La Nostra Vita (***1/4)

My Brother Is an Only Child director Daniele Luchetti returns with the story of a construction supervisor (Elio Germano, also of My Brother) whose wife suddenly dies in childbirth. Left alone with three sons, including a newborn, he pours his efforts into a large project meant to provide for his family but that instead threatens his financial ruin. Though this isn’t a dark film, it’s a realistic story about everyday struggle. The widowed father is, though likable, flawed, and the inequities of Italian society are a subtheme. Illegal immigrant laborers are used on the construction site, taxes are evaded, and casually derogatory references are made toward foreigners. Yet overall the movie takes a kind view of human nature; ultimately, it’s a story about values and relationships.

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viewed at Ritz 5 [Philadelphia Film Festival] and reviewed 10/20/10

My Dear Enemy (**3/4)

A woman spends the day hounding her ex-boyfriend as he drives around Seoul trying to round up the money he needs to repay what he owes her. The slightly comic drama has a nice, albeit frequently melancholy feel to it, but its episodic structure is a mixed bag. The boyfriend spends the movie bumming money off of other women, and some of these visits are more exciting than others. Meanwhile, the personalities—though only a little of the backstory—of the two characters emerge. Judicious trimming would have improved a decent concept.

IMDB link

viewed 4/5/09 at Ritz 5 (Philadephia Film Festival) and reviewed 5/3/09