XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Eschete Beautifully photographed and ably acted, generally, but the writing is very slipshod. There are scenes of such unbelievability that there is no joy in the watching. The fact that the young lover has a twin brother, for instance, is so contrived that I groaned out loud. And the "emotion-light bulb connection" seems gimmicky, too.I don't know, though. If you have a few glasses of wine and feel like relaxing with something pretty to look at with a few flaccid comedic scenes, this is a pretty good movie. No major effort on the part of the viewer required. But Italian film, especially Italian comedy, is usually much, much better than this.

Indyrod This is another www.filmmovement.com movie, that was nominated for 8 Italian version of the Oscars. Like the others, it was released at the theaters and on DVD at the same time. Like the other two Film Movement movies I've seen, quality is the name of the game. And "Agata" is no exception. The story is a quirky comedy about life changing events that happen between two families, when a man finds out he has a different Mother than what he's known all these years. This revelation cause him to make a big turn in his life, get to know his new relatives, while dealing with the relatives he thought were his. This all leads to one big family that is far from normal, so to speak. Agata is his sister, a single woman who runs a book store, and has a much younger guy who says he's in love with her. Big problem, the guy is married. Also Agata has a problem with light bulbs. Whenever she is close to a light bulb it blows out. A rather novel approach to a comedy with many characters, and a lot of fun for the viewer. Good movie, highly recommended.

ross-70 Silvio Soldini has created another masterpiece, perhaps not quiteas good as 'Pane e Tulipani', and yet perhaps it is even better. The movie has an ethereal quality, Fellini without the black edges. Licia Maglietta is wonderful, she expresses feelings with a littletwist of her face better than anyone, she is a delight to watch. Theattitude of the characters to infidelity, which pervades all their lives,is classic Italian… something that the Anglo Saxon / Americanmind can't understand. The characters are reminiscent of the three men in SandraNettelbeck's 'Bella Martha' who all manage to live their liveswithout killing anyone or even revealing a nasty sinister inner-self, a refreshing change and perhaps not totally divorced from reality. This is a movie for those with romance in their soul, it challengesus to dream and shows us the power of belief, it is very funny,thoroughly entertaining and leaves you with warm glow. Ten out often!

opossumd Agata e la tempesta is an agreeable, though half-baked, surreal dream. Agata is a happy middle-aged bookshop owner living alone, who causes magnetic storms when she's excited (making bulbs, toasters, computers, traffic lights go pop). She has a daughter in Spain and a saturnine "brother", Gustavo, nearby, who is going through an identity crisis (he has discovered he is not related to her, his real brother being a Felliniesque travelling salesman in the rag trade, with a handicapped wife and a collection of one-night-stands). He is married to a celebrity tv psychologist who counsels people in shaky marriages and enacts her own advice at home. Agata herself feels attracted to a much younger married man who idolises her. There are several other characters, all of them pulling in different directions. Each of the characters would deserve his or her movie.This film has a number of serious flaws. Firstly, the duration - two hours - is too long for following the main thread of the inconclusive comedy plot. Secondly, It is miscast. Massironi (Ines, the psychologist - a great interpretation), is a wonderful comedienne with multifaceted charisma, who would have given extra depth to the protagonist Agata. Instead, this is played with insufficient conviction by Maglietta (whom I see far better cast as Ines), definitely too plain, overage and overweight for the character (who still walks around flimsily dressed, carelessly displaying her flabbiness. Is this really sexy?). Battiston (Romeo, travelling salesman in the rag trade), puts in an even more brilliant performance than in Bread and Tulips; he is unfortunately - and literally - sacrificed by a sloppy and shallow script. Solfrizzi (Gustavo, Agata's brother) is, at best, expressionless and his lines cliché. Santamaria, who plays the young lover, Nico, is almost laughable, with his stereotyped overacting. Which woman would keep a straight face at his courtship? Weather-beaten Jorgensen pulls off an unconvincing portrayal as the Nordic career woman infatuated with the sluggish Gustavo. Where's the spark? Two very pleasant discoveries are Volodi (playing Maria Libera, Agata's colleague), a very promising character actress reminiscent of Milena Vukotic at her best, and Lappo (Daria, Romeo's handicapped wife), funny and sweet, who may be following into the late Giulietta Masina's steps.I somehow miss the Silvio Soldini of Bread and Tulips, and hope to see him back in full colours in the future. Overall mark: C-