FILM - Il compleanno (David's Birthday), DIRECTOR - Marco Filiberti,
COUNTRY - Italy, SECTION - Controcampo Italiano
Why I wanted to see it? - The plot summary seemed quite interesting and it was a cheap premiere at the main Sala Grande.
Impressions :
Following in the footsteps of many modern Italian films, Il compleanno is extremely competently put together. Italian cinema as a whole (or at least the films that get international distribution) have very smooth, fluid aesthetics and this is certainly no different. I had been intrigued to see this because of when/where it was on coupled with the plot outline - a group of friends reuniting during a holiday with some murky issues between them bubbling beneath the surface.
This is an ensemble film and there isn't a false note amongst the cast (the only one of whom I recognised was Maria de Medeiros who is most famous for being Bruce Willis's arm-chewingly annoying girlfriend in Pulp Fiction). That coupled with the execution from the director and an interesting plot could seemingly hardly fail with 20 mins to go. But alas...
Where they take the film at the end is so melodramatic and overtly operatic (think the "big" moment near the end of The Lives of Others amped up with the stereo turned up to 11) it's a let down dramatically. Worse than that though is the emotional and intellectual reaction to the very questionable messages seemingly on show. It's very homophobic and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, which is a genuine shame because for long periods this had so much to offer. What they end up delivering was an intellectual turd sandwich which should only be placed in a brown bag, set alight and left on Filiberti's doorstep as that's the only fitting place for it.
Number of Miles worth travelling to see : 8 (180 cumulative).
FILM - The Men Who Stare at Goats, DIRECTOR - Grant Heslov,
COUNTRY - USA, SECTION - Out of Competition
Why I wanted to see it? - The cast and a writer I like's debut as a director.
Impressions :
So this is the film that was simply being billed and referred to as "The Clooney" with Italy's most famous resident "headlining" a film which in reality is Ewan McGregor's (but then again Ewan can't get hundreds of Italian females to scream "GIORGIO!!!" on queue when he puts the soles of his shoes on a red carpet, hence ... GIORGIO!!!). It took a packed-out Palabiennale a little while to attune themselves to the style of comedy on show (Ewan's reporter is drawn into a story of army-trained psychics, with George being the most talented), but once this gets going it really gets going.
The most impressive thing about this film (aside from the soundtrack, which is absolutely superb) is debut-director Grant "I wrote Good Night, and Good Luck" Heslov's direction. In comedies such as these tone is key and Heslov walks the tightrope and balances it all extremely well. He has the actors pitching it spot on and uses that great soundtrack to add to and define the humour.
Clooney is in his "zany" mode - when it works (like O Brother, Where Art Thou?) he's very fun, but when it misfires (like Leatherheads) it's not that hot. He's much closer to the former than the latter here. Ewan quietly steals the show, and Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey are okay but don't elevate the material they're given. The good thing though is the material is a fine piece of writing and consistently funny.
This is a very enjoyable crowd-pleaser of a film with more than a few memorably riotous moments that deliver some monster laughs. It may clearly play fast and loose with the truth, but it's just so entertaining you can almost forgive them anything, even the staring at the goats 
.
Number of Miles worth travelling to see : 240 (420 cumulative).
FILM - Lo Spazio Bianco (White Space), DIRECTOR - Francesca Comencini,
COUNTRY - Italy, SECTION - In Competition
Why I wanted to see it? - It was part of the double bill with the Clooney and I liked the poster.
Impressions :
There are certain performances where you see them and say "They just won the oscar": Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich, Jamie Foxx in Ray, Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood. Whether you agree with their wins or not, it was just that obvious. When White Space comes to its achingly beautiful conclusion, had it been in English and starring someone like Michelle Pfeiffer or Meg Ryan then the oscar race would be over before it had even begun: Margherita Buy's performance is just that kind of good.
We are introduced to Buy's character, a woman in her 40s who teaches Italian to adults in Naples and becomes pregnant following a passionate affair. Six months later her baby is prematurely born and the father is nowhere. Buy is forced to wait ... and wait and live with the continuously overbearing uncertainty.
This is not to say that the film is simply a performance piece, it's beautifully constructed. The cinematography is serenely smooth and the soundtrack is first rate. The editing ebbs rhythmically but despite that the film is, if anything, a little long. By definition the type of "story" they're telling (or more accurately - situation they're exploring) is a tad repetetive and can drag, but it does add into the character's situation (more Catch-22 as I mentioned the other day).
Those pacing issues are the only real problem with this lovely little film. Buy's gently subtle "wow" of a performance ensures it will always be worthwhile for that alone, but there is much more on offer from Comencini than you'll find in the average performance piece. It's more Clean than Down to the Bone in that respect and it's all the better for it.
Number of Miles worth travelling to see : 480 (900 cumulative).