If this were the work of some unknown director it would have deserved my five or even six stars -- meaning this is not a really good film, underwritten and overly long, it contains even some elements of kitsch, but also has some good views, some decent acting and has its funny and even heartwarming moments. Not worth a purchase or rent but well visible once if you can catch it on TV. But this was made by Silvio Soldini and he had access the a decent budget, a good photographer and the talents of L. Maglietta, G. Battiston and some similarly gifted actors for the smaller roles. It is really sad, almost revolting to see how he did not make good use of all this!I recommend that you read the review by "opossumd from Italy" here, as he very well summarized the weaknesses of the casting, as well as the fewer pleasant surprises (Daria and Maria Libera). It is really embarrassing to see all the unbelievable staggering of Gustavo, as the actor is not good enough to compensate for the sloppy writing. (Unlike Battiston who does that successfully most of the time.) Gustavo is rather quick to give up the memory of the foster father who helped him to become a successful architect and embrace his worthless biological father, but we never get to know why. I kid you not: this motif is more chiseled in Kung Fu Panda 2! And his love affair is so unfounded and without chemistry, I could not believe that for a moment, although I tried hard as I'm a real sucker for love at first sight. This makes Major Kierkegaard one of the most superfluous and kitschy characters -- the other being the old Chinese naturopath. It is rather clichéd to have one in a movie, but certainly it can be used well, think of Woody Allen's "Alice". But this one is introduced, gives some pieces of ineffective advice, then he's simply forgotten at some point.And there is one point, after Agatha's confession to the wrong man and her consequent destruction of the electrical systems of both the car and the highway lighting (two rather good scenes) when it seems the dog ate the remaining parts of the script and the director also abandoned the project, telling the actors to carry on what they did before. From that on, Agatha only shows very out-of-place signs of happiness (even at a funeral) and the whole film falls apart.(Soldini is usually well aware of the fact that money doesn't grow on trees and even well-to-do people have financial problems sometimes. This is not important but can be felt in "Bread and Tulips", a very important motif in both "Come Undone" and "Days and Clouds". But in this one, Gustavo abandons his architect practice, Agatha the bookshop and Romeo's fashion business has always been a one-man show. But in the end the trout farm is still being built and the family still can afford to spend an awful lot on medical treatment. Good for them but frankly I prefer to be taken seriously as a viewer.)I do not agree fully with opossumd on one important point: he thinks Licia Maglietta was erroneously cast, "too plain, overage and overweight for the character." I'm convinced she could have done it very well, just not with this script and partner. Imagine Nico being not older than 17 (certainly not married, with an unloving mother, reading a lot and shy with girls of his age) and suddenly a lot of things would be in place: his attraction to a motherly figure, his strange style of courtship, and also Agatha's unnaturally strong reactions to a temptation that would be much more scandalous than "simple" adultery! Needless to say, making THAT film would have required a lot of courage. . .

I thought Silvio Soldini's previous film, Blood and Tulips< was very good, so I thought I would give him another try.This film was nominated for eight David di Donatello awards (Italian Oscar). Sadly, it won none, but that doesn't take away from it's excellence.Licia Maglietta, Rosalba in Blood and Tulips, is Agata, a middle-aged book store owner. She starts and affair with Nico (Claudio Santamaria), who is 13 years younger. A cougar? (In Italy, a puma) Meanwhile, her brother Gustavo (Emilio Solfrizzi) finds out that he was the product of a one night stand, and has a brother, Romeo (Giuseppe Battiston). I have to say that Romeo is one flashy dresser.The characters mentioned and their partners go through the travails of life with humor and love and sadness, just as we ll do. It was a sweet picture.

Agatha, a middle aged woman, owns a bookshop. She is divorced and has a special relationship with her brother. Her brother, a successful architect, just got caught in an identity crisis. He just heard he has a bohemian brother and his mother just died. You have to keep your mind at the story, because the first 15 minutes it was quite confusing, but we are following Agatha and she really is confusing! She thinks she has it all sorted out and than one day she is in love and her love is really heavy, because it's great energy. This is funny, because she cannot control it yet, so she let light bulbs burst and with her energy she can control traffic-lights. There are a great deal of extraordinary characters in this movie by Silvio Soldini, who also is the director of Pane e Tulipani. In this movie the leading character of Agatha is played by Licia Maglietta, who looks great and want the world to know it! I enjoyed it very much and despite of the first 15 minutes i invite everyone who likes Italian movies with a lot of characters and story lines to go and see this movie!

Silvio Soldini has created another masterpiece, perhaps not quiteas good as 'Pane e Tulipani', and yet perhaps it is even better. The movie has an ethereal quality, Fellini without the black edges. Licia Maglietta is wonderful, she expresses feelings with a littletwist of her face better than anyone, she is a delight to watch. Theattitude of the characters to infidelity, which pervades all their lives,is classic Italian… something that the Anglo Saxon / Americanmind can't understand. The characters are reminiscent of the three men in SandraNettelbeck's 'Bella Martha' who all manage to live their liveswithout killing anyone or even revealing a nasty sinister inner-self, a refreshing change and perhaps not totally divorced from reality. This is a movie for those with romance in their soul, it challengesus to dream and shows us the power of belief, it is very funny,thoroughly entertaining and leaves you with warm glow. Ten out often!