Ciao (2008)

Fantastic!

An Exercise In Nonsense

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Mark and Jeff are the best of friends. Jeff would have liked their friendship to go beyond their close but platonic relationship. Unfortunately they never seem to click on that level, possibly because Jeff isn't Marks "type." Or possibly because the nature of their bond might be jeopardized by sex.Mark has "met" Andrea, an Italian, online and they have talked a few times by phone. Since Andrea will be in New York for a wedding, they plan for him to come to Dallas for a couple of days so they can finally meet in person.Mark is killed in a road accident and Jeff assists the family in sorting out his things. He goes through Mark's emails, in part to know who might need to be notified about the death, but clearly he wants to know a bit more about his friend and discovers that Mark revealed more about himself to Andrea than he ever shared with Jeff.When he receives an email sent to Mark by Andrea detailing his anticipated trip to Dallas, Jeff replies informing Andrea of the death and suggesting that he cancel the trip. Soon after he has second thoughts and suggests Andrea come to Dallas as planned and spend those few days as his guest.Most of the film is devoted to conversation between Jeff and Andrea as they share their thoughts about Mark and learn more about each other.The most striking thing about the movie was the intelligent scripting of the dialogue between them, sometimes reflecting their impressions of Mark, sometimes asking ridiculous things about each other, sometimes lighthearted and apparently superficial, sometimes poignantly revealing. Surely it was scripted, but it seemed totally natural and spontaneous. It could easily have been maudlin or gone over-the-top emotionally but, aside from one emotional release, it was subtle and low- keyed. In some respects it was mysterious because you were never sure where it was all heading.My only complaint was that Andrea, though very fluent in English, occasionally, naturally stumbled over some American idiom, but at other times Jeff used Americanisms that Andrea could not have understood, but Andrea doesn't bat an eye.Different forms of grieving and attempts to deal with loss have certainly been explored to death in films, so in that sense there is nothing remarkable about the story concept. The scripting, the acting, the directing and the photography do lift this above what might have been another overly sentimental tear-jerker though.

Made on the cheap with a no-name cast, this intentionally intimate 2008 drama focuses on the aftermath of an auto accident which killed a young man named Mark, in particular, the impact of his unexpected death on two men – one is his best friend and roommate Jeff, and the other is Andrea, a Genoese Italian with whom Mark has been corresponding online. Mark is shown in a brief silent bit at the very beginning and later in flashback episodes and videotape. Director Yen Tan keeps the story economical by then segueing into a series of e-mails between Jeff and Andrea, at which point we find out Mark died just as Andrea was coming to visit him. Touched by Andrea's sincerity, Jeff invites him to come anyway.What occurs from that point is not a predictable romance in typical queer cinema fashion but more the escalation of an unwieldy relationship that forms between the two survivors, neither of whom can quite accept Mark's death. It becomes clear that Jeff, a genuine mensch leading an unremarkable life, has unresolved feelings for Mark, and although he's out (thanks to Mark's influence), Jeff cannot liberate himself from the unrequited love he appears to covet. As you would expect, Andrea is serious eye candy with a conscience, a catch by most cinematic conventions, yet the filmmaker focuses on the tentative nature of their burgeoning relationship as an expression of both men's grief.The only other character in the movie is Jeff's acerbic Asian-American stepsister Lauren, played efficiently by Ethel Lung, but she seems to enter and exit merely to comment on the obvious. The pacing is absurdly slow with lots of close-ups and long takes with little action. As Jeff, Adam Neal Smith is sincere but overly bland, just not compelling enough to maintain the film's emotional pivot point. On the other hand, Alessandro Calza brings sensitivity to the somewhat idealized role of Andrea, perhaps not a coincidence since he is the co-screenwriter (with Tan). The movie slips by unobtrusively in a subdued, almost hushed tone, but despite some awkward moments, including an inevitable scene late in the film, the emotional honesty makes this worth seeing. The 2010 DVD includes a comprehensive if not altogether informative commentary track from Tan and Calza plus the original theatrical trailer.

Alessandro Catza both co-wrote & portrays one of the two leads. He did both well. The director Yen Tan is the other co-writer & he shows much skill in his direction. I wish him well & hope to see other films he has directed.Adam Neal Smith is the other lead actor. He and Alessandro portray, Jeff & Andrea, two men in their twenties who meet on line, this occurs because of the untimely death of a mutual friend, Mark.These three men just happen to be gay, the story is so universal one or two of them could have been female.This is a love story about friendships & about the meanings of love & friendship. As in all love stories there is some sadness.Thankfully there is none of the silly nonsense we usually see in films about Gay persons, BOTH come across as real flesh & blood human/ ALSO there is no nudity or needless sex scenes, There is one very beautiful romantic interlude towards the end. (the way they used to make love stories & show sex scenes) beings.We only see Mark towards the end, he sings a song that does fully explain what love is & or should be.The director purposely & to great effect has a few silent moments, we the audience need not be privy to everything, this allows us to use our own imagination.This fine film had next to no theatrical showings, It is a far better film than many of the major movies this past year.Rent this ASAP & you will be glad you did.Ratings: ***1/2 (out of 4),93 points (out of 100), IMDb 9 (out of 10)

The makers of this film deserve every accolade that is written praising their work! "Ciao" is a truly remarkable film! What a pleasure to see a work of art that is not ashamed to deal with a sensitive theme in a tasteful and - to quote a word used in the script - UNcheesy - way. The script, acting, direction, lighting, editing and casting are all excellent. Overall the work achieves all that it sets out to do: tell a real life drama in a way that we VERY seldom see from Hollywood. "Ciao" does so with sensitivity, realism and genuine empathy for real human fears, joy, sadness and compassion. There is none of your usual quickly flashed, clichéd camera-work, or clever lines that pander to mediocrity and formula. "Ciao" is a film that takes its time to reveal the inextricably entangled knot of emotion, history, motive, intent, reactions, fate and timing that are a part of real life. What is particularly rewarding is that it does not rely on formula to tell the story. It is a film that is highly recommended to anyone who is a serious student of cinema as an art form. It sings as an echo to another great film by Woody Allen - "Interiors." The music, and indeed the lack of music in many of the scenes is beautifully apt and innovative. "Ciao" reminds us that we are too dependent on anticipation to make us feel comfortable. Art does not have the purpose of making us feel comfortable; art has the purpose of showing us reality and making us relate to that in the way we can best understand it. "Ciao" does this.