Facing Windows

Starring:Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Massimo Girotti, Raoul Bova, Filippo Nigro, Serra Yilmaz, Maria Grazia Bon, Massimo Poggio, Ivan Bacchi, Olimpia Carlisi, Veronica Bruni, Benedetta Gargari, Rosaria De Cicco, Enrico Grassi, Carlo Daniele, Ohame-Brancy Chibuzo, Thierno Thiam, Giovanni Verdesca, Barbara Folchitto, Francesco Martino, Flavio Insinna
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The beautiful and wonderfully named Giovanna Mezzogiorno joins the list of soulful Italian actresses with Facing Windows, a pleasant cinematic fancy. Her character is a married Mom in an ordinary apartment, whose life is affected by two things: her fascination with the handsome man who lives across the courtyard, and the sudden arrival in her home of an elderly amnesiac (played by the late Massimo Girotti)--a well-dressed man found walking on the street, dazed and lost. Turkish-born director Ferzan Ozpetek (Steam: The Turkish Bath) makes this simultaneously a slice of life and a vaguely fantastical situation. It probably all works out a little too neatly, but the unhurried pace and deep sympathy Ozpetek displays toward his main characters is refreshing. And when in doubt, he points the camera at the face of La Mezzogiorno, which solves all problems. --Robert Horton

Description

A young working-class wife and mother unlocks a freedom within her heart that she never expected. Don't miss this critically-acclaimed, award-winning romance.

Facing Windows (La Finestra di fronte) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

Average customer rating:

a wonderfully made film about daily life
A random kaleidoscope of intersected destinies!
Leavening

Facing Windows (La Finestra di fronte) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
Manufacturer: Palace Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000DLB93S

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: English Subtitles Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 Synopsis: Young married couple Giovanna (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) and Filippo (Filippo Nigro) have been married long enough to have become almost completely jaded by their lots in life, with most of their individual aspirations having been set aside some time ago. As their marriage begins to fall apart, the two encounter a strange old man (Massimo Girotti) who calls himself Simone since he can't seem to recall his real name or much about his past history. Filippo brings the man home to stay with them, which initially irritates Giovanna. Over time, she gradually befriends the confused old man and eventually notices a tattoo on his arm indicative of his being a WWII Holocaust survivor. Taking "Simone" to an old Roman ghetto, she helps him remember his name (Davide) and his time spent in that very ghetto -- which includes recalling the very painful memory of his lover Simone's capture and murder at the hands of the Nazis. Meanwhile, Giovanna has been spending her free time impulsively peeping across the street at her attractive neighbor Lorenzo (Raoul Bova) -- who in turn has been spying on her. Giovanna is thus forced to decide between Filippo and Lorenzo, as well as possibly realizing a long dormant professional dream that her new friend Davide may be able to help her undertake. Extras: Interactive Menu Behind the scenes Featurette Filmographies Photo Gallery Scene Access Trailer(s)

Customer Reviews:

a wonderfully made film about daily life.......2007-05-15

beautifully written screenplay, very human and very down to earth realistic. angelic-like leading female actress performed so well and so naturally true to the role she played. a marriage on the edge of falling apart, a hidden desire trying to break through and break out the cocoon of a boring and hopeless struggle of life, marriage, kids, a quiet desire and passion for a handsome man, a banker instead of constantly laid off husband... then a strange old man who was a passionate lover when he was a young, now suffered a deteriorating alzheimer's disease, and often inevitably enough injected in a movie like this, he was also a survivor of the holocaust stumbled into her awfully routine and hectic life...it didn't not abruptly and dramatical change her routine life but like a slow cooker, simmering out a flavor she never thought would have possibly encountered. for better or for worse?
the story didn't exaggerate anything or stupidly ruined it with pretentious scenario and plot twists. this is a very nice european film that we rarely could find in hollywood's productions.
it told you something so subtle and so sublime that when a mysterious element falls onto your lap, something either wonderful or painful might happen before you know it. life goes on.....

a short note here: you can rent this dvd in any video renting stores and view it on your regular dvd player. not as what amazon said. don't miss this wonderful film.

A random kaleidoscope of intersected destinies! .......2006-10-10

Admirable and ambitious movie, that recreates the life and times of woman trapped by the boredom of the quotidian, married with a conformist man; who will experience a sudden but powerful turning point with a man of dark past and loved by a shy peeping tom journalist who lives in front of her home, and spies her day by day.

This woman will experience and finally will understand the meaning of the existence, when she notices the awful truth that underlies beneath the painful experience of this old man; whose origins are in the middle of the WW2.

A movie who immediately connects us with that classic film of Ettore Scola "A special day" and "The rear window", where the bitter existential solitude of a unsatisfied woman will find out its real significance, when she knows, exudes and breathes, the awesome dragons that still nestle in the human soul.

Magnificent in sum grade.

Leavening.......2006-05-28

Missed opportunities, offers of Love and Passion rejected or denied, dreams deferred but never forgotten: we are in Director Ferzan Ozpetek land once again in his humane and thoughtful as well as thought provoking "Facing Windows" ("La Finestra di Fronte").
Ozpetek's world is always filled with secret loves, hidden passions and unfulfilled dreams particularly this film as well as in his "His Secret Life."
Giovanna (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) lives a good though dull life of husband (Fillipo, played by Filippo Nigro), children and a job she dislikes. Giovanna is actually quite mean to and unforgiving of her loving husband, Filippo who obviously adores her but has a hard time pleasing her on all fronts. One day a confused older gentleman, Simone (Massimo Girotti) stumbles into Giovanna and Filippo and inadvertently changes their lives.
Ozpetek exhibits a deep understanding and sympathy for his characters and this humanity shines through every frame of this film. Windows work two ways: they allow you to look out at the world but conversely windows also allow the world to observe you.

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