Respiro

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2014.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Porn Star"><U>Porn Star</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1939.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Prince of Egypt"><U>The Prince of Egypt</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1972.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Promises"><U>Promises</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1982.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Punisher"><U>The Punisher</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1925.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Real World Las Vegas: The Complete S"><U>The Real World Las Vegas: The Complete Season (2002-03)</U></A>   |   <B>Respiro</B>   |   <A HREF="id1969.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Right Stuff"><U>The Right Stuff</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1954.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ronin"><U>Ronin</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1927.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rugrats Go Wild"><U>Rugrats Go Wild</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="See Spot Run"><U>See Spot Run</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1975.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Short Films"><U>Short Films</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1919.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Simpons: The Complete Second Season"><U>The Simpons: The Complete Second Season</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1980.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas"><U>Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2005.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spring Forward"><U>Spring Forward</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2001.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sweet November"><U>Sweet November</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1950.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Swimming Pool"><U>Swimming Pool</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Taboo"><U>Taboo</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Taste of Others"><U>The Taste of Others</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1995.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="T3: Rise of the Machines"><U>T3: Rise of the Machines</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1946.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tattoo"><U>Tattoo</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1935.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Ten Commandments"><U>The Ten Commandments</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Time and Tide"><U>Time and Tide</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1953.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="To Live and Die in L.A."><U>To Live and Die in L.A.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2012.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tokyo Olympiad"><U>Tokyo Olympiad</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tomcats"><U>Tomcats</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2002.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Too Much Sleep"><U>Too Much Sleep</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1971.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tosca"><U>Tosca</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1976.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Tracker"><U>The Tracker</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1947.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wattstax"><U>Wattstax</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1948.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Whale Rider"><U>Whale Rider</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2000.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="When Brenden Met Trudy"><U>When Brenden Met Trudy</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1936.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wholly Moses"><U>Wholly Moses</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1986.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wings of Desire"><U>Wings of Desire</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2042.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Woe is I"><U>Woe is I</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2033.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wonderland"><U>Wonderland</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1896.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wrong Turn"><U>Wrong Turn</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages for</B></div> <div> <B> </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>      </B><A HREF="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>          </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Similar Genres</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1681.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1681.ht"><U><B>Family</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id959.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id959.htm"><U><B>Italy</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1190.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1190.ht"><U><B>Comedy</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1636.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1636.ht"><U><B>Drama</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Respiro</div> <div> <IMG SRC="2fee53f0.png" border=0 width="485" height="319" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="2ffe53f0.png" border=0 width="485" height="319" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="300e5400.png" border=0 width="485" height="320" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="469" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1681 WIDTH="463"><div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Respiro</B> *** PG-13</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By Pam Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="545"><div> From the sea</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="268"><div>  Valeria Golino: Grazia</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Francesco Casisa: Pasquale</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="268"><div>  Vincenzo Amato: Pietro</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Veronica D'Agostino: Marinella</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="268"><div>  Filippo Pucillo: Filippo</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div>  Directed by Emanuele Crialese</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: A beautiful woman with a lust for life raises her three children in a Sicilian fishing village, amidst speculation by her husband and villagers that she should be sent to a mental institution in Milan. Her son is determined to save her.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> A rugged, sun-drenched village on the island of Sicily is the beautiful yet edgy setting against which this ultimately mythical story is told. Grazia (Valeria Golino) is a loving, free-spirited woman, a wife and mother, with a penchant for taking off on a motor bike with her kids to go swimming. Unfortunately, she didn't pack a swimsuit, and her husband's crew, returning from a day's fishing, spots her in the surf. And so, it seems, goes Grazia's life.</div> <bR> <div> Her mother-in-law accuses Grazia of always being "too happy or too sad." My guess is she's probably manic-depressive. She's definitely caught in a web of desperation, much as she's tangled in a fishing net in one scene. </div> <bR> <div> Grazia's teen-aged son, Pasquale (Francesco Casisa), is devoted to her. She appears as a luminous spot in his adolescent haze of burgeoning sexuality, mindless and minor violence with his peers, and occasionally helping his father on the fishing boat, where he'll probably one day earn his living.</div> <bR> <div> The beautiful young Marinella (Veronica D'Agostino) possesses the same earthy willfulness as her mother, Grazia. The same unassuming sensuality is just below the surface. </div> <bR> <div> Filippo Pucillo as the obnoxious little brother Filippo has taken machismo lessons from his father Pietro (Vincinzo Amato). Though Pietro loves Grazia, he succumbs to the urging of his family and the townspeople to have her committed after she unleashes a rabid horror onto the streets of the village. </div> <bR> <div> Of course, I question the psychology of the entire populace when I ask why the threat was there in the first place, and see how the men and women respond. I won't reveal more, as it would be a definite spoiler. I'll let you discover this on your own.</div> <bR> <div> Grazia packs a bag and sets out walking, determined not to be put away. Pasquale can't stand the thought of losing her and he finds her and hides her in a cave overlooking the sea. He wants to keep his mother for himself as much as he wants to save her, so he leads the town to believe she has drowned.</div> <bR> <div> The revelation of the truth plays like a fable. What are we to make of it? That answer you'll have to discover on your own also.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I><B>Respiro</B></I> is visually stunning. Warmth emanates from the screen<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >¾</FONT>the sun-washed colors, the passion. Valeria Golino is radiant and full of emotion. </div> <bR> <div> The sea is a constant presence as well, a character in its own right. Its water signifies rebirth and renewal. Yet, I never fully engaged with the story. There was a lot being addressed in the film and I felt shortchanged on some level.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> PG-13 (nudity & thematic elements)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Pam Singleton © 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:pamsing@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:pamsing@aol.com"><U><U>Pam@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>