A week dedicated to the Italian film took place in the Cinematheque of Macedonia in Skopje with a retrospective to the work of Ferzan Ozpetek, a Turkish-Italian director, very famous for his sexual orientation (openly gay and fighting for the rights of the homosexual).
The first film, with which the "Window to the Italian Cinema" was opened was
"Bagno Turco (Hamam)" ("Turkish Bath"). It's a story of a man from Italy (Alessandro Gassman, incredibly handsome!) coming to Istanbul after the death of his aunt in order to sell the property left to him. There, somehow, he starts a new life and a sexual relationship with a young boy, which he chooses over his wife, who has come to visit him, see what has been going on and tell him that she has an affair with their friend. They all get enchanted by the Hamam and at the end, after the man (Gassman, incredibly handsome!) gets killed (by the people who want to build a commercial center in that area) his wife stays in Istanbul and continues to run the hamam.
The second film was
"Le Fate Ignoranti" ("His Secret Life") where a woman, after the death of her husband discovers that he had a male lover. Out of curiosity, she wants to meet her husband's lover, but then she continues to see him, and moreover, she makes friends with the other people in his circle.
The third film was
"La Finestra di Fronte" ("Facing Window"). It is a story of a young woman leading a more-or-less normal life with a husband and two kids, trying to make ends meet at the end of the month. One day she and her husband meet an old man on the street that seems has lost his memory. With the way Italian bureaucracy works, they can't get him to an institution and he stays with them. Even from here the story seems unconvincing, and it just continues to develop more and more unconvincingly until the end of the film. What is unavoidable in Ozpetek films is that the old man is actually gay and longs for the memory of his long lost lover. Once again, all the male characters are incredibly handsome and I get to think that it may be a good enough reason to watch Ozpetek movies! There is Raoul Bova, a character not developed at all, who seems to be in love with Giovanna (the woman), but again unconvincingly. The moral of the movie would be "live your life, and don't let it slip away" - a lame enough message that when presented like this becomes even lamer.
The fourth film was
"Cuore Sacro" ("Sacred Heart"). For once, Ozpetek tried to work on something other than gay people and dysfunctional marriages. However, again somewhat unconvincingly. The plot of the film would be the transition of a woman from a work-a-holic, consumerist, loner.. into a caring, compassionate, pretty much "saintly" person. It was a hard-to-swallow movie and, now that I think of it, I can't really say much about it.
The fifth and last film was
"Saturno Contro" ("Saturn in Opposition"). Here Ozperek returns to his usual story: gay couple very much in love and functioning perfectly, heterosexual couples with dysfunctional marriages, the usual smart Turkish female character.. and no point in the end.
When I started writing I didn't think that I disliked Ozpetek this much, but seems that it just came out of me.. Thank you very much, I prefer Tornatore, and even Gabriele Muccino's romantic comedies. Ozpetek is simply not for me.
