THE SPACE BETWEEN
Australia/Italy, 2016, 105 minutes, Colour.
Flavio Parenti, Maeve Dermody.
Directed by Ruth Borgobello.
This is a film for middle-aged audiences and older who enjoy something of a light and unusual romance film.
The film is an Australian-Italian? production, with Australian finance and production support and an Australian star, Maeve Dermody. However, it also has a great deal of Italian finance, an Italian cast led by Flavio Parenti and Italian settings which are very attractive – and could entice audiences to visit north-eastern Italy, and the city of Udine and its surroundings.
The film opens with a quotation from the poet Rilke – suggestions of deeper meanings of love and relationships, and people’s place in the universe. The Rilke theme continues with one of the central characters carrying around the poems that Rilke wrote and the screenplay taking the central characters and the audience to a coastal and cliff walk, the locations where he conceived the poems.
This is the story of Marco, Flavio Parenti, who grew up in Udine, training to be a chef, moving to New York City where he had jobs which he liked but, his mother had some strokes and he returned home and has stayed in the town to care for his father. His father is laconic, as his son says, preferring watching television rather than have conversation. He also now has a dreary job at the same factory where his father worked, being retrenched and then re-hired. He has a close friend, Claudio, who runs a bookshop and does some catering which Marco enjoys helping with.
Then tragedy strikes and there is a space between ordinary life and resuming life, living through grief which affects Marco deeply.
He encounters Olivia, Maeve Dermody, who lives in Melbourne but has come back to the home of her ancestors to sort out property matters and visit cousins. In many ways it is a chance encounter but each is attracted to the other, Marco helping Olivia, going on outings, including the Rilke walk, with her.
And here a complication arises which leads to the possibilities of a different kind of space between…
Marco, while concerned about his father, is being headhunted to work in restaurants in Melbourne. He is at first reluctant but agrees to sign a contract and go to Australia.
And, while his falling in love with Olivia, he persuade her to pursue her desires to be a furniture designer rather than the quite successful banker she gives. She wins an internship which would require her to stay in Italy.
This is one of those films where we can’t even say spoiler alert – the ending is left for the characters to make decisions, for the audience to observe them, have an emotional response to what they want to do and leaving the cinema trying to predict what might happen.
1. An Italian- Australian film? The production? Themes?
2. Udine and its surroundings, the city, the memories of Rilke, the walk? Homes, the shop, factory, the streets? The mountains, the fields, the sea? The lookouts? The musical score?
3. The title, Rilke and his poems, those composed in Udine, Marco and Olivia on the walk? Claudio’s favourite poet, the book, and the memento on the tree? The themes, space, grief, love?
4. Marco’s story, the initial walk, seeing the woman at the water? His dreams and Claudio’s presence? Drawing the aqueduct? Later seeing it? His imagination? His age, training as a chef, leaving Italy, going to New York, his success, his mother’s illness, his late return, her death, his staying to care for his father, getting the job in a factory where his father worked? The friendship with Claudio, the socials, helping with the cooking? His lack of prospects? His relationship with the flight attendant? Visiting his father, his father and the television, his health?
5. Claudio, his friendship, Claudio and his relationship with Emma, happy life? The suddenness of his death? Marco’s career, the phone call at the factory, going to the hospital? The funeral, Marco late, not carrying the coffin? The wake, his group, going to the treaty, his weeping? The cemetery and his memories of his mother?
6. Claudio and the shop, the books, Marco helping, Emma trying to help, Claudio’s father, the meeting with Marco, the toast? Marco managing, not?
7. Olivia;s coming, the books, carrying the chair in the street, the policeman holding her up, Marco’s intervention, their talking, carrying the chair? His situation, her ancestors, migrants? Driving to see her relatives, the car breaching down? The relatives and their friendship? The bus, the opposite direction, the ride? Claudio’s record player in the street, Marco’s outburst, his later apology? Olivia, her interest in design, the story, working in the bank, to go to Geneva for the meeting, coming to the party, the furniture, her drawings and design, the submission, anxious about the interview, Marco’s help, her success, the internship?
8. Marco, the selling of the shop, his relationship with Olivia? Audrey and the discussions about his cooking? The party, his anger at the chefs, his intervening and cooking? The manager, hard conditions, tasting food, visiting the restaurant, offering the deal, the contract? Marco and his discussions with his father, his father’s health, at the doctors, his reconsidering his work, walking out of the factory? Signing the contract?
9. The film, the importance of food, the variety of food and the preparation of it?
10. The dilemma, Marco going to Melbourne? Olivia staying in Udine? The audience having to speculate about the decision and predict the future?
