Una Vita Tranquilla (A Quiet Life)

Exactly my kind of movie thanks to great camera takes, nice outdoor/indoor framing, very good slowish pace that slowly very-slowly builds tension, and most of all an amazing performance by incredibly good Toni Servillo. It’s truly spectacular to watch this amazing actor that in this role has many moments where he speaks with facial expressions and particularly superb scenes where he says everything with his eyes.

A thriller by Claudio Cupellini that tells a very common story seen/told innumerable times but as someone said: never like this. It’s true never like how is told here but again is Servillo who makes story very fresh, almost like new. An ex-Camorra escapes his life of crime by faking his death while traveling from Naples to Germany where years after –now- has a wife (Julianne Köhler) and a nine year old son, is a chef that owns a popular restaurant and has a quiet life. But he gets the visit of two young Camorra hit men and as you can easily imagine, the past becomes Rosario Russo (Servillo) present and everything goes awry.

Almost told you the entire story, but is so common that is not guessing what will happen next (I did guess right) is watching how everything evolves and most of all how Servillo conducts the narrative with extraordinary ease allowing you to get inside the movie, like if you were there near him, watching him and living/feeling everything he’s living and feeling. Truly amazing and spectacular performance as good as … almost everything else he has done. What an exhausting cinematic experience, but very gratifying.

Cupellini’s film has above the norm tech specs with special mention to photography and one particular scene where Servillo is inside his car, we are outside, is raining, we can hardly see his face through the glass BUT we will know everything that he’s feeling by watching a slight movement in is left eye. Superb!!!

Was thinking that honestly this is a superior movie to the one submitted to the Oscar and wonder why was not chosen. Anyway the movie was in competition at the 2010 Rome fest where Servillo won the Best Actor award and believe me the honor is more than well-deserved.

Strongly recommend this movie that because the story I’m sure men will like it; but this movie is for adult audiences that enjoy excellent performances by Toni Servillo in a movie that’s a true example of good European cinema.

I’m still thinking about the movie, about what Rosario felt, about how sometimes the past becomes your present and always is not for good. Like the movie, but love Toni Servillo.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC