- Starring
- Vanessa Kirby
- Writer
- Adam Leon
- Director
- Adam Leon
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 79 minutes
- Release Date
- n/a
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of several reviews from this year’s Tribeca film Festival. To follow our coverage, click here.
Let’s just get this out of the way now. Italian Studies is going to be a divisive one and won’t be just because its misleading title. Not everybody is going to get it and that’s okay but it will be something one will think about. Consider this reviewer a little mixed on it. Meanwhile. experimental features can be a mixed bag and this film is no different. Taking a much different approach, it does not offer much in the way of plot in the traditional sense while not offering much in the way of answers. Though there isn’t necessarily a problem with this, it’s easy to see why some would. With a relatively short time of under 80 minutes, the slow pace alongside its experimental approach also adds to that problematic nature. Framed as what felt like a fever dream through the streets of New York City, it was certainly fascinating for lack of a better word.
Italian Studies follows a woman named Alina Reynolds (Kirby), a writer who suddenly loses her memory. From there, she found herself wandering the streets of New York City, making connections through a series of real and imaginary conversations with a group of teens on her way to piecing back her memory and identity. Consisting mostly of scenes of Alina aimlessly wandering through New York City streets, this does get tiresome as it sure to test the collective patience of audiences wondering where it will all lead to but it is definitely beautiful to look at and it also sounds good. Ultimately, the film will live or die based on audiences willingness to care. Though the film may be hard to follow at times, Kirby gives it her all as Alina, fully committing to whatever the film through at her, she brought vulnerability and relatability to the role. She was raw while her interactions with random people she encountered across her travels were compelling to watch. In the end, it did not really amount to much as the emotional connection was not there.
At the end of the day, Italian Studies won’t be everyone’s cup of tea so be careful going into this one.
still courtesy of Tribeca
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.