BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

paul2001sw-1 This gentle movie, about a middle-aged man left caring for some elderly relatives (and non-relatives) during a public holiday, is notable for some fine performances from a truly aged cast; at least one member was 94 when the film was made. It's quite perceptive about the way that old people interact; and it's younger male lead (played by the writer and director) is also shrewdly drawn. What there isn't is any real plot beyond the set-up: there's almost unlimited potential for disaster here, but none of it ultimately happens. The result is mild, in places amusing, but something short of riveting: rather like visiting an elderly aunt's for tea.

reelinspiration The cliché of the Italian bachelor living at home with a doting mother who waits on him and prepares his favorite meals is turned on it's head in the delicious Italian treat, "Mid-August Lunch." In this film, unemployed fifty-ish bachelor Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio) shows respect for his ninety-something mother by taking good care of her and lovingly preparing their meals.The small family has been living off of credit for some time and is months behind on their maintenance and electric bills for their ancient apartment. The landlord is willing to forgive the dept if they take in his mother so he can get away for the Mid-August holiday. The landlord drops off his mother AND his aunt. And soon the doctor's mother joins the mix. So Gianni must survive the weekend playing good host to four strong-willed shut-ins. What impressed me most was how he never loses his manners but treats these woman with the respect earned by those who have reached a certain age. This is a film about the joys of entertaining. It illustrates the isolation that comes with aging and our continued need to socialize. There is an Italian saying, "A tavola no s'invecchia," that articulates the theme perfectly, "The passage of time is suspended with experiencing the pleasure of good food, good wine and company." "Mid-August Lunch" dishes up "slice of life" humor with simple, authentic Italian flavors like those in the perch with potatoes, oregano and rosemary lovingly served at the holiday feast. Movie Blessings! Jana Segal, Reel Inspiration

jotix100 We recently caught this delightful Italian comedy at the Film Forum, where we watched it with an almost capacity crowd. It was a sweet discovery, specially on a Manhattan rainy day that became more bearable after we came out of the theater.Gianni, a bachelor man living with his elderly mother in Rome, has a lot of financial problems. It is August, one of the hottest months of the year to be stranded in the city without any prospects of going anywhere at all. Gianni, who is facing hard financial times, is visited by Alfonso, the manager of the condominium, where he is living. This man offers Gianni a deal he can't refuse, and at the same time, he will be helping his friend, who is suffering some serious skin problem that must be taken care of. In exchange for letting his mother stay a few days, Gianni's debts will be excused.As with anything this shady, the favor comes with strings attached. Gianni is taken aback when Alfonso arrives with Marina, his mother, and his aunt Maria. Gianni watches in horror as Alfonso and a gorgeous woman get into a convertible heading probably to a nice resort. What is he going to do? How can they keep these guests in the apartment? To compound on the problem, Gianni's own doctor asks for his help him taking in his mother, as he must attend a medical congress. Since he hardly can refuse the kind doctor, a third elderly lady, Grazia, who must keep a strict regimen, arrives to this already crowded household.Things go bad at the beginning, but with a little bit of camaraderie and good humor, Gianni ends up cooking for the four ladies and in the process has a great time because he is kept busy trying to please everyone. As with everything Italian, there is always a light touch to the way all these people end up accepting the situation and having a great time, enjoying the company of all newly made friends.Gianni Di Gregorio is a screen writer whose credits include a collaboration in "Gomorrah", among other films. He is trying his hand as a film director. The result is a movie that feels fresh and almost improvised. Mr. Di Gregorio's best achievement is giving his audience real people with real, everyday problems. He also makes an impression as an actor in this funny account of a Roman household during the oppressive heat of August.

stripedcat The events of this "small" (and short: just 75 minutes) movie take place in Rome, in the popular Trastevere district, over two days: the 14th and the 15th of August. Those are the eve and the holiday of Ferragosto, when everybody in Italy wishes to be out of town with their loved ones, friends or family, to enjoy a relaxing day in the cool. This is not the case of Gianni, a middle-aged, single man, who finds himself trapped in his own home with his elderly mother. Gianni has a problem with money (from the appearance and location of his house, and the refined, posh way of speaking of his mother, we soon learn that he belongs to an impoverished high middle-class family), so when the manager of his block of flats proposes to cut off all his debts if he provides hospitality for a couple of days to his own elderly mother, Marina, Gianni cannot refuse. For a few hundred Euros he agrees also to look after to "zia Maria", the manager's elderly aunt. Later, after an umpteenth free call, Gianni cannot refuse to give hospitality to his doctor's mother, Grazia, an elderly woman on a strict diet. Gianni manages to find beds for the three women and finds himself full-time employed in their care: cooking all their meals, helping Grazia to get asleep, coping with Marina's whims, helping the ladies to get along... Many funny moments follow,especially due to the eccentricity and sometimes childishness of the elderly ladies. None of them is played by a professional actress, and their spontaneity is put to great effect. In spite of the comedy and the light tone, what you get here is a movie filled with serious, even somber themes: the role of elderly people in our society, their loneliness, the inability of their children to deal with them. But we also see the liveliness of the ladies, their desire to live a full life till the end, their respect for those who have a kind word for them. A well-made, important film, which deserves the success it's having in Italy.