Wednesday,
February 06, 2008
"Ciao Bella" Iranian learns
Italian Seduction Secrets From Teammates - Sassily Humorous .
The
ANNOTICO Report
"Ciao Bella" (Swedish, Italian,
English, Farsi dialogue). Mustafa,
is a Swede born in
Dumped by his
blonde g.f. during pic's
opening moments, Mustafa frequently overhears casually racist remarks such as
"he's one of them."
When
Mustafa travels to Gothenburg's summer youth soccer tournament with his high
school team, a clever series of events results in him playing on the Italian side. The confident, attractive Italians (portrayed as
sex objects in playful locker-room scenes that reverse the way women are
usually depicted) attract gaggles of gorgeous Swedish girls. Renamed Massimo by
teammate Enrico (hilarious), Mustafa is transformed into a Latin lover, and one of
pic's funniest bits involves Enrico demonstrating Italian seduction secrets.
Working-class
beauty Linnea gravitates toward Massimo's suave
manners and sense of style. For Mustafa, it's a dream come true, so he's
forced to maintain his fraudulent identity and carry out his courtship in
English.
Strong playing by
leads and, the entire ensemble gives the situations a realistic intensity and
winning charm. Likewise, tight script sustains a sassily humorous tone
while managing to address serious issues including national stereotyping
and an increasingly sexualized youth environment.
Ciao Bella - (
Debuting
helmer Mani Masserat-Aghat's
delightful romantic comedy "Ciao Bella"
takes on Swedish attitudes toward immigrants and foreigners with a
pitch-perfect story about young love, sex, ethnicit y
and fear of being an outsider. Cut from the same cloth as smart coming-of-agers such as "Bend It Like
Beckham," with plenty of English dialogue, the film should
speak to international arthouse auds
of all ages. However, frank but not graphic sexual content and open attitude
toward abortion could limit travel in some regions. Pic
opened in
Like director Masserat-Aghat, protagonist Mustafa (Poyan
Karimi, terrific) is a Swede born in
Dumped by his
blonde g.f. (who euphemistically tells him she wants
someone "more prominent") during pic's
opening moments, Mustafa frequently overhears casually racist remarks such as
"he's one of them."
When
Mustafa travels to Gothenburg's summer youth soccer tournament with his high
school team, a clever series of events results in him playing on the Italian
side.
The confident, attractive Italians (portrayed as sex objects in playful
locker-room scenes that reverse the way women are usually depicted) attract
gaggles of gorgeous Swedish girls. Renamed Massimo by teammate Enrico (Oliver Ingrosso, hilarious), Mustafa is transformed into a Latin
lover, and one of pic's funniest bits involves Enrico
demonstrating Italian seduction secrets.
Working-class
beauty Linnea (Chanelle Lindelle, poignant) gravitates toward Massimo's suave
manners and sense of style. For Mustafa, it's a dream come true, so he's forced
to maintain his fraudulent identity and carry out his courtship in English.
Strong playing by
leads and, indeed, the entire ensemble of young actors gives the situations a
realistic intensity and winning charm. Likewise, tight script sustains a
sassily humorous tone while managing to address serious issues including
national stereotyping and an increasingly sexualized youth environment.
Bright,
natural-light lensing by Andreas Lennartsson emphasizes a multiethnic
Pacey editing, spot-on
costuming and an unobtrusive score round out strong tech package.
A
Gotafilm production, in co-production with Film I Vast, Sandrew Metronome. (International sales: Gotafilm,
Gothenburg.) Produced by Olle Wirenhed. Executive producer, Christer Nilson. Directed by Mani Maserrat-Aghat. Screenplay, Jens Jonsson,
from an idea by Maserrat-Aghat.
With Poyan Karimi, Chanelle Lindell, Oliver Ingrosso, Fridrika Tham, Arash Bolouri, Hussein Zazem, Jimmy Lindstrom.
(Swedish, Italian, English, Farsi dialogue)
Camera (color),
Andreas Lennartsson; editor, Kristin Grundstrom; music, Martin Willert;
art di rector, Teresa Beale; costume designer, Bara Pertman;
sound (DTS), Andreas Franck;
casting, Rolands Herna,
David Fardhar. Reviewed at Gothenburg Film
Festival, Feb. 2, 2008. (Also in
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936056.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
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ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:
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Annotico
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