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Movies / On DVD / Primo Amore
Primo Amore

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Primo Amore (2005)

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53 %
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Reviews Counted: 19

Fresh: 10

Rotten:9

Average Rating: 5.8/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Apr 6, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: Italian director Matteo Garrone (THE EMBALMER) returns with PRIMO AMORE, a harrowing psychological drama about a truly dysfunctional man. Vittorio (a striking Vitaliano Trevisan) is a goldsmith who... Italian director Matteo Garrone (THE EMBALMER) returns with PRIMO AMORE, a harrowing psychological drama about a truly dysfunctional man. Vittorio (a striking Vitaliano Trevisan) is a goldsmith who has issues when it comes to finding a partner. A perfectionist at heart, Vittorio can't seem to find a woman that fits his ideal in body and mind. However, when he meets Sonia (Michela Cescon), he thinks he's found his dream girl. The only problem is that, according to Vittorio, the already thin Sonia could afford to lose a little more weight. What begins as a mutually loving relationship quickly descends into a nightmarish depiction of male cruelty, with Vittorio tormenting, bullying, and forcing Sonia into an anorexic state. Known more for his writing than his acting, co-writer Trevisan is devastating as the terrifying but charming Vittorio, which adds another layer of depth to the already murky proceedings. As the tortured, innocent Sonia, Cescon delivers a brave, heartbreaking performance. In the tradition of THE PIANO TEACHER and IN MY SKIN, PRIMO AMORE is a horror film in the guise of a psychological drama, featuring stellar cinematography from Marco Onorato and a haunting score from Italian musicians Banda Osiris. [More]

Starring: Vitaliano Trevisan, Michela Cescon

Starring: Vitaliano Trevisan, Michela Cescon

Director: Matteo Garrone

Director: Matteo Garrone
Screenwriter: Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Vitaliano Trevisan
Producer: Domenico Procacci
Composer: Banda Osiris
Studio: Strand Releasing

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Release:

Aug 16, 2005

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Reviews for Primo Amore

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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As lovely to watch as it is painful to contemplate.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/22/07
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Perhaps it's appropriate that a tale about the avoidance of food should be so unappetizing, but that doesn't make it any more enjoyable to watch.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
05/21/05
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
05/14/05
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is not a great date movie, unless you know your partner will let you have popcorn AND candy and not make you suffer for it later.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
05/13/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Primo Amore tunnels deeply enough into its characters' psyches to reach classic tragedy levels.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
04/29/05
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

...never gets enough beneath the surface to justify [Vittorio's] eventual transformation into something out of a horror movie.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
04/28/05
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

An elegantly told tale of obsession.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
04/28/05
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Could do with a bit more plot: It doesn't resolve so much as collapse in utter desolation.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
04/28/05
Brendan Bernhard
L.A. Weekly

It feels like a sketch for a larger work that would go beyond the well-worn insights of diet literature.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
04/08/05
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Connecting the tenuous expository scenes are hard-hitting moments as Sonia continues to starve herself, and Vittorio offers rewards and punishments.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
04/08/05
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com

While engaging, pic eventually betrays itself as having a trivial attitude to its chosen subject.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/07/05
Russell Edwards
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The scenario is ludicrous, yet it's filmed and performed in such a way that it creates unbearable tension.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
04/06/05
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[A] wonderfully quirky love story.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
04/06/05
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Set in northern Italy and in the darkest recesses of a woman's heart, Primo Amore is a horror movie about desire and the toxic pursuit of perfection.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/04/05
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The atmosphere is once again black, creepy and unsettlingly elegant, lending this twisted tale of psychological dominance and submission a patina of anxiety and dread.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/01/05
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Probing the trust-based power games of a sadomasochistic dynamic, the movie is a reasonably thoughtful study of obsessive love.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/29/05
Dennis Lim
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An engrossing Italian psychodrama about a driven man's obsession with a warped vision of beauty and a woman's sad subservience to his efforts to make her over.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
03/29/05
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Too claustrophobic and writ small for my taste.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/26/05
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Primo Amore is as moody as Matteo Garrone's previous feature, The Embalmer, from which it seems to have pilfered much of its metaphoric import.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
03/23/05
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine
 
 
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