Ciao (2008) Reviews

• Gentle, Heart Warming, and Believable

  lincoln-152009-02-23

  I recently saw 'Ciao' at a film festival in Australia and it turned out to be one of my favorites. I think it beautifully captured the cautious and quiet interactions we have with people who we barely know and who are from another country and culture. It was also a wonderful example of how we relate to another person who was unknown to us yet deeply loved the same person that we ourselves have loved. The common ground that two people have when they have both independently loved a third is thoughtfully explored. This movie is for those who love to think about (and ponder) dialog. It is also for people who enjoy a solid script delivered by actors that quietly deliver the goods. To me it was both believable and possible, which made it even more endearing. I was afraid that the film was going to go in a predictable direction and have a Hollywood style ending but this temptation was (thankfully) resisted. Instead the audience was provided with a very moving, heart warming, and realistic conclusion. I felt the movie was full of meaning, but you had to be listening and patient. The movie was about the journey of two people who shared common ground and the connection between them because of it. I recommend it highly.

• A Hidden Treasure

  mikeybay992009-04-10

  It's so rare in life that we get beyond what we originally wanted but watching this film was one of those golden moments. I stumbled upon this movie not knowing any sort of advance word or description, merely hoping for some temporary diversion, but was instead rewarded with an amazing piece of understated artistry. Such universal appeal within the underlying honestly of the story & characters yet also showing a very personal understanding of the particular friendship, intimacy possible between gay men. So well crafted, there were pleasures to be found wherever one turned: subtle but haunting soundtrack, the clean, quiet strokes of the cinematography and the remarkably sincere performances of the cast. This is one of those films that echoes into the audience's subconscious for days and days afterwards. But being addicted to all things Robert Altman, my final judgement always comes down to the actual words and the behavior which surrounds them - that's what really determines the level of a film's impact. The conversations between the main characters, Jeff and Andreas, hit a level of realness we hardly ever see in American movies, never mind gay cinema. Even beyond that, there is a penultimate scene of intimacy between them which accomplishes a mesmerizing display of soulful quietness unlike almost anything else to be found in movies today. Hardly any directors get it right when it comes to sex, making it more about choreography or titillation rather than the underlying foundation of it all: honesty. Nothing more naked than that in this world nor anything more artistically misunderstood. But this director, Yen Tan, tore my heart out to the floor with that scene alone. There was just so much being said by the characters' faces and intertwining limbs, so much of what life is really like but that we don't realize we have in common till a filmmaker like himself finally speaks up. To my grateful surprise, I wandered upon something worth remembering and can't wait to see what comes next from Tan.

• Unpoken Emotions, Unnecessary Words

  gradyharp2010-04-03

  CIAO is a quiet little film - on more levels than one. The title of the movie is well chosen: 'Ciao' can mean both hello and goodbye, and that is the essence of this subtle film. Written by director Yen Tan and actor Allesandro Calza it is a very contemporary story about love and enduring feelings. The film takes its time, very literally, dwelling on still shots of doorways, paths, profiles, etc while the message of the film slowly surfaces. It is more an elegy than a story and it works quite well. We first meet Jeff (Adam Neal Smith) as he is packing up the belongings of his longtime friend Mark who has just died, and in doing so he comes across Mark's computer and discovers messages to and from an Italian man named Andrea (Alessandro Calza), messages that define an internet relationship that ends with Mark's death. Andrea doesn't know about Mark's passing and when Jeff answers one of the emails stating that Mark has died, Andrea states he is on his way to the US for a wedding and that he had planned to meet Mark face to face in Dallas. Jeff extends the invitation to keep Andrea's plans, meets him at the airport, and invites him home where a long series of talks reveal the histories of both men and reminiscences of Mark. The mutual loss - one of a friend, the other of a potential love - mix and a new friendship of understanding and caring is born. Much to the credit of the writing, directing and acting, the ending is unexpectedly real - again recalling the title of the movie. Some will find this film too slow and too 'empty', but for viewers who appreciate still life paintings and poetry, this film will satisfy. Grady Harp

• It is just like mine, very moving story

  ralis-sinclair2009-04-19

  I was skeptical at first when I read the synopsis before watching this movie. I thought it would be something just like other atypical movie that tried so hard to be different that everything fell apart. Instead, this movie has seen so much emotion that I found to be very emphatic, at least to me. Every scene has detailed emotions that I would be doing the same thing if I am going to be in that situation. About meeting internet friends, I have done that for several times, a thousands of miles away from home, and I have welcomed several net friends to my place, and therefore, the experience of this movie was trying to portray is pretty much the same what I have had before, but minus the romance. The feeling when we were parted indescribable. I was about to cry myself when I left my friend in the airport.After all, it is all the same. This movie really had moved me in some ways, because some of my experiences were on screen. The only gripe, maybe the movement of the movie is a little bit slow at times, but I really appreciate the emotion and character brought into this movie. If you are still hesitate to watch this movie, just give it a try. Hasta luegos.

• Not for everyone but an extraordinary film nonetheless

  sparkertree2009-01-03

  "Ciao" has gotten some pretty polarizing reviews, while I can see why (the slow pacing especially can be very off-putting to the average viewer who is not used to watching foreign art-house cinema that doesn't spoon feed you every detail in a hyper kinetic, more-is-more fashion. This is a film that really takes it time to unveil itself, much like a blooming flower), I must also admit that watching this alone on a rainy afternoon in a movie theater was one of my most memorable filmgoing experience. The cinematography is very stylized, consisting of beautifully composed close ups and single-take wide shots, but the mood conveyed is somber, melancholy and ultimately very human and touching. There were several moments that struck my emotional chord, and I don't recall being this moved by a love scene that is presented in a way that I have never seen in cinema before. To the naysayers, I say: I'm sorry you didn't get to experience "Ciao" the way I did, and as evident by the other audience members who were at the screening I attended, I'd think most of them would agree with me. I've seldom watched a film where a majority of the viewers stayed through the entire credit roll and slowly exited the theater like they've all experienced something hypnotic and profound. Such is the effect of "Ciao." It had a lingering power that stayed with me for days after.