First of all: this is NOT Cinema Paradiso. I need to start with that statement because somehow when you make such a awesome movie like Cinema Paradiso everybody thinks that all the following movies are going to be as good as Cinema Paradiso, and that's a stupid way of thinking. In fact, if you review all the movies directed by Giuseppe Tornatore you will notice that Cinema Paradiso is his highest rated movie, the rest are just OK movies.
La Corrispondenza is a good movie, just not as good as Cinema Paradiso, and that is OK because they are different pieces of art, just like The Pieta and the David. So, do yourself a favor and don't watch this movie if you expect another Cinema Paradiso.
That being said, I will answer the question in every male's mind: yes, Olga show her tits and that beautiful butt of her's, but focus for a minute, there is more in this movie that female nudity. This is an OK movie, and yes, I did wrote OK and not good. There were material for a good movie but somehow it stays short in almost everything, not reaching it's full potential.
The story is about an PhD student and a professor, they have been lovers for the last six years which is a problem because Amy is way younger than Ed.
The photography for this movie is really beautiful, York, Edinburgh, and Piemonte impregnates the movie with a melancholic atmosphere, perfect for the setting. Maybe Edinburgh was the weakest location, but it may be just me, and even so it has it's own sparks. While York show us lots of green and earth, and Piemonte lots of blue and water, Edinburgh shine by the grey and the harsh. But there is more in here for the untrained eyes. There is texture, like the wood on the door on Piemonte or the one induced by the water on the lake, also in Piemonte; contrasts, like the water drops in the ground of a rainy city, the character of Ed and the severity of Ed's doctor; light and darkness and the not so subtle hints of hope and despair.
The editing was OK, I guess. It's a pretty much straightforward tale, so editing is not so important (as in Inception, for example).
Music is between OK and good. Certainly is not the brightest work of Ennio Morricone, but not because is not good, but because it melts so good with the general feeling of the movie that you barely notice the music. It fill the blank spaces with a sweet feeling of sadness, sorrow, loneliness, and lost that are so subtle that are not powerful enough to catch your mind, trapped most of the time by the performance of Olga or the voice and emotion of Irons.
The duration of the movie it's OK but, for me, the last 15 minutes were kinda boring. I really wish the movie to end because Tornatore extended the drama a bit too much.
The performances range from good to just OK now and then. Let's be clear about something: this is a movie about Olga and Irons, the rest of the cast is just there to fill blank spaces, so I will focus on Olga and Irons. Olga Kurylenko it's more than just a pair of tits and a nice butt, she can act. It was proved back on Hit-man, Max Payne, and Quantum of Solace. Unfortunately, I don't know why she has such bad luck with movies... Anyway, 85% of the movie she delivers a good performance, there is a scene where she is taking a shower and you can see the emptiness in her face, but then again, there is another scene where she is talking about her father and you wish Tornatore pushed her a bit more to get a good performance and not just an OK performance. Jeremy Irons take his acting in a different direction and just like Olga, you can't stop feeling there was something missing. They both feel authentic and plastic at the same time...
Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the plot. The plot is OK, it's not an original idea but for telling this story you don't need it. It's kinda cheesy, use some clichés here and there, but it's OK. Maybe my biggest problem is the ending, but then again, maybe it's just me (it has a better ending than Blue is the warmest color). The plot is about grief, pain, loss, forgiveness, growing up, healing, getting better, moving forward; but above all, La Corrispondenza is a movie about love, love for your family, for yourself, for your significant other, and it's also a movie about time and how short it is, how much we ignore it and take it for granted not really appreciating it and how much we want to turn it back once it's gone.
Now, this is cinema and cinema it's a form of art. Maybe you will not like this movie but if the movie makes you ask questions like: it was fair?, how much is enough?, what would you do in that situation?. If you ask yourself or to other person such questions, then the movie accomplish it's objective: touching your soul.
For me this movie is a 8/10, but maybe it's because I have love and lost so I can connect to Amy when she fells into the ground like she lost complete control of her legs. The rest of the world will give to La Corrispondenza a 7.5/10 or maybe even a 7/10.
La Corrispondenza is a good movie, just not as good as Cinema Paradiso, and that is OK because they are different pieces of art, just like The Pieta and the David. So, do yourself a favor and don't watch this movie if you expect another Cinema Paradiso.
That being said, I will answer the question in every male's mind: yes, Olga show her tits and that beautiful butt of her's, but focus for a minute, there is more in this movie that female nudity. This is an OK movie, and yes, I did wrote OK and not good. There were material for a good movie but somehow it stays short in almost everything, not reaching it's full potential.
The story is about an PhD student and a professor, they have been lovers for the last six years which is a problem because Amy is way younger than Ed.
The photography for this movie is really beautiful, York, Edinburgh, and Piemonte impregnates the movie with a melancholic atmosphere, perfect for the setting. Maybe Edinburgh was the weakest location, but it may be just me, and even so it has it's own sparks. While York show us lots of green and earth, and Piemonte lots of blue and water, Edinburgh shine by the grey and the harsh. But there is more in here for the untrained eyes. There is texture, like the wood on the door on Piemonte or the one induced by the water on the lake, also in Piemonte; contrasts, like the water drops in the ground of a rainy city, the character of Ed and the severity of Ed's doctor; light and darkness and the not so subtle hints of hope and despair.
The editing was OK, I guess. It's a pretty much straightforward tale, so editing is not so important (as in Inception, for example).
Music is between OK and good. Certainly is not the brightest work of Ennio Morricone, but not because is not good, but because it melts so good with the general feeling of the movie that you barely notice the music. It fill the blank spaces with a sweet feeling of sadness, sorrow, loneliness, and lost that are so subtle that are not powerful enough to catch your mind, trapped most of the time by the performance of Olga or the voice and emotion of Irons.
The duration of the movie it's OK but, for me, the last 15 minutes were kinda boring. I really wish the movie to end because Tornatore extended the drama a bit too much.
The performances range from good to just OK now and then. Let's be clear about something: this is a movie about Olga and Irons, the rest of the cast is just there to fill blank spaces, so I will focus on Olga and Irons. Olga Kurylenko it's more than just a pair of tits and a nice butt, she can act. It was proved back on Hit-man, Max Payne, and Quantum of Solace. Unfortunately, I don't know why she has such bad luck with movies... Anyway, 85% of the movie she delivers a good performance, there is a scene where she is taking a shower and you can see the emptiness in her face, but then again, there is another scene where she is talking about her father and you wish Tornatore pushed her a bit more to get a good performance and not just an OK performance. Jeremy Irons take his acting in a different direction and just like Olga, you can't stop feeling there was something missing. They both feel authentic and plastic at the same time...
Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the plot. The plot is OK, it's not an original idea but for telling this story you don't need it. It's kinda cheesy, use some clichés here and there, but it's OK. Maybe my biggest problem is the ending, but then again, maybe it's just me (it has a better ending than Blue is the warmest color). The plot is about grief, pain, loss, forgiveness, growing up, healing, getting better, moving forward; but above all, La Corrispondenza is a movie about love, love for your family, for yourself, for your significant other, and it's also a movie about time and how short it is, how much we ignore it and take it for granted not really appreciating it and how much we want to turn it back once it's gone.
Now, this is cinema and cinema it's a form of art. Maybe you will not like this movie but if the movie makes you ask questions like: it was fair?, how much is enough?, what would you do in that situation?. If you ask yourself or to other person such questions, then the movie accomplish it's objective: touching your soul.
For me this movie is a 8/10, but maybe it's because I have love and lost so I can connect to Amy when she fells into the ground like she lost complete control of her legs. The rest of the world will give to La Corrispondenza a 7.5/10 or maybe even a 7/10.