"Genova" is not without some merit but it is short on entertainment value. My review title is not to do with the mood of the film, it's simply that the lighting is so dark that it is hard to make out what is going on and after a while it scarcely seems worth trying. Another possible re-title for the film is "Life on Earth as the sun is going out". It's remarkable, the characters go to the beach but their faces are still mostly in the dark. They must be worried about the power bill in their apartment, because they don't turn the lights on. It does subtract from a film's ability to develop sympathy for the characters when the viewer can scarcely make out the expression on their faces. The city Genova does seem attractive and characterful in parts, but you can only tell from strips of sunlight. Just when a character seems about to walk out of a dark alley into a sunny square it's Cut! We can't have that! My hobbyhorse about the lighting apart, the characters seem quite plausible and the actors give good performances. Maybe it has authenticity in describing a year in a family's life after a bereavement, but I never succeeded in caring very much and was quite glad to reach the closing credits.

All the other reviews have gone over the plot details so I won't. Genoa looks interesting and romantic,and the actors play their parts well. But this whole story turns on the fact that Dad virtually abandons His children for the summer in a confusing city in a foreign country. After almost no orientation to their new home He hands His two daughters, ages i6 and 9,the keys and says "Good luck finding your way back home down these winding,maze like,cobble stoned alleys." Sure He comes home from work and comforts the younger daughter when she has nightmares, but He lets the older girl run wild with no control or consequences when she comes home late for curfew,and won't tell Him who she's been with or what she's doing.I don't care how much they're all mourning the death of their wife and mother,or how much the father is in denial about what His kids needs are,the very least the parent should do is set limits to behavior and control them for their own good. There never seems to be any question of "What are you doing? What are you thinking? You can't do this!"

Why the hell was this made? I will never get any of this time back. My life is worse because of this movie. Not because the movie made it worse, but because I could have done something productive with the time. It's barely a travelogue. It's got no plot. It's got no dialogue. The story is stupid. The acting is barely adequate.Don't waste your time with this. It lacks substance. The best thing I can say is the teen girl is very pretty so you have something to look at, at times. Catherine Keener is really just not a good actress, she seems to play the same character in everything she does. She's got some kind of whiskey voice, too.Colin Firth is his usual, British, self. Nothing special.

From the very beginning, to the very end of the film, the viewer is presented with a sense of foreboding and impending doom. The subtle passages of a typical child's life, complicated by the death of loved one, promotes a deep concern for the young characters' safety and well-being. These concerns intensify as the movie progresses. By the end of the movie, the viewer is left deep in thought, and somewhat conflicted.The director brilliantly gives the audience a heart-pounding glimpse of what it feels like everyday to parent tweens and teens. The balance of love, concern and worry is in every clip. The film's ending exemplifies the simplicity of just another day in the cycle of fear and pain that accompanies the love of a child.