futile attempts to get drugs - in a hospice, in a pharmacy, from a relative-musician. And tragicomedy is mainly built on his complex emotions and changeability. It reminds me of Michael Fassbender.
The film received good critical reviews and high ratings of the audience. But for me, the Italian humor was probably too heavy - I didn't take it as it should. To me, the picture seemed a drama wracked by fate and its own wrong nature of a woman and her, alas, unhappy children. I would recommend watching the film only to big fans of Italian cinema – I know there are many of them. And in general, you will have to look at something else of this director – Paolo Virji – not for nothing they say that he shoots with a very subtle irony. Perhaps I just did not catch his subtle humor from the very first author's film.
4 out of 10