When Mark (played by Chuck Blaum) dies, his best friend Jeff (played by Adam Neal Smith) must now pick up the pieces, make sure all arrangements are made and the people in Mark's life who'd fallen by the wayside know of his death. Upon going through Mark's things, Jeff finds out that Mark has been corresponding with Andrea (played by Alessandra Calza) an Italian Graphic Designer he met online for over a year and was planning on meeting for the first time before his death. It is now Jeff's sad duty to email this poor guy in Italy and inform him of Mark's untimely demise.
Wow. First of all let me say if you're looking for crazy sex scenes etc, this is not the movie for you....But if you want a movie that will make you feel things--grab some Kleenex because you're going to need it.
I've had the displeasure of watching some HORRID gay movies in my time like Shut Up and Kiss Me - I don't know what I was thinking with that one. I thought it was good okay? I mean with a name like that how could they screw it up so badly? Anyways, let's move on to my happy place. Recently I've come across a few that keeps me coming back to the genre. Movies like I Do and big Eden are just priceless gems. Add this one to that list! This movie had me bringing out the kleenex and the junk food. It was heartbreaking in all the best ways! The movie isn't bogged down with wild music or crazy sounds. It seemed all natural with piano where needed.
Sometimes the dialogue was a little bit much but those times were quickly forgotten when they get into the good stuff, like memories of Mark and the way Andrea and Jeff seems around each other leaves an air of truth. This movie had a strange, yet beautiful stillness about it. It was as if the places within the film, where the character Mark was happiness took on a whole new meaning for Jeff and Andrea and they were places the two men could go, shut out the world, the noise and the chaos of the world and simply, be.
The scene where Jeff stood outside watering Mark's plants even though Mark's gone and then the realization that this spot, this moment was once Mark's -- was completely life altering. The first time Andrea entered Mark's bedroom physically though he'd seen it so many times in pictures was poignant for it dawns on him, if Mark was alive, they'd be there together. These are the places, Andrea and Jeff can see and feel Mark still.
The ending will absolutely make you think - you feel every raw emotion there and you wish--just so the characters would smile it would end differently. But you know, perhaps it is the writer in me, but I knew there was no other possible way for this movie to end, than how it did.
This movie is a wonderful testament to the human's ability to love and be loved in returned. It shows our insecurities about the things we believe our loved ones would never understand if we told them, though these things are not as horrible as not having us in their lives. It shows how two people, who've never met before, can come together because of one reason to work for one goal--closure and solace with each other.
The secondary characters were few but still left an impact. Though you only hear Andrea's mother's voice she is one character I'll never forget because she's like any Italian and Jamaican mother *love* and Jeff's sister - Sometimes the secondary characters can eat away at the story and make it all about them. Not this time.
Ciao is heartbreaking, uplifting, sad, happy all these emotions wrapped into one big bundle of a great movie. And if you look real hard, you may be able to learn a few lessons in it.
Hugs,
Kato
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