La finestra di fronte (2003)

Directed by: Ferzan Ozpetek | 102 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Massimo Girotti, Raoul Bova, Filippo Nigro, Serra Yilmaz, Maria Grazia Bon, Massimo Poggio, Ivan Bacchi, Chiara Andreis, Veronica Bruni, Olimpia Carlisi, Ohame-Brancy Chibuzo, Carlo Daniele, Rosaria De Cicco, Luciana De Falco, Barbara Folchitto, Francesca Gamba, Benedetta Gargari, Enrico Grassi, Serena Habtom Mehari, Flavio Insinna, Elisabeth Kaza, Patrizia Loreti, Francesco Martino, Caterina Quaranta, Maurizio Romoli, Giorgio Sgobbi, Thierno Thiam, Billo Thiernothian, Giovanni Verdatian, Giovanni Verdatian

Is the grass always greener next door? Giovanna (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) thinks so. While her marriage to Fillippo (Fillippo Nigro) is on the line, she dreams away at the sight of the mysterious neighbor across the street (Raoul Bova), whom she spies daily from her kitchen window. Would she be happier with him than with her own husband and children? A chance encounter with a complete stranger, older man (Massimo Girotti) turns Giovanna’s life upside down. Whether she likes it or not. The confused man, who appears to have lost his memory and only remembers the name ‘Simone’, is brought in by Fillippo. Giovanna steadfastly resists at first and insists that he take the man to the police station, but “Simone” – as they have called him – they can’t just let go. He and Giovanna also grow closer and closer and their mutual conversations make her realize that it is time to change course.

The great thing about ‘La finestra di fronte’ (2003) is that the Turkish-Italian director Ferzan Ozpetek manages to weave two stories, past and present, together into a whole. The film starts with a flashback to Rome in 1943, where we see a young man stabbing another man to death in a bakery. He then runs away. Images from the past haunt the confused ‘Simone’, we soon discover. Through some handy visual tricks, Ozpetek manages to literally mix the present and the past at a number of moments. The mystery surrounding ‘Simone’ is more intriguing and compelling than the blossoming romance between Giovanna and her neighbor Lorenzo. That has to do with the actor who plays ‘Simone’, Massimo Girotti. The elderly actor, who in the 1940s collaborated with Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica and Luchino Visconti, among others, died of a heart attack shortly before the premiere of ‘La finestra di fronte’ at the age of 84; this was his last role. And what kind! He hardly needs words, his subtle and expressive, often melancholic looks say everything. He gets excellent counterplay from the much younger Mezzogiorno, who has more chemistry with Girotti than with Bova and Nigro together.

‘La finestra di fronte’ is a piece of cake for connoisseurs (and aficionados) of Ferzan Ozpetek’s oeuvre. Forbidden (homosexual) loves, suppressed desires and a heavy dose of melodrama – we see it all again. The storyline in the past is especially atmospheric, with a beautiful soundtrack by Andrea Guerra and dreamy images of classical Rome, shot by Gianfilippo Corticelli. Ozpetek does not shy away from exaggerating the drama at times, so that the whole comes across at times a bit theatrical. ‘La finestra di fronte’ regularly balances on the edge of kitsch and the content seems no match for the outward appearance. Nevertheless, Ozpetek manages to turn it into a compelling drama, thanks in part to the actors who perform well to excellent (Girotti!).