bafta, golden globe and academy award winner 2014 = must-see
missed it on the big screen so the offer from google play accepted
opening shot - literally - down a cannon barrel - fired and applause
followed by sweeping and stunning scenes of random people in a park
beautiful acapella singing from 8 ladies seen on an upper floor of a building
some japanese tourists seen in awe of this place - one wanders off - drops dead
a close-up of one of the singers as she belts out a glorious solo - i'm hooked
then cut to loud dance music at a outdoor night party and a total contrast
dancers, a stripper, lots of people whooping it up and an italian line-dance
the man - jep gambardella - striding it down the middle on his 65th birthday
it looks kind of surreal but then after a while it is what it is - rome at play
jep obviously has a lot of friends/acquaintances but no partner to be seen
mingling with party guests reveals some further background to his life
a successful one-book author of some 40 years prior - now a journalist
part-time - his lady (dwarf) boss urging him to take a gig out of town
take up the offer to visit and write about the costa concordia capsizing
she trashes herself and he wanders off with another rich lady socialite
after the deed she offers to show him her facebook photos of herself
he slips away and a voiceover announces a newly determined decree
at 65 i have decided to not spend any time on things i do not enjoy
back home the next day and on his rooftop adjacent to the colosseum
the scene is set - he is rich, indulgent, sharply dressed and quite incisive
but with all that likeable too - some fine acting from toni servillo as jep
a surprise visit from an old acquaintance now married to jep's first love
but she has died - both in tears - and an announcement jep was the one
her husband reading in her diary that he was merely a 'good companion'
regrets - jep then seen lying on his bed and a visualisation of their time
a clever seamless flashback - director paolo sorrentino's skills on show
this event seems to trigger a realisation from jep that his life is empty
and more blows as firstly the son of a good friend commits suicide
the daughter of a very old friend becomes his plutonic companion
more incredible scenes of rome as jep has a friend with a set of keys
they are seen as mid-night visitors at famous museums and galleries
this is revealing for us the audience and ramona who is new to this
but her father is concerned for the amount of money she is losing
in secret she reveals her big medical issues and then dies (cancer?)
more life lessons for jep - he now does not waste words on friends
cuts them down to size with any hint of ego, jealousy or false intent
his main male friend then leaves rome to return to his country town
rome has failed him - ciao - jep then seen looking at the capsized ship
a brief trip though and back to rome and off to another cultural event
he as main writer for a respected journal - this one a photo montage
one man with a huge display of a daily passport type photo of himself
jep seen in tears as he observes and realises how short and linear life is
then at a wedding jep is introduced to a papal cardinal and seeks answers
nothing forthcoming though - this would-be-pope prefers to talk recipes
a bit of a swipe at religion methinks - and the religious overtones continue
a mother teresa type figure is coming to town to be canonised - at age 104
scenes then of her blessing the flock and being held in complete reverance
she is a fan of jep's book and so agrees to a dinner in her honour at his home
in a brief discussion with him there she passes on some words of wisdom
the reason i only eat roots is because roots are important - uh - yes ok
we see him being inspired by the singular spirituality of this woman
he seemingly now regretting his pursuit of a fully indulgent life
in the final scene the voiceover indicating a return to writing
and with that some more spine-tingling acapella singing
the end - 2 hours and 20 minutes of total absorption
every frame of every scene done quite exquisitely
this film is going to be watched multiple times
if only (but not) for the superb soundtrack
and the awards cleanup - totally justified
la grande bellezza - eccellente!
