BACIAMI ANCORA/KISS ME AGAIN
Italy, 2010, 140 minutes, Colour.
Stefano Accorsi, Vittoria Puccini, Pierfrancesco Favino, Claudio Santamaria, Giorgio Pasotti, Sabrina Impacciatore, Marco Cocci, Daniela Piazza, Primo Giannini, Adriano Giannini, Valeria Tedeschi- Bruni.
Directed by Gabriele Muccini.
In 2001, Gabriele Muccini made the ensemble film, The Last Kiss, focusing on a cross-section of middle-class Italian society, their lives, relationships, infidelities and infidelities, love, reconciliation. It was remade in the US as The Last Kiss by Zach Braff.
The action of this film takes place nine years later, with most of the original cast assembling again to reprise their roles.
This time, the focus is on middle age, the experiences of marriage, falling out of love, affairs, separation, prospects of divorce, the repercussions on children. There is also the character who returns from Latin America, who walked out on his wife and young child nine years earlier and has spent some time in prison for drug dealing. His wife has taken up with his friend who has mental problems and later kills himself. There is also the almost stereotypical Italian husband enraged by his wife’s affair, violent threats, discovering he has a low sperm count which accounts for their failure in conceiving – with his wife, going off with an artist who rejects her when he discovers she is pregnant and she returns to her husband with hopes for bonding with a child.
While the focus is on the adults, there are a number of children also to be considered, the repercussions of an absent father wanting to make contact again, parents going through separation and divorce proceedings but finding that they love each other and reuniting.
Muccini then went to the United States after The Last Kiss and made two films with Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happiness and Seven Pounds. He also made Fathers & Daughters with Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried.
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1. The sequel to the 2001 film? As a sequel, a stand-alone film? An Italian story, men and women in middle age, relationships, fidelity and infidelity, reconciliation?
2. Audiences familiar with the characters, from 10 years earlier? Change of age? The cast and many remaining? The follow up to their situations?
3. The title, relationships, marriage, divorce, affairs, pregnancy, hopes and reconciliations?
4. Carlo, with his wife, their child, the separation, preparing for the divorce? Love, antagonism? Affairs and betrayals? Mutual blame? Carlo and Anna? Giulia and Simone? The interactions? Carlo and Giulia, love, hurt, the sexual episode, the pregnancy, possibilities? Carlo and his breaking with Anna, her leaving? Giulia leaving Simone? The effect on him, his being a father figure, his acting career?
5. Adriano, going to Colombia, drug dealing, his arrest, walking out on his wife and infant son, in prison? His age, return, glimpsing his son, the interactions with his wife, her relationship with Paolo? Paolo and his mental health, his mother helping him, medications, not taking them? Adriano’s son not wanting to see his father? Changing his mind, the information about the animals, the visit to the zoo, the boy leaving? The tensions? Paolo and his suicide? The funeral? The impact of the death? Adriano and his meeting someone else?
6. Adriano and Adele, their chance meeting, the children, their bonding, communication, the future together?
7. Marco, in himself, age, work, the tensions with his wife, her being attracted by Lorenzo, beginning the affair, leaving? Marco, his rage, violence, threats, discussions with his friends? Livia and her pregnancy? Lorenzo and his ousting her? The issue of pregnancy, Marco and the doctor, the low sperm count? Livia, upset, her return, the news of the pregnancy, making up, the child and the future?
8. Alberto, friendship, support, the lesser character, his leaving at the end?
9. The portrait of the children, Sveva and her parents, Adriano and his son?
10. A cross-section of comfortable Italians, middle-class, in the 21st-century, attitudes and relationships?
