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It seems that there is a film festival of some sort happening every week in Miami, this is a city that loves film! Last week was the Italian Film Festival, and as it turns out my hostess in Miami last week is friends with one of the volunteers, who had passes to see Mater Natura and the Mater Natura after party. I was excited to see this movie after reading the blurb on the Web page, especially because since there was a comparison to the movies of Pedro Almodovar. But the biggest social event of the year was held Saturday night in Miami, and by Sunday no one was feeling well enough to see a 9:00 movie, and we decided to see the 7:00 film so it would be an early night.

I didn’t care to see this particular film, but I did want to see a film at the festival and it was my last night in Miami to hang out with my friends, so I went anyway. The 7:00 film is Che ne sara di noi (What Will Become of Us). I didn’t care to see it because it is a coming of age story about three teenage boys, and not only am I at an age that I really don’t care about anyone’s coming of age, but I always wonder if at my age (over 30) there are laws about watching movies about the coming of age of teenage boys.

The story begins as all coming of age stories seem to, with an introduction to the three best friends. They are stereotypes; the partier from the lower-middle class home (Manuel), the intelligent brainiac with the overbearing parents (Paolo), and the armchair philosopher (Matteo). You don’t see them together until after the characters are introduced, but you know that they are best friends from the setup. You are also introduced to the women, the older woman who is sleeping with Matteo (Carmen), and the younger girl who is in love with Matteo (Valentina). Then, the only obvious thing that happens throughout the rest of the movie is that the boys will take their High School Exit Exams, and rather than take the graduation trip they had planned, Matteo talks them into going to the Greek island of Santorini, where Carmen is traveling with her family.

You know that this movie is different from the second scene, when Matteo drops off Carmen at her home, and as she enters her home he narrates in his mind what he hopes that she will do (She will open the door, walk in the hall, throw down her bag, run back out to me…). This is an interesting device used throughout the rest of the film, the characters’ innermost thoughts and desires expressed as a voice over while they are thinking them. You then realize this movie is different because you are laughing. Not laughing at some lame joke that was set up for that purpose, but laughing for the same reasons that you laugh with your friends, because you are enjoying their company. This movie is not a comedy, but it is funny because of the honest and true depictions of the boy’s experiences and their relationships.

What is also different about this film is that while the script unfolds according to the usual formula, nothing happens as you would expect it to. The boys have adventures. The boys meet girls. The boys have their hearts broken. The boys party. The boys begin to discover the men that they will become and the lives they will lead. But, the boys make decisions that you would never expect them to make. What makes this a good movie is that the unexpected is not a jarring plot device, the unexpected doesn’t throw off the plot, doesn’t seem forced or fake, but mirrors real life - we sometimes make decisions that surprise ourselves when we are faced with new, challenging situations, and these boys make the same types of decisions.

If I have one complaint about this film, it is that I can’t imagine how a movie filmed on Santorini can be pretty, but not beautiful. When a movie is filmed on what is often described as the most beautiful island in the world, pretty is a distraction when beautiful is necessary. That said, this movie also has two of the most beautiful scenes I have seen in recent times, scenes that show what the cinematographer could have done with the rest of the film – Carmen, who looks like a young Bridget Bardot, dancing on the wall of a castle in flowing clothes, partially illuminated by the orange light from the patio, and a scene in which Pablo has his head shaved by Bea, the woman he meets on the boat to the island, which is stunningly sensual without being sexual. And, while the island is merely pretty, many of the scenes, including the nightclub scene, are incredibly colourful and well done. It is as if a conscious decision was made to focus on the characters and scenes starring people instead of making another movie on Santorini featuring the island as a cast member.

The end of the movie throws the biggest curve of all, leaving you wondering if you have seen Valentina’s story or Matteo’s, and not caring at all whose story it is as you love all the characters, who they are, what they have been through, and what they will become.

I did an IMDB search on this film, and it turns out that the filmmaker, Silvio Muccino, was only 22 when he made this film, and who knows how old he was when he wrote it. He is also portrays Matteo. This is amazing as at such a young age he has made a really good film, and he is also a very talented actor, reminding me of Diego Luna – both young actors that aren’t traditionally good looking but portray memorable characters because they can show strength, humour, and vulnerability. In fact, the casting of the entire film is perfect, the acting superb and with one of the most physically beautiful casts I have seen in a long time. I can’t wait to see what other movies Muccino makes, showing so much promise at such a young age.

If this movie comes to a festival near you, don’t miss it. Besides, when was the last time you saw a film that dominated the dinner conversation afterward because it was so good, because the ending was so unexpected, because it caused you to remember being a teenager and the types of decisions you made back then, the way this film dominated ours?

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