Un bacio

The Italian movie Un bacio was shown in the U.S. with the translated title One Kiss (2016). It was written and directed by Ivan Cotroneo.

This is an interesting film that will grab your attention from the opening shot, and will hold your attention until it ends. (Actually, it has two endings. We all prefer one ending to the other, but we can't say which one is "real" in the context of the film.)

Rimau Ritzberger Grillo plays Lorenzo, a flamboyant, openly gay high school student. Naturally, he attracts homophobic criticism, but he is able to shake it off. Leonardo Pazzagli portrays Antonio, a straight, but different, classmate. Antonio is a star basketball player, so the other young men pretty much leave him alone. They don't like him, but they respect his athletic abilities. Sadly, Antonio doesn't like himself very much. He compares his own quiet character with that of his dead brother. His brother was outgoing and well liked, and Antonio is standing the the shadow of the brother he loved and admired.

Valentina Romani plays Blu, a young woman with the reputation of being a slut. (How she developed this reputation is one of the film's denouements.) She looks a little like Emma Watson, and she plays the Hermione role in the movie. She is the friend of both, and both of them adore her. All of the three protagonists are outcasts, but they stand together and defy the world. This stance works until it doesn't, and that's what we watch in the second half of the movie.

We saw this film at the excellent Little Theatre, as part of the wonderful ImageOut, the Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It was one of 22 films to have its East Coast or New York State premiere in Rochester. Un bacio carries a 6.8 rating on IMDb. That's not too bad, but I think it's better than that. It will work well on the small screen. It's worth seeking out and watching.