I adored this, but I can see why many people felt let down by it. It starts strongly, but in terms of narrative it meanders and lacks any real story or ending.But to me this was more a snapshot of the life of a family coming to acceptance of the loss of a parent. And, like real life, there isn't always a narrative or happy ending. Things happen for no particular reason and life goes on.Now on to why I loved this. Firstly, the setting. Genoa/Genova is a captivatingly beautiful place, and the camera-work makes the most of it. I dare anyone to watch this and not want to take a weekend break there exploring that city.Secondly, Colin Firth. The film starts with the loss of his wife, leaving him the sole parent of two young girls. His performance as a father left as the sole parent is exemplary. Not yet come to terms with his own grief, he ploughs on trying to be the man of the house rather than being a father.He finds himself left with two daughters. The youngest blames herself for her mother's death; the elder expresses her grief by reinforcing her sister's guilt and exploiting her new-found sexuality. He struggles to cope with properly grieving. He fails to see the psychological scars his younger daughter is carrying. He fails to come to terms with his elder daughter's transition into becoming a young woman.And while all this is happening he finds himself being offered an opportunity to escape the role (burden?) of fatherhood via the romantic interests of an attractive young Italian student. Ultimately, he places his responsibility as a father first.The great thing about this film is that all I've just said is suggested. A touch here, a glance there, unspoken conveyance of emotions. There's no heavy-handed exposition, no guiding the viewer down a particular path. You might watch this film and come away with a completely different interpretation and it would be just as valid as mine.Particular praise goes to Perla Haney-Jardine as the younger daughter. She delivers a really strong emotional performance for a kid. Willa Holland is decent as the elder daughter, striking the right balance between childhood and teenage rebellion/sexuality.In summary, it's the kind of art-house film you're either going to love or hate. But even as someone who generally hates art-house/indie cinema Genova captured my heart.

Tragedy strikes and Joe (Colin Firth) whisks his two daughters off to Italy for "A Summer in Genoa". Not a fun-filled holiday but an attempt to rebuild their lives after the mother dies. The positive reviews refer to this as a film stripped down to the bare realities of life, I refer to it more as a film stripped down to nothing.Flat dialogue removes the life of the still living characters who have become nothing but embodiments of guilt and the aftermath of a tragedy. There is nothing but the element of loss to connect us to these characters, and I need more than that. An overwhelming soundtrack of sad and dramatic scores, Italian music and background noise prepare us for even more devastating events but quick cuts then always bring us back to the same space we were in before.This is an experienced filmmaker who knows that simple scenes with only a sleight of hand can tell us so much, but I believe that only works when there is more than nothing happening in the film. It's also a film with a great look for its low budget, but it does not show off the beauty of Genoa (or Genova in Italian).If you're looking for a small, raw film about loss, then "A Summer in Genoa" is actually good. But I want and need more than just examples of guilt and sadness in movies.

I worked with Michael Winterbottom once on The Claim and did not like his directing style but I was crew, not talent so he had no impact on my job. However, I have watched a few of his films since then, and his style did not get any better from the other side of the lens. This film was very slow paced and I did not feel drawn into the story by the story , if you get my drift. The talent did a fine job with the script but it was a lacklustre script and a boring storyline. The film was called A Summer In Genoa when it came out on rental and was rented as it had Colin Firth in it, always a fine actor and well worth watching.I will careful check future films for Winterbottoms name and avoid them at all cost.

Colin Firth in a bit of a thankless pumpkinhead role. He takes daughters, guilt-driven tween Mary and sexpot teen Kelly to Genoa for a year after his wife dies suddenly in a car accident. The British reviewers seem to acclaim his performance as "understated" and "grief-driven" but I find him clueless and baffling. His younger daughter is clearly in a state of near psychosis, and his older daughter is sexually acting out in a rather dangerous way. He says and does virtually nothing about either. I guess this is "keeping a stiff upper lip." In fact, the entirety of his role in this film seems to be to act as Julie, the Cruise Director from the Love Boat. Catherine Keener is, as usual excellent, but the only thing she gets to do is inveigh him to pay some attention. I thought the whole thing confounding.