Cuore sacro (2005)

Director:

Ferzan Ozpetek

Writers:

Ferzan Ozpetek (screenplay)
Ferzan Ozpetek (story)

Release Date:

25 February 2005 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Your secret heart is a sacred heart.

Plot:

Irene, a workaholic, is forced to re-evaluate her priorities after the suicide of her two best friends. |

Plot Keywords:

Charity | Poverty | Life Changing | Male Female Relationship | Heart

Awards:

5 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Barbora Bobulova	...	Irene
Andrea Di Stefano	...	Giancarlo
Lisa Gastoni	...	Eleonora
Massimo Poggio	...	Padre Carras
Camille Dugay Comencini	...	Benny
Luigi Angelillo	...	Aurelio
Erika Blanc	...	Maria Clara
Caterina Vertova	...	Angela
Stefano Santospago	...	Giorgio
Michela Cescon	...	Anna Maria
Elisabetta Pozzi	...	La psichiatra
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enrica Ajò	...	Francesca
Fabrizio Apolloni
Sanghamitra Bakshi	...	Maid (as Shoma)
Gianlorenzo Brambilla	...	Guido
Gloria Cocco		(as Gloria Coco)
Francesco De Vito	...	Antonio, l'autista
Barbara Folchitto	...	Laura
Mariangela Giordano
Giorgio Gobbi
Enrico Grassi
Daniela Maria Jannace
Patrizia La Fonte	...	Donna misteriosa
Patrizia Loreti
Paola Minaccioni
Raffaella Panichi
Paolo Romano	...	Alberto
Maurizio Romoli
Fabrizio Sabatucci
Stefania Spugnini	...	Liliana
Ione Venturini

Also Known As:

Sacred Heart (International: English title)

Runtime:

Italy:120 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Italy:T

Filming Locations:

Naples, Campania, Italy

Company:

R&C Produzioni

Trivia:

Virna Lisi was the first choice for the role of Eleonora but declined due to prior commitments.

Quotes:

Aurelio: [to Irene] Your mother always used to say that each of us has two hearts but one of them ecliPses the other. If each of us could spot, even for a brief moment, the light of his hidden heart, then we will understand that that one is a sacred heart. And we couldn't give up the warmth of its light.

Quite good after all

For the most part, modern Italian cinema falls in a metaphorical crease somewhere between shite and ridiculouslyunwatchablegaginducing shite. Fortunately, the laws that regulate ordinary life miraculously do manage to permeate that thick veil that separates the silver screen from reality, and just like ordinary life is graced by the presence of exceptions, so is Italian cinema. The exceptions to the aforementioned sweeping observation are rare and, quite frankly, may not all be entirely deserving. However, if I may be so bold as to point out the obvious, it is precisely this elusiveness that casts an aura of light around these pictures, kindling a sort of applausive reaction that would otherwise be unwarranted.

The Consequences of Love is a prime example of my Nobel prize theory. It is, by all accounts, a remarkable achievement in elegance and sophistication. Yet, and here I may be momentarily possessed by Saint Cynicus, I feel inclined to partly attribute this positive reception to the widespread absence of quality in Italian cinema. Sorrentino's film was, therefore, a blissful simmer of light in a dark, slimy, murky ocean and, because of this, it was received like a Messiah.

Wide consensus indicates that Ozpetek's films also constitute a source of illumination in this lifeless world and, although I may not wait in a state of advanced excitement and trepidation for the release of his next picture, it is fair to say that, for once, I sheepishly agree with the crowd. Which brings me to the movie in question, Cuore Sacro. Part of me feels compelled to criticise the absurdity of this modern day Franciscan tale. Once again possessed by the spirit of Saint Cynicus, I can't help but remain baffled by the banality of an idea so religious as to verge on the profane. You may say that it is precisely this sort of seemingly soul inspiring parable that can lift us from the crude stiffness of our faithless times. I concede that, despite the awful predictability, there could be pinch of verity in this, but I still think that, however uplifting it may be, it still has the same consistency of a ripe Vacherin.

Schizophrenic nut that I am, the other side of me applauds Ozpetek for his directorial skills. He takes potentially lethal material that, at least at first glance, would appear appropriate for a TV film for the Church Channel, and, perhaps aided by the hand of the Almighty himself, miraculously manages to add a layer of basic, though effective, sophistication. The minimalist direction, the (perhaps forced) elegance of the dialogues and the acting dexterity of Barbora Babulova, all contribute to the overshadowing of the banality of the story and to the accomplishment of a final product that, after all, is not that trite, not that religious and thus, not that cinematically profane.