Caro Diario (1993)
Director: Nanni Moretti
Writer: Nanni Moretti
Actors: Nanni Moretti, Renato Carpentieri, Giovanna Bozzolo
The toughest aspect of being a cinephile in my opinion is deciding what to watch next. Its always the same scenario. I finally find some free time to watch a film, and I ultimately sit there staring at hundreds of films and ending up wasting all the free time I had. This has been a constant issue, and I tried many methods to try and fix this. The latest method has to do with the book 1001 Movies To See Before You Die. I've had the book for a long time, but never used it as a definitive guide. I would just on occasion go through it and sometimes find something that peaks my interest. Well, I decided that I am sick of not being able to choose a film to watch, I made the book do it for me. I went on random.org and I made it pick a page number. It landed on the film you are currently reading the review for. I had no idea what the film was about or anything. I went online and found it and started watching. Here are my thoughts.
I find it amusing that this was the film out of all films I watched/reviewed after "The Day He Arrives". On a surface level both these films are very similar. Directors showing us a glimpse of normal everyday life. However, both these films differ greatly in execution. Whereas The Day He Arrives managed to perfect the concept of "life is monotonous" while still engaging the audience. Caro Diario showed us that both life and the film are monotonous. I understand what the director was going for, however the film fell short with the way it wanted to give out that message. The film had no focus. By splitting the film into three distinct chapters, it just had no flow or balance. The only cohesive chapter of the film was the last one where he was going from doctor to doctor. But that is understandable, because it is just a glorified montage scene. Other than that the film needed that connecting thread that can piece together all of these ideas into one concise message.
Other than that, the film had some redeeming qualities. The wide angled shots as Nanni went about his life coupled with the interesting soundtrack really brought the feeling of Italy into the film. The music especially was very effective, as each part of the film had its own emotion that needed to be expressed through the music. I also enjoyed the last chapter, as I stated above, it is the only one with some actual focus and was quiet entertaining to watch. That is about where the positives end unfortunately. The film was riddled with very dull and boring moments. Couple that with some hideous overacting from some of the supporting actors and very bland dialogue.
Caro Diario is not a bad film by any means. It is just dull, and tedious to watch. Just like life. As this film wants to put out. However, there still a way to make that aspect enjoyable. Just go read my previous review and you would know how it can be executed well. The film falls flat on many aspects. It had some glimmer of brilliance towards the end, but nothing to write home about.
