The Salt of Life

 

4 Stars

That a film as delicate, personal and small-scale as "The Salt of Life," directed and co-written by Italy's Gianni Di Gregorio, exists at all is a function of fate and chance. Di Gregorio, who also stars, acted as a young man before beginning what became an accomplished screenwriting career.

His success with co-writing the gangster-themed "Gomorrah" gave Di Gregorio the opportunity to make 2008's delightful "Mid-August Lunch," a script he'd unsuccessfully shopped around for 10 years. A small film about the necessity of companionship in general and the bonding nature of shared food and glasses of wine in particular, it was an unexpected success and led directly to "Salt of Life."

Di Gregorio once again plays Gianni, a man of a certain age who has to deal with a formidable mother, played in both films by the now 96-year-old force of nature Valeria de Franciscis Bendoni as a woman with the bright clothing, big jewelry and blond wig of someone a third her age.

The mother, a self-centered spendthrift, lives with young caretaker Kristina (Kristina Cepraga) in an elaborate Roman mansion while her son lives in an apartment across town and has trouble making ends meet.

Though he's married, his wife (Elisabetta Piccolomini) has her own room and her own life, as does his daughter (Di Gregorio's real-life daughter Teresa). Forced into early retirement by his employer, Gianni is very much at loose ends, something his best friend Alfonso (Alfonso Santagata) can't help but notice.

Himself a tireless womanizer, Alfonso tells Gianni he should have some romance in his life (the fact that he is already married doesn't seem to cross anyone's mind). It's a thought that Gianni has never had before.

Suddenly this middle-aged man starts to notice all the attractive women in his Trastevere neighborhood. When he realizes that even one of his ancient neighbors has a girlfriend, it seals the deal, and Gianni starts to wonder whom the new flame in his life might be.

Would it be his mother's caretaker, Kristina, whom Alfonso characterizes as "a goddess?" His old girlfriend, Valeria (Valeria Cavalli)? Or his neighbor, the vivacious party animal Aylin (Aylin Prandi)? Or someone else entirely?

But just because Gianni is suddenly interested in women, just because he engages in desultory rooftop exercises to get in shape and even buys new clothes doesn't mean that women are necessarily interested in him. In fact, in this gentle world where everything is slightly askew, it might not mean anything at all.

Filmmaker Di Gregorio, who has given his characters the same first names as the actors who play them, has an impeccable gift for capturing the nuances of personality conveyed by an expressive array of quintessentially Italian faces, his own countenance being first among equals.

 

MPAA rating: NR

Running time: 1:29.

Cast: Gianni Di Gregorio (Giovanni); Valeria De Franciscis Bendoni (La madre di Gianni); Alfonso Santagata (Alfonso); Valeria Cavalli (Valeria).

Credits: Directed by Gianni di Gregorio, written by Gregorio and Valerio Attanasio, produced by Angelo Barbagallo. A Zeitgeist Films release. In Italian with English subtitles.

 

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