UK Film Network

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

Wednesday 28 October

Giulia Doesn’t Date At Night (Giulia Non Esce La Sera)

Dir.: Giuseppe Piccioni/ Scr. Giuseppe Piccioni, Federica Pontremoli/ with Valerio Mastandrea, Valeria Golina, Sonia Bergamascol.

Italy 2009/ 106 min

Giuseppe Piccioni was an absolute delight to talk to.  Such a pity that I was pulled away from him at The Filmmaker Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 28 October.  It wasn’t my intention but I was to take part in a group interview in one of the suites upstairs with Glorious 39 director, Stephen Poliakoff.

Filmmaker Giuseppe Piccioni is a ‘hidden gem of Italian cinema.’  His exquisite films have been seen by London Film Festival goers for over a decade.  As with his previous work , for example, Light Of My Eyes and Not Of This World, Giulia Doesn’t Date At Night, at first glance has a simple structure but, as the story is unveiled, you realize it is carefully pieced together, with unpretentious performances.  Not to wish to delve too deeply into the plot – a frustrated writer is close to success when he starts up a relationship with a swimming teacher who carries around a desperately unhappy past.  We must give thanks to Piccioni who, as a filmmaker, tells us a sweet tale where disaster inevitably strikes, with echoes of The Reader in it.  Above all  Giulia Doesn’t Date At Night shows a  great understanding of the way  people behave.  Cinema you will not be able to take your eyes off!

‘Italy’s most original yet still underappreciated talents.’