During COVID-19, have you found that each of your days have been blurring into one like a bland mess of bad news? Are you looking for a good excuse to leave the house? Do you find yourself ailed by daydreams of a place faraway from all of the current trouble and strife? If you said yes to any of the above, then I would prescribe a night out at the of ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace.
The Goddess of Fortune (La dea fortuna) directed by Ferzan Ozpetek starring Edoardo Leo, Stefano Accorsi and Jasmine Trinca to name a few, present to us an engrossing tale of modern love and its complications along the way. Edoardo Leo gives a strong performance, however, the greatest surprise for me personally was how the versatile Stefano transformed from the mild mannered and wise school teacher Valerio Fioretti in The Champion (Il campione) into the 'lost' Arturo.
This is a difficult film to review as reading the synopsis will give you the impression that this is a clichéd plot. The main characters in the film are Arturo and Alessandro, who have been together for many years but are now stuck in a rut. When the two men are then forced to look after children the chaos created surely shakes them both out of their rut and everyone lives happily ever after, right? Let me assure you that this summary does not do Ferzan's work justice.
The complex relationship between Arturo, Alessandro and Annamaria, acts as the central linchpin of this film. The relationship between the three characters adds depth and weight to each twist and turn, building to a palpable crescendo. The children in Goddess of Fortune help to lighten the mood, and at the same time not take away from the overall plot. An example of this is when the children overhear a passionate argument between Arturo and Alessandro and begin to fight. This scene demonstrates Ozpetek's expertise as a director by capturing the tension in the household and the impact it has on the children.
Goddess of Fortune is an Italian film with English subtitles, however, the dialog is not rushed, moving at a comfortable pace which in turn makes the story easy to follow. This film allows me to appreciate Italian cinema, the construction leans on a number of clichés, the reliance on cultural understanding and the odd musical choices which are an acquired taste. I will stress this for the uninitiated, instead of fearing not understanding every joke, reference and innuendo, you could instead embrace the escape of the silver screen.
Should you brave the outside world for this film? Sadly, the truth is modern Italian cinema is difficult to legally access in Australia. As an example, The Champion (Il Campione) referred to above, to the best of my knowledge, can only be bought in a limited edition DVD box set from the previous year of the Italian Film Festival. With the current world events it appears this year there will not be a box set release which is a change from the last 13 odd years of Italian Film Festival tradition. This in turn means once this last screening has played the chance to explore this interesting drama will be lost to you. Simply put do yourself a favor, go visit the goddess and forget about life for a while.
Session Times: https://www.palacecinemas.com.au/movies/iff20-the-goddess-of-fortune
Joanna Letic