coso

I am from the city of Bari, and I must say that the fervor with which you attack this film seems excessive to me. You have my full understanding when, as an honest and hardworking young man with solid values instilled by your family, you express an unyielding anger towards the figure of some shady character, ignorant and using systematic bullying and trickery as guiding principles in life. But I feel much more anger when I see this in my local reality rather than in a harmless film like this one. And I assure you, unfortunately, that in my city there is indeed a vast array of nefarious characters with this mentality. This, of course, does not mean that everything is like that, or that there aren't capable and honest people trying to evolve my city; far from it. But it is a living reality, and I see nothing wrong with wanting to tell it in a film. Whether the film succeeds in doing so well or only partially is open to discussion, but I don't believe that the theme it addresses is a negative prerogative. After all, many films that depict, I don’t know, the malaise of the American province start from a mechanism that is not too different, namely that of painting a slice of reality. I agree with those who find Piva's previous film, "Capagira," more effective in telling a certain urban fabric of Bari, perhaps because it is more ironic and amused than this one.

Really great review... you managed to almost provide a live commentary on the sensations that the viewer experiences and the things they perceive while watching this film, which unfolds in almost four or five lengthy moments over the course of two hours, along a climax of tension that resolves in a finale where the catharsis is there but is partial and certainly not painless. Personally, I evaluate the quality of a film based on the after-viewing experience, on how much it makes you reflect on it after the lights come back on. This is one of the few films I've seen recently that gave me strong post-viewing sensations.

It's definitely a good film, which intelligently and complexly portrays a possible status of being adolescents in our bourgeois societies. We often live in social contexts where conformity can become an imperative, if not a necessity, at all ages... Just imagine during a period of our lives when we are still quite naive, both intellectually and emotionally... Anyway, Solondz is an excellent director; in his subsequent film "Happiness," he delivers an even more ruthless and incisive portrait of the American bourgeoisie, almost repugnant... with an outstanding Seymour Hoffman, by the way. It's a shame that these are his only films released in Italy: I believe he has made two others that were never distributed over here (although he participated in the Venice Film Festival, if I'm not mistaken, in 2004).

Scaruffi... let's not forget that he gives a 7 to Aquarium by Aqua. Some of his judgments smell of provocations that are self-serving. It's clear that his stance and undeniable culture make him feel so strong that he can apply absolutely personal criteria for judgment. That said, it's very easy to find oneself in total disagreement with him. I have often seen great albums being belittled by his pen and by now I don't pay much attention to it anymore.

It's pointless to apply certain criteria, like the quality of acting or the believability of dialogues, to movies like these. It's very much a "genre" cinema, equipped with a directorial touch that has somehow marked an era... take it or leave it. Certainly one of D'Amato's most ambitious films; indeed, it can be quite off-putting, but not to the point of ridiculousness like in Antropophagus or Orgasmo Nero (which, however, includes much more porn...).

No, no... I think it was about Musica di Repubblica, which still existed back then. Or somewhere around there, I read it when the dico came out in 2003, I could be mistaken, but it definitely wasn't il Mucchio Selvaggio.

A fair observation from London, even silences are a fundamental component in recreating moods, in conveying the feelings of confusion and unease of the characters. In fact, there are only two pieces in the soundtrack, namely those related to the dance scene after the father's second wedding, two danceable jazz pieces that in that context take on the value of an almost artificial and forced interruption of the protagonists' pain, hidden by circumstances. And it resurfaces as soon as that vase breaks and one of the three screams her disdain for that feeble attempt to obscure, to move on. Great.

In my opinion, there is indeed a separation between "Becoming X" and the subsequent albums... in the sense that while the first album leveraged (very well) the musical trend of those years, by "Splinter" the band shifted towards more emotional sounds, imbued with a certain "spleen." Coincidentally, after the hit "Six Underground," they were drastically forgotten, not only by the market (which is understandable), but also by critics (which is a shame). Personally, I prefer their second album, which seems more cohesive and evocative to me, besides being very well produced, with that particular coexistence of acoustic guitars and ethereal keyboards alongside Corner's fragile, suffering voice... nonetheless, this is also a nice album and the reviewer did well to remind us of this band, unjustly missing from debaser. Well done.

I agree with mikornr's opinion. If this album isn't completely throwaway, it's not due to Giustino's flashes of genius, who, at most, brings the physicality and coolness, but rather the mega production work behind it. A friend of mine, an electronic music composer, took the trouble to listen to it carefully with headphones and admitted that while melodically there’s nothing, the array of sounds and effects that have been pulled out is truly impressive.

A few years ago, a bunch of alternative Italian rock bands emerged, many of which have since disappeared. They were perhaps a bit too unique to withstand the test of time, but they had charm... it’s not a bad idea to go and find them again, even if they probably aren’t easy to come by.