There’s something to be said for going to the video store with another person, they’ll be drawn to movies that you’d never otherwise take a second look at.
That was certainly the case last night, when I had my tentacles locked on George Romero’s gruesome Dawn of the Dead, but my friend was drawn to Facing Windows, a 2003 Italian movie from director Ferzan Ozpetek.
She picked out Facing Windows, apparently, because of the cover.
‘Really?’ I asked, expecting something vivid, explicit or postmodern. Instead, the movie cover was the one pictured above. It’s definitely one I would have passed by.
But good fortune comes to those who rent Facing Windows is a slow-paced yet totally engrossing film that ties in past and present.
At the heart of the film is Giovanna, a wife whose life is solely composed of looking after her family, a responsibility that weighs her down. After all, is that what life is?
She struggles with her husband for everything: sex, money, arguments. She sees him as soft-hearted and irresponsible, and when he brings home a senile old man, she loses it on him.
Giovanna would be content to leave the old man in the street, but her husband insists on taking care of him. We’re shown small pieces of the old man’s past, which, put together, make for a sorrowful and terrible story. His life is a mish-mash of being Jewish and homosexual in the times of the Nazi occupation of Italy.
It’s really very interesting, but at points, the film seems to throw things at your face, like the extramarital love affair. Everything is tied together with windows, which play a large part, but at times, it seems overdone. And no one likes an overcooked roast.
Right. The story is a little stretchy, but the film is held together solidly by the fantastic performances of Giovanna, played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, and the old man, played by Massimo Girotti. Girotti is especially incredible to watch as he drifts in and out of senility.
Instead, the movie could have focused more on the pastries and desserts, which are an integral part of the storyline. Yes… more shots of chocolate cakes being made with tenderness and grace – it’s very nearly pornography.
I say: Yeah, see it. Rent it from the video store, or buy it straight from the distributor, Palace Films.
See it for: You know what. Chocolate cakes, baby!
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