CIAO
Ciao
I seemed to have developed a slight "thing" about small, foreign films with one-word titles beginning with the letter C. In 1997 I first saw an Australian movie named CosĂ, which introduced me to the actress Toni Collette. I’ve adored her ever since. Now, in 2010 there is the American/Italian film Ciao that has brought me, adoringly, to Alessandro Calza. Both films, on the surface, seem simplistic and potentially dull, but underneath are amazing, startling, ultra-human and very much to be cherished.
Director/screenwriter Yen Tan and Director/screenwriter/designer/web designer/actor Alessandro Calza met on the Internet and over time forged the story that is at the core of this movie. Two men, Jeff and Andrea, meet on the Internet after the death of Mark, a mutual friend. All three are gay. One, an Italian from Genova, has planned a meeting with the dead man and he comes to Dallas anyway to meets his on-line chum’s best friend. The two of them slowly spark and by the end of the film may have begun a romance. Maybe not.
That’s it. That’s the story of Ciao. It doesn’t sound like much, but the sum of these simple parts is much greater than its components. First, the two men are superbly real. Not once does it seem that they are acting. The slow pace and distancing of the editing make it feel as though we just happen to be in the same places at the same times as these two. There is almost no human voice heard in the first twelve minutes or so. The awkward spaces set up by the directors cannot be filled without the man who has passed away, so the meeting of Jeff and Andrea - intended to bridge those gaps - starts the process of completion. The choice to leave holes in the story, the tension and anxiety built into this loose structure, is the making of a minor masterpiece of film.
Adam Neal Smith plays Jeff with shuddering tension; although nothing is ever said about this, there is a sense of illness about this character that Smith uses delicately. He is handsome and robust, but a quality of emotion is missing. This mysterious element makes Jeff a compelling character, someone you would want to know, and know more about.
Andrea, on the other hand, is exuberant in a sophisticated way. Never over the top, this debut role for Calza, gives him the chance to exhibit the most beautiful eyes in movies today, the most sensual mouth and the sweetest disposition imaginable. Andrea is someone who asks to be held ; to be kissed, without ever saying a word or imparting through a gesture that this is even possible, and yet his kind and sweet disposition just naturally expresses it. Calza, who will never seem to be an actor, plays this to perfection. Again there is that feeling as you watch him that he just exists and we are just fortunate enough to have come upon him.
The almost sedentary pace of the movie allows us ample time to fall in love with both of these characters and when they finally touch one another, embrace, allow their emotional sides to be seen, we are almost grateful to be there in the room with them.
I went into this movie unsure about what I’d see, but hoping for some one-on-one action but I came out grateful that I’d been given the chance to witness the start of what could be a truly passionate relationship some day. I wait for the sequel, hope for a postcard from them saying things are good. It’s wonderful to watch a friendship grow from thin soil and dry weather. I hope it blossoms. I’ll watch this again, hoping for additional clues.
Ciao, a film by Yen Tan and Alessandro Calza. HereVideo/E1 Entertainment. 87 minutes. $24.98.
Reviewed by J. Peter Bergman
J. Peter Bergman is a journalist and playwright,living in Berkshire County, MA. A founding board member of the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition and former New York Correspondent for London’s Gay News, he spent a decade as theater music specialist for the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives at Lincoln Center in NYC, is the co-author of the recently re-issued The Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy and a Charles Dickens Award winner (2002) for his collection of short fiction, "Counterpoints." His features and reviews can also be read in The Berkshire Eagle and other regional publications. His current season reviews can be found on his website: www.berkshirebrightfocus.com. He is a member of NGLJA.
I seemed to have developed a slight "thing" about small, foreign films with one-word titles beginning with the letter C. In 1997 I first saw an Australian movie named CosĂ, which introduced me to the actress Toni Collette. I’ve adored her ever since. Now, in 2010 there is the American/Italian film Ciao that has brought me, adoringly, to Alessandro Calza. Both films, on the surface, seem simplistic and potentially dull, but underneath are amazing, startling, ultra-human and very much to be cherished.
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ShareDirector/screenwriter Yen Tan and Director/screenwriter/designer/web designer/actor Alessandro Calza met on the Internet and over time forged the story that is at the core of this movie. Two men, Jeff and Andrea, meet on the Internet after the death of Mark, a mutual friend. All three are gay. One, an Italian from Genova, has planned a meeting with the dead man and he comes to Dallas anyway to meets his on-line chum’s best friend. The two of them slowly spark and by the end of the film may have begun a romance. Maybe not.
That’s it. That’s the story of Ciao. It doesn’t sound like much, but the sum of these simple parts is much greater than its components. First, the two men are superbly real. Not once does it seem that they are acting. The slow pace and distancing of the editing make it feel as though we just happen to be in the same places at the same times as these two. There is almost no human voice heard in the first twelve minutes or so. The awkward spaces set up by the directors cannot be filled without the man who has passed away, so the meeting of Jeff and Andrea - intended to bridge those gaps - starts the process of completion. The choice to leave holes in the story, the tension and anxiety built into this loose structure, is the making of a minor masterpiece of film.
Adam Neal Smith plays Jeff with shuddering tension; although nothing is ever said about this, there is a sense of illness about this character that Smith uses delicately. He is handsome and robust, but a quality of emotion is missing. This mysterious element makes Jeff a compelling character, someone you would want to know, and know more about.
Andrea, on the other hand, is exuberant in a sophisticated way. Never over the top, this debut role for Calza, gives him the chance to exhibit the most beautiful eyes in movies today, the most sensual mouth and the sweetest disposition imaginable. Andrea is someone who asks to be held ; to be kissed, without ever saying a word or imparting through a gesture that this is even possible, and yet his kind and sweet disposition just naturally expresses it. Calza, who will never seem to be an actor, plays this to perfection. Again there is that feeling as you watch him that he just exists and we are just fortunate enough to have come upon him.
The almost sedentary pace of the movie allows us ample time to fall in love with both of these characters and when they finally touch one another, embrace, allow their emotional sides to be seen, we are almost grateful to be there in the room with them.
I went into this movie unsure about what I’d see, but hoping for some one-on-one action but I came out grateful that I’d been given the chance to witness the start of what could be a truly passionate relationship some day. I wait for the sequel, hope for a postcard from them saying things are good. It’s wonderful to watch a friendship grow from thin soil and dry weather. I hope it blossoms. I’ll watch this again, hoping for additional clues.
Ciao, a film by Yen Tan and Alessandro Calza. HereVideo/E1 Entertainment. 87 minutes. $24.98.
Reviewed by J. Peter Bergman
J. Peter Bergman is a journalist and playwright,living in Berkshire County, MA. A founding board member of the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition and former New York Correspondent for London’s Gay News, he spent a decade as theater music specialist for the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives at Lincoln Center in NYC, is the co-author of the recently re-issued The Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy and a Charles Dickens Award winner (2002) for his collection of short fiction, "Counterpoints." His features and reviews can also be read in The Berkshire Eagle and other regional publications. His current season reviews can be found on his website: www.berkshirebrightfocus.com. He is a member of NGLJA.
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