Passione d’amore is a period drama set in the mid XIX century in barely unified Italy. It’s about a young military captain who had the unfortune of being handsome and intelligent, so when he met a very unpretty girl, she fell madly in love with him. The power of her passion staggered him so much, he, well, he didn’t fall back in love with her, not in a traditional sense anyway; it’s hard to grasp what he was feeling, but it surely ruined him.
The story turned out to be really fascinating, alghough it wasn’t that clear in the beginning. It touches upon a theme that is anything but trite, and illuminates it rather comprehensively. The acting is exactly as good as one would expect from a recognized Italian director of that time. The general visual style is sort of archaic, which in my mind is more like a plus than a minus, as it gives some repose from the overly fast modern cinema.
All in all the film is deep and interesting, and well-implemented, too. One of the best Scola’s works I’ve seen so far.
Time: 01:52:43
Released in: 1981
Directed by: Ettore Scola
Written by: Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola
Performed by: Bernard Giraudeau, Valeria D’Obici, Laura Antonelli, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Massimo Girotti, Bernard Blier, Gerardo Amato, Sandro Ghiani, Alberto Incrocci, Rosaria Schemmari, Francesco Piastra, Saverio Vallone, Franco Committeri
Entertaining quality: 4 out of 5
Art quality: 5 out of 5
IMDB page: link
®shoomow, 2016
Cinegmatic 