Those Happy Years (2013)

A narcissistic artist finds his self-satisfied world turned upside down in the wake of a disastrous exhibition and his previously devoted wife's extra-marital inclinations.

Director:

Daniele Luchetti

Writers:

Daniele Luchetti (story), Daniele Luchetti (screenplay)

Stars:

Kim Rossi Stuart, Micaela Ramazzotti, Martina Gedeck

5 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kim Rossi Stuart	...	Guido
Micaela Ramazzotti	...	Serena
Martina Gedeck	...	Helke (as Martina Friederike Gedeck)
Samuel Garofalo	...	Dario
Niccolò Calvagna	...	Paolo
Benedetta Buccellato	...	Nonna Marcella
Pia Engleberth	...	Nonna Marina
Enzo Ardone	...	Lino
Giandomenico Cupaiuolo	...	Salvatore
Angelique Cavallari	...	Michelle
Silvia D'Amico	...	Gabriella
Chiara Pegorer	...	Ragazza Trasteverina
Felice Levini	...	Curatore Mostra
Anna Campori	...	Bisnonna
Sylvia De Fanti	...	Florinda

Storyline

Guido, a narcissistic artist rambles around his studio in the company of a bevy of attractive young women, arousing the jealousy and anger of his devoted wife, Serena, who is rapidly tiring of her husband's peccadilloes. Thanks to the help of Helke, a gallery owner, an attractive middle-aged woman, Guido gets an important commission for an art show in Milan, which somehow goes disastrously wrong. Accused of lack of passion by a local art critics, he becomes extremely sensitive to criticism of any sort, and is taken aback when his wife reveals that she is taking the kids off to a feminist retreat in France at the invitation of Helke's who pushed his career forward. This vacation turns his life upside down and forces him to confront all those things that have limited his art.

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Plot Keywords:

nudist beach | female full frontal nudity | female full rear nudity | wife cheats on husband with another woman | passionate lesbian kiss | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in OffStage - Interviste dal Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia: Episode #1.2 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Amore che vieni amore che vai
Written by Fabrizio De Andrè
Performed by Diodato

User Reviews

Essentially, rather boring...

Oh my god, this one is hard to review... Yes, the acting is good throughout, there is nothing wrong with the cinematography, the dialogs are not bad, the characterization, etc, etc... The problem however is that this is in essence a boring movie, 90 minutes of a story about nothing. We never get to care about any of the protagonists, what happens to them or not. Very much like the art of the main character, the movie is an abstraction we are supposed to call art, because some critic or other says so. In the movie, even the artist is waiting to hear from the critic if his accomplishments are to be 'art' or not.

Furthermore, if the film was to be a depiction of the roaring seventies, it is lacking in all aspects, it is far too much engaged in a mass of unnecessary details to paint for us anything of real relevance. I read somewhere that this film is supposed to be an autobiographical biopic of Lucchetti's childhood. If this is the case, I can understand how it can be interesting and compelling for him and his immediate family, but hardly to anyone else.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian French English

Release Date:

3 October 2013 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Storia mitologica della mia famiglia

Filming Locations:

Follonica, Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

EUR7,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,958,508

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cattleya, Babe Film, Rai Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1