Once in a blue moon a film comes along that truly deserves the term masterpiece. I used that word to describe the director's earlier film The Great Beauty, which I claim is a sequel to La Dolce Vita. His latest film is the 2025 La Grazia, starring Toni Servillo as an aged Italian president serving out the final days of his six year term, and Anna Ferzetti as his daughter and aide. The film is sublime and so far from what most people would imagine a major motion picture to be. Servillo is at his best as a man questioning his own worth and his ability to make difficult decisions. On his mind are two pardons for murderers, and a bill he must sign before it becomes law on euthanasia for humans. The film is both deep and accessible. At times the president is a pig-headed man who can't seem to move a step in any direction. For years he has been emotionally paralyzed following the death of his wife, whom he adored. However, he had learned that she had been unfaithful to him one time, and he has created a private hell for himself trying to discover who that person was. Beautifully photographed, we were both surprised by the use of rap music in the film, by a director known for his esoteric taste in film music. However, the judicious use of rap somehow aids the film and the incongruity of an old man rapping is a gem of a moment in this film filled with gem-like moments. The scenes with the dying horse ("Elvis") are very painful to watch, and we wonder just how cruel the president can possibly be. But once the horse dies he has changed; he is now able to clearly make his important decisions. Especially since he now knows who slept with his wife. This is a film worth many viewings. Unmissable.
Another film, though not a rival to La Grazia, is an Indian film from 2024 called All We Imagine As Light. Directed by Payal Kapadia, the story is set at first in Mumbai. We follow two nurses, a younger one and a more experienced one, as well as the female commissary cook who they befriend. There are hospital scenes and street scenes, with the latter having a documentary effect in their starkness and chaos. The youngest nurse is in love with a Muslim boy, while her parents are sending her photos of eligible men that she should marry. She cannot even broach the subject with them of her Muslim boyfriend, and the film boldly goes where virtually no other Indian film has dared, up to the point where they make love (in one of the most tasteful love scenes ever filmed). The older nurse is tied into an arranged marriage. Her husband works in Germany and hasn't even called her in over ten years. He does send her a rice cooker, though, but with no message. She gets up enough courage to call him, but an answering machine with a woman's voice is her only contact, and she quickly hangs up. The older lady is being chased from her home by developers who want to put up a large condo and not compensate her. She moves back to her ocean-side village, and the two nurses accompany her. It isn't until we get to the beach that things finally heat up plot-wise. All three women have made bold decisions in the end, giving their own interests and well-being top priority. Beautifully filmed and very well acted, the film is definitely worth seeking. No violence, no guns, no murders, no drugs and no weak female characters. And prodding the Romeo and Juliet theme with a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy is taking things pretty far in the India of today. Overall quite well done.
In weather news, Spring is here! At least for a while. Snow is melting and temps are bouncing up to where they should be and above. Though it's been a terribly cold winter (we've had 49 days where the temp did not rise above freezing; most of those days it didn't even get close), we have had plenty of sun. We've seen many beautiful sunsets as we watch the northern march of the sun towards its Equinox position. Whereas the UK has had quite mild temps by comparison, they have had so much rain in places that they haven't seen the sun in weeks. I'll take the cold. Especially since we have had barely any snow. And New Mexico and many western US mountain states have had virtually none this year. That is really bad news, as the water reservoirs out west all depend on snowpack, and there isn't any. Even Florida is now in a drought situation! That's quite a climate hoax someone is perpetuating.
In health news Deb continues to crash towards bottom. Her infusion won't take place until next Thursday. Her blood work results from Thursday show a steady decline. She is very tired most of the time, and can not even stand up without having breathing problems. And on we go....
Mapman Mike
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