Review of Remember Me (aka: Ricordati di me)

Introduction

Families provide their fair share of dramas as anyone with children and one bathroom can attest. The drama genre is choc full of films that surround a family in one way or another, and one of the most frequent are films concerning infidelity. In Gabriele Muccino`s `Remember Me`, the bourgeois Ristuccia family, each member is having their own drama; Carlo begins an affair with Alessia, an old flame; his wife Guilia is desperate to become an actress, despite her insecurities; their 17 year old daughter, Valentina is equally desperate for a part in a TV show and Paulo, her elder brother, is having difficulty coming to terms with not having achieved anything in his life.

To say anything more would spoil the film.

Video

A sharp 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer with generally muted colours reflecting the tone of the piece.

Audio

The DD stereo soundtrack is excellent: very clear with well written and legible English subtitles.

Features

There are nine deleted scenes, which are rough footage with no subtitles. They made no sense to me and didn`t add anything to the film.

There is also a trailer and a stills library of eleven images that have to be manually navigated.

Conclusion

Family dramas from continental Europe are fairly common, but it`s an aspect of filmmaking that is generally done very well and `Remember Me` is no exception. The key to the film is the family unit, which is very realistic and the interactions between the four members seem very natural, thanks to superb performances from the actors playing them, plus Monica Belucci as Alessia.

During the slow build-up, the film drew me in and I was completely absorbed, forgetting at times that I was watching an Italian film, due to the quality of the subtitling and acting. Recommended.