Set in Pre-war Turin with Benito Mussolini´s speeches as background, the film shows the journey into adulthood of a young woman from the countryside coming to the city with her brother, in a story held by pins.
Ginia (Yile Yara Vianello) is a skillful and dedicated seamstress, dress and pattern maker working at a fashion atelier.where she has the recognition of her boss, to the point of receiving from her the assignment to create the wedding dress of a client.
While living in Turin, (nicely pictured in the film,) Ginia feels attraction to the cosmopolitan city life and people her age. During a beautiful summer day by the river, she meets free spirited Amelia (Deva Cassel), a vision that, literally, comes out from the water. Beautiful Amelia poses nude like a salt statue, for male painters in the Italian patriarchal society. She incarnates the modernity Ginia has been apart from, and after their initial meeting, they both are part of a lifestyle that has slightly reminiscences of Puccini´s La Boheme.
The film is a nice period piece that puts attention to details, costumes and photography. It is also a portrait of a woman in quest of herself on a daily basis, in a male dominant context, with sweet and sour moments that are the consequences of her choices and decisions.
The film is against a background of cruel fascism from the historical moment before Italy´s involvement in World War II. that is not show nor part of this intimate story of women struggling for being who they are.
For me it is interesting the resemblance Yile Yara Vianello has to a young Marissa Berenson. Plus Deva Cassel (daughter of Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci) is a scene stealer in her debut role.
The film directed by Laura Luchetti and based on a novel by Cesare Pavese, premiered at Locarno Film Festival in 2023, It will now be released on VOD in August
Review by José Mayorga , Guatemala, Central America lawyer and notary public, visual artist, and editor of El Azar Cultural, lives and works in Guatemala City. Cinema lover, curious about the possibilities life brings and eager to live the experience.
Labels: 2024, Deva Cassel, italian, José Mayorga, Laura Luchetti, review, The Beautiful Summer, Yile Yara Vianello
