User Reviews

A very, very good flick albeit little known. Clearly influenced by Antonioni's oeuvre but only in part, especially during the first 10 minutes or so with those nice shots of Rome and its architecture and people "at 7 am" and general alienation. The story centers around a group of mid-twenties: a rather nihilistic playboy who dates a woman older that him; his flatmate, a wannabe writer; and a naive girl (the playboy's sister) who arrives from a provincial town with her boyfriend. He refused to marry her in church (he being a stern Communist) which the girl's parents don't approve of, so that's the main reason why they quit their town (yes, it sounds a bit old- fashioned) and want to try their luck in the big, modern city like Rome. What follows is an intimate portrait of those characters: their problems, their joys, aspirations... In short, their everyday life over a couple of days in summer. Battaglia also wrote the screenplay and the dialogs are simply brilliant. It's surprising that this Sicilian-born director wasn't even 30 when he wrote/shot this subtle and, by all accounts, mature movie. The camera work is also brilliant and many scenes are filled with catchy 60's romantic songs in order to emphasize the characters' state(s) of mind. The ending is a bit ambiguous but never mind. Highly recommended!