| Plot Synopsis A woman dealing with the loss of her mate learns he had a surprising secret life in this drama from Italy. Antonia (Margherita Buy) is a doctor who finds both challenges and rewards in her work with people with AIDS, who has also enjoyed a long and seemingly happy relationship with her husband Massimo (Andrea Renzi). When Massimo is killed in an auto wreck, Antonia is crushed and turns away from her work and her friends; while she tries to reach out to her mother Veronica (Erica Blanc), Veronica is too emotionally distant to be of much help. As Antonia struggles to come to terms with her grief, she discovers to her shock that her husband had been having an affair through much of their marriage, and her confusion is intensified when she learns that Massimo's lover was a man, Michele (Stefano Accorsi). Antonia confronts Michele, who would prefer not to say anything about Massimo, but Antonia is persistent, and in time the two open up to each other about the man they both deeply loved. As a friendship grows between Antonia and Michele, she has another surprise in store - she finds she's pregnant with Massimo's child. - Mark Deming, All Movie Guide Reviews ROD ARMSTRONG Reel.com Films about the friendships between gay and straight characters often fail because the stories push an agenda rather than create believable individuals. What is unique about His Secret Life is that an assumption of intelligence, tolerance, and acceptance is already made, and thus the movie can focus on telling a compelling story. While the American title of this Italian-language effort implies something overly melodramatic and covert, what is on-screen is anything but. Antonia (Margherita Buy) and Massimo (Andrea Renzi) have been happily married for 15 years until a tragic accident leaves Antonia solitary and shell-shocked. The poor woman's heart is dealt another blow when materials from her husband's office are delivered, and among them is a painting with an inscription on the back referring to the author's seven-year relationship with the deceased. After locating the address of the painting's buyer, she ventures there, prepared to confront her spouse's long-term mistress. Once inside the nicely appointed rooftop apartment, Antonia meets a number of different people, none of whom seem to be the "Miss Mariani" she seeks. After a few not-so-subtle hints from the occupant, Michele (Stefano Accorsi), she realizes that her husband's extramarital relationship was with a man. While an American film along similar lines (think Making Love) would offer much weeping and gnashing of teeth for poor Antonia, Ferzan Ozpetek's script (co-written by Gianni Romoli) offers something more subtle and realistic. At first, the bereaved woman feels betrayed and shocked by the revelation, but her next emotion is one of curiosity. Why wouldn't she want to get to know this man who was loved by someone she loved deeply? What was their relationship like? His Secret Life delves into these questions (and some others) with elegance and grace. The greatest revelation for Antonia comes from meeting Michele's circle of friends, who, it becomes clear, were also close associates of her husband. There's Serra (Serra Yilmaz), a maternal Turkish woman who relocates to Italy after a horrific incident with a government official. And Mara (Lucrezia Valia), a transsexual confronted with the decision of whether to attend a family wedding as a man or as herself. And Ernesto (Gabriel Garko), an incredibly handsome man wasting away from AIDS. When Antonia says later, "Massimo didn't just have an affair; he had an entire world," she grasps the fundamental truth of her husband's dalliance, one of the main points of the film. Besides taking the time to develop these subsidiary characters, His Secret Life also fully represents the growth of Antonia and Michele. While the two are wary of each other at first, with the latter somewhat bitter ("I couldn't even go to his funeral," he reminds her), they prod and question each other until a measure of trust and mutual respect is achieved. As the film heads to a close, there are many wrong ways for their relationship to develop, but Ozpetek rarely makes a misstep. In a film of many memorable moments, a number of them stand out. One happens early on in the pair's blossoming friendship when Michele realizes that the book of poetry over which he met Massimo was actually intended for Antonia. Through subtle realizations like this, an important bond grows. Later in the movie, Ozpetek masterfully directs an elaborate party scene where the various characters and their desires and discomforts are portrayed with very little dialogue. By relying mostly on body language, the scene conveys more than words ever could. One of the most refreshing acknowledgements of His Secret Life is that gay people and straight people are different - from their circles of friends, to their senses of humor, to their expressions of love and sexuality. Though liberally inclined politicians and activists use the similarities between the two groups in order to advocate tolerance, the differences are what keep matters interesting. If the only things differentiating Michele from Antonia were a couple of body parts, there would be no story between them and the man they shared. As it stands, there's an entire world. DAVID NOH Film Journal International Anna (Margherita Buy), an uptight Roman medical professional with a seemingly serene life, has her world upturned when her husband suddenly dies. She then discovers that he had a gay lover, Michele (Stefano Accorsi), whom she meets along with all the other characters in his very colorful, very full, hidden existence. Writer-director Ferzan Ozpetek, who made the evocative Steam, embraces the highs and lows of being gay even more fully with His Secret Life. This is a thoughtful, affecting film, filled with absorbing characters. Rather too filled, one might say, as his depiction of Michele's raffish surrogate family, headed by Michele and a kindly "fag hag," Serra (Serra Yilmaz), somewhat distracts from Anna's situation. Buy gives an appealingly un-maudlin performance, but her character is more of an outside observer than anything else and therefore less able to engage our full interest. Even were she more outwardly demonstrative, what chance could she have, facing competition like a towering transsexual worried about returning to her ignorant family, yet another tall, dark and handsome homosexual dying of AIDS, or a whole passel of camp figures desperately searching the Internet for love? Even her own mother has had a colorful subterranean life and, as Erika Blanc portrays her, she is the very dream of an understanding, omniscient pal of a mom. Ozpetek is fond of the small, telling moment, as when, after a rocky start, Anna and Michele begin to bond and, indeed, nearly become intimate while mutually mourning the man in their lives. Far more poignant here than any actual death is Anna's awed silence in the face of so much she was never allowed to share. What Ozpetek's very humane film really reveals is how mysterious the object of one's affections can indeed be, and how even the most unlikely connections sometimes afford healing succor. |
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| HIS SECRET LIFE 2001 - Italy / France - 106 min. - Feature - Color AKA - Ignorant Fairies, Le Fate Ignoranti [2002] (Original Foreign title) Director - Ferzan Ozpetek |
| Genre / Type - Drama, Gay & Lesbian Films Keywords - extramarital-affair, AIDS, discovery, animosity, secret-life, car-crash Themes - Death of a Spouse, Gender-Bending, Double Life Tones - Sentimental, Poignant, Earnest, Confrontational Moods - Only Human Color type - Cinecitta color Sound by - Dolby Produced by - Films Balenciaga / R & C Produzioni Release - Sep 20, 2002 (USA - Limited) Released by - Medusa Produzione / Strand Releasing MPAA Reasons - for language and sexuality DVD Street Date - Mar 25, 2003 Languages - Italian Subtitles - English Studio - Strand Home Video Features - None Specified Cast Margherita Buy -- Antonia Stefano Accorsi -- Michele Serra Yilmaz -- Serra Andrea Renzi -- Massimo Erica Blanc -- Veronica Rosaria DeCicco -- Luisella Gabriel Garko -- Ernesto |
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