First Love (2004 film)

Infobox Film
name = Primo Amore
director = Matteo Garrone
producer = Domenico Procacci
writer = Matteo Garrone
Massimo Gaudioso
starring = Vitaliano Trevisan
Michela Cescon
music = Banda Osiris
cinematography = Marco Onorato
editing = Marco Spoletini
released = February 13, 2004
runtime = 100 min.
country = Italy
language = Italian
imdb_id = 0396818

"First Love" ("Primo Amore" in Italian is a 2004 film directed by Matteo Garrone and Massimo Gaudioso, based on a novel by Carlo Mariolini. The film deals with anorexia. This film has not been rated by the MPAA. As it contains nudity, sex, and sadomasochism, it is not considered appropriate for children to watch.

Plot

Vittorio (Vitaliano Trevisan) is a goldsmith looking for a very thin woman to make golden figurines of. He meets a model, Sonia (Michela Cescon), whom he finds too fat. Somehow he manages to convince her to lose weight to an unhealthy degree. No one wants to buy Vittorio's figurines of Sonia, and his goldsmith shop is repo'd. Vittorio discovers food Sonia has sneaked in and beats her up. She tries to kill him but fails.

Awards

The score won Banda Osiris the 2004 Silver Berlin Bear for Best Film Music. The band won at other festivals, too. At the Flaiano Film Festival, Michela Cescon won for Best Actress and Marco Onorato won for Best Cinematography.

Reception

The film "has been described as “a horror movie about desire,” which seems fitting." [cite news
last = Abrams
first = Danielle
coauthors =
title = Primo Amore
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Italian Film blog
date= 2007-10-23
url = http://italianfilm.blogspot.com/2007/10/primo-amore.html
accessdate = 2007-11-10 "The director takes an uncomfortably close look at obsessive love, further complicated by the troubled characters’ various psychological issues."] Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" finds this film "an elegantly told tale of obsession that, in failing to take on any larger meaning, rapidly becomes depressing to watch." [Kevin Thomas, "Capsule Reviews: 'Primo Amore,' 'The Man Who Copied' and 'The Painting'" "Los Angleles Times" April 29, 2005] Thomas and others are confused as to "why she [Sonia] strives so mightily to please someone so obviously insane." The Italian Wikipedia finds the film "crude" and its characters lacking in "profundity."

References