Then, when you think of Soldini’s films (see Days and Clouds – Giorni e nuvole Silvio Soldini – 2007) you may consider him as neorealist too serving similar, yet updated formula customized to the social hardships of the modern man. This time around nobody stole his bicycles, he doesn’t live in a shantytown barely surviving and not caving down under the exploits of the fishing village cartels (feel free to guess films).

His basic needs are now fully satisfied: a nice apartment (shelter), sophisticated dinners (food), loving partner (personal love), family and friends (social love), and a decent meaningful job (money/esteem). So in essence, now his mind is practically free to wander around and entertain “what ifs” games that gradually turn into love affairs carrying some heavy implications to the above nearly perfect “Maslow needs pyramid” he has diligently built.

This is the context for the rather banal story of Ana (Alba Rohrwacher) and Domenico (Pierfrancesco Favino) each idly orbiting in their own quotidian spheres maintaining their “pyramids” until a meaningless encounter – Domenico serves as catering waiter at Anna’s office event – disrupts this Shangri-La and gradually mushrooms into an affair with real consequences.

Soldini has a great knack for fine details that transform such simple and over told plot into a human believable experience: this woodpecking thought Anna is first experiencing should she make the first step and call Domenico or not, the ensuing multiple attempts to consume their romance each time with another unexpected interruption and throughout the affair the cardinal role the cellphone plays nowadays, at once making the couple closer, but at the same time alienating their betrayed partners.

“What I want more” is the original Italian title for the film where in the US the title was revised to “Come Undone.” Without checking any background info or interviews with the director to learn the exact motive, which I bet most people don’t, I find the original title as an observation of a human hedonistic/selfish preference: “out of these menu life choices, after being stuffed with all the must-haves: food, shelter, and esteem, then being freshly loved is the one dessert item on the menu I really cannot get enough of.”

Whereas the revised title “Come Undone” to me signifies a more conservative observation of immature-undone behavior, or else the protagonists would have realized life is about making compromises where you get what you need from the menu, and not necessarily what you want.

That’s the beauty of films, it’s nice to dig deeper and understand exactly why a certain plot, title or camera angle were selected. But I believe, the purest movie experience is often a personal dialog between the content and the viewer’s own experiences to make it meaningful/less. What you see here is the outcome of my dialog. What’s yours?

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The story takes us to mid-summer scalding hot Rome, vacant from its residents that are out of town for the annual Ferragosto holiday vacation. The town is left with either old people or relatives that are looking for last moment arrangements for their old family members before escaping.

Di Gregorio plays Gianni, a mid-lifer who lives with his 93 old demanding mother or what in Italian is known as mammone, with no prospects and piling up bills. When the landlord stops by to collect the late rent, this sour lemon appears to turn quickly into lemonade. The deal is simple: the landlord will forget the rent and throw in some expenses cash if Gianni will take care of the landlord’s mother and aunt, while he leaves town in a convertible full of food delicacies, including a young lover.

Gianni and his guests

Gianni reluctantly takes up the offer to ease up his debt burden and from then on becomes the cook and care taker of five old ladies (their first time acting gig!) each carrying her own and often conflicting agenda. This opens up on one hand a stream of comic relief moments, but at the same time sheds light on the dour life of the elderly. From this perspective it reminded me of an early masterpiece from the Neorealism genre that dealt with same issue, but from a more dramatic angle: Vittorio De Sica’s 1952 Umberto D., dedicated to his father.

The film also offers a tempting display of fine Italian cuisine dishes Gianni constantly produces to care for his guests. So be sure to watch the film after having sufficient nutrients.

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If we do a good job for this worldwide company, we’ll be on the gravy train for more projects.

Sorry, for this class the train has already left the station – registration is over.

Thanks, but you’ve just interrupted my train of thoughts.

Trains offer a rich canvas for conveying many human contexts, challenges, disappointments and hopes. So it’s only natural that cinema would utilize this eclectic locomotive in various ways. And indeed, trains and train stations play a highly emotional role in Italian cinema and beyond. The dramatic sense of departure between loved ones towards the unknown future (I Vitelloni, Federico Fellini – 1953), the arrival to a new place and the constant search for the ever-waiting relative (Rocco and his Brothers – Luchino Visconti – 1960) – and many more.

Whereas in most films the train environment appears only in a few scenes to underscore a particular emotional development, then in this film the train is brought front and center and functions as the constant backdrop for the plot throughout the whole film.

Moreover, this film provide a cross-cultural triptych of three prominent directors; Ermanno Olmi (Italy), Abbas Kiarostami (Iran), and Ken Loach (Britain). Each brings his own artistic sensibilities to weave a story with characters riding the train from central Europe to Rome. The beauty of the film is how these characters transition from one story driven by one director to another. For that matter, it’s definitely worth viewing the Behind the Scenes bonus content to appreciate the careful planning that was involved in weaving these three independent plots into one cohesive artwork.

Often trains’ linear nature represent a metaphor for life’s winding rail where each station is another milestone en route to a final destination, that once accomplished nirvana supposedly descends. The same logic is also apparent in this film where Olmi, leveraging his signature style of using present to past flashbacks (see The Enagaged – I Fidanzati – 1963), Kiarostami by creating a somber brooding mood about past events and Loach by planting series of human miscommunications that unravel upon arrival to Rome.

No doubt, trains are vibrant microcosms where ephemeral human stories are produced every day. Think about it the next time you ride the train…

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Not by a long shot. Yes, current Italian filmmakers have been facing this incredible challenge of reinventing Italian cinema in the face of its grand history. No matter how you slice it, it could definitely be tough surpassing the Fellinis or the De Sicas of the world. Yet, different times with different audiences call for fresh new perspectives and new cinematic ideas.

And that’s exactly why this film by Gabriele Muccino, is such a great delight. It opens a fresh new window to what modern Italy looks like today. In the center of this film is the story of a normal, yet dysfunctional family where the fast pace of modern life erodes the natural family ties. Carlo, the husband (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) is experiencing a midlife crisis, finds his job boring and slowly digresses to reignite an old flame, played beautifully by Monica Bellucci.

If Carlo functions on a slow always-brooding wavelength, Giulia, his wife (Laura Morante) is a ball of fire, always in a hurry, works as a teacher, but thinks her true calling is acting, tries it but always self-doubting herself.

Their kids Valentina (Nicoletta Romanoff), the ultimate teen who is always self-absorbed, (practically glued to her mirror) and on a mission to get into showbiz no matter what it takes. Paolo (Silvio Muccino, the director’s real-life brother), her brother, is a confused adolescent that feels like the family loser.

When you tie all these characters together, it seems like they have become so much apart of each other, each gliding in his own orbit as if they’re merely strangers renting rooms in the same apartment. In this sense, the director does an excellent job of creating a sense of alienation and discontent.

The plot moves briskly and at times it almost feels like switching TV channels; you start with multiple stories revolving around each character and then keep moving from one story development to the next until a unified development point brings all these sub-plots to conclusion.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The film’s theme song by Elisa

The film provides an excellent capture of the dreams, pitfalls and successes of a liberal, middle-class family that always needs to renegotiate its reason for existence. Superb!

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