Don't Move (2004)

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I didn't even recognize Penélope Cruz the first time I saw her. It was an amazing transformation. She is a poor housekeeper, but looked like a cheap whore.Co-writer, director, and leading man Sergio Castellitto, repays her kindness after his car breaks down by raping her. He won his third David (Italian Oscar) for his magnificent performance in this film. Cruz also picked up a David for her performance.Of course, Castellitto returns to the scene of the crime, apologies, and rapes her again. This time he treats her like a cheap whore by leaving money.Now, I love Cruz, but Castellitto has a wife at home, the ever lovely Claudia Gerini. She is definitely hot! Eventually, Cruz and Castellitto establish a relationship. He even takes her to a medical conference.Then things really get complicate with both women, and the film really starts to explode with emotion.

This film has tone of emptiness, you feel you are floating inside of the main character, how he felt the life, those daily agitation, consumed feeling, anxiety and loneness at the same time. When his most unexpected time, at his mid-life crisis, he encounter a woman on the road, not quite attractive more frankly quite ugly, uneducated, lower class woman in Spain. As he forced her sex, he just passed the point of no return. His soul are starting to suffer from guilt, desire and denial. And he is starting to realize his life was vain as his fake identity simply known as surgeon, but he never been himself until just now.There is nothing new as far as romance goes, they are having an affair, fell in love, declare each others, then the tragic begins.What is extra ordinary about the film is, it is a love story from the male side, not from voice from female, its full of masculine and energy of male imagination. There are deep frustrations of modern day male, from what the society is pushing, and its hand-cupped male expectation,the pressure and revolt.The film denies all the traditional beauties what ordinary Hollywood love story offer in traditional grammar. There is no beautiful couple, they are all too real, they have ordinary body and soul, there is no "Titanic' or "Romeo & Juliette" style sacrifice, they are all too cruel to be lover as we are in real life. Also there is no scene that forcing you to cry.But this film will make you weep, not cry from eyes, but from the heart. It denies all the values what ordinary people would die for, fidelity, beauty and vanity, and in the end, it recovers the truth, that the love is real, no matter how it is tragic or sinful, it simply exists.Penelope is simply brilliant for the role, she shines every minutes in the film. If you have experienced or never experienced 'real' love, see this film, it will let you crave. for the truth.A crucified love story to save your soul.

Created by an obviously talented group of film makers and actors, it is a chic flic from the male perspective. I had to remind myself that this film is not subject to American cultural norms. I started out disgusted with the main character Timoteo (Castellitto) and un-accepting of the reality of the relationships between the characters, mistress Italia (Cruz) and wife Elsa (Gerini). The amazing lack of dialog from the wife, who obviously knows about the mistress and says everything with her mannerisms and eyes rather than the traditional lame dialog filled with anger and tearful ultimatums. A similar performance from the mistress that leaves unspoken the hopefulness that cannot detour the obvious path the relationship is taking. The emotionless beginning builds constantly through the film until the crescendo ending. Very well done.

A doctor whose daughter is been operated as a matter of life or death begins to remember an old love affair that ended tragically. I'm sure that the feminist ones won't be very happy about the way this doctor met his lover (Penélope Cruz): he just rapes her. Is it possible to begin a relationship that way? Well, ask Mr. Castellito."Non te muovere" is a big flash-back that it would look more like a melodramatic serial if it wasn't for the fact that Castellito filmed it in an elegant way and with a steady hand. The truth is that this is the first decent movie that Penélope Cruz took part in since she (who knows why) became a Hollywood star. I've never liked her, but he does a good job in this movie (maybe she's a little bit vulgar, but that's something usual about her). Castellito plays the main role and directs the movie, and he proves he's a nice actor.So, if this is the best that Italian cinema can offer, then their situation is quite the same than here in Spain.*My rate: 6/10