Adulthood Struggles: Fear, Desire, and Courage Visualized

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MOVIE REVIEW
The Beautiful Summer (La Bella Estate)
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Genre: Drama
Year Released: 2023
Runtime: 1h 51m
Director(s): Laura Luchetti
Writer(s): Laura Luchetti
Cast: Yile Yara Vianello, Deva Cassel, Nicolas Maupas, Alessandro Piavani, Adrien Dewitte Cosima Centurioni, Gabriele Graham Gasco, Anna Bellato, Andrea Bosca
Where To Watch: premiered at the Locarno Film Festival on August 4, 2023, premiering via VOD & digital on August 9, 2024

RAVING REVIEW: Today, we’re diving into the cinematic adaptation of Cesare Pavese’s story in THE BEAUTIFUL SUMMER, directed by Laura Luchetti. This movie attempts to translate the literary tale’s depth and fascination to the silver screen. While it stumbles occasionally, you can still feel the passion for the project in the film. The film has the tricky task of embodying a love narrative while reflecting on today’s societal dilemmas. While it tries, it doesn’t quite deliver the emotional zing we hope for in such stories.

Now, cinema has long loved to explore the female form as both a beacon of freedom and, contradictorily, an object of longing. However, the conspicuous lack of similar attention to the male form highlights our cultural narratives’ long-standing bias.

In THE BEAUTIFUL SUMMER, we meet Ginia, a young woman yearning for more than her ordinary life in Turin circa 1938. When fate leads her to cross paths with a painter in the bustling hub of artists, her world turns vibrant with the colors of passion. Amelia, a personification of allure and daring, pulls Ginia into the whirlwind world of bohemian life, shaking her settled convictions. The storyline sometimes grapples with essential themes, such as women’s liberation, in the shadow of an emerging fascist regime, yet the treatment lacks the depth to match its aesthetic aspirations.

Our lead character, Ginia, enacted by Yile Yara Vianello, is a modest seamstress who dares to dream beyond her humble origins. When Amelia, played by the talented Deva Cassel, storms into her life with all the dynamism of a cinematic debutante, Ginia’s world turns upside down. Cassel, the offspring of renowned actors Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci, delivers a performance that steals the show, hinting at a bright cinematic future. Drawn into the enthusiasm of Amelia’s personality, Ginia plunges into the stimulating bohemian culture of pre-World War II Turin.

Pavese’s novel, ‘La Bella Estate,’ undergoes a narrative transformation in its cinematic adaptation, moving from a narrative of preserved innocence to a profound metamorphosis. Ginia’s story is a mirror held up to the experiences of countless women, charting the tumultuous journey toward adulthood and the struggle to express their identity in a patriarchal society. Her eventual surrender to societal expectations is a bitter betrayal of herself, paving the way for self-discovery and liberation.

While THE BEAUTIFUL SUMMER does an honorable job of presenting Pavese’s ageless narrative to a new generation, it would greatly benefit from digging deeper into the source material’s profound layers. However, despite these setbacks, the film successfully presents the universal progression into adulthood. It captures the fear, desire, and courage that color this crucial period, forming the heartbeat of every young woman’s journey.

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[photo courtesy of FILM MOVEMENT, KINO PRODUZIONO, RAI CINEMA, 9.99 FILMS]