Crialese, Emanuele, Amato, Domenico, Amato, Vincenzo, Anglieri, Francesco Edoardo, Casisa, Francesco, Golino, Valeria	...	(Director)
Emanuele Crialese	...	(Writer)
Valeria Golino	...	Grazia
Vincenzo Amato	...	Pietro
Francesco Casisa	...	Pasquale
Veronica D'Agostino	...	Marinella
Filippo Pucillo	...	Filippo
Muzzi Loffredo	...	Nonna
Elio Germano	...	Pier Luigi
Avy Marciano	...	Velista Francese
Giuseppe del Volgo	...	Zio Pino
Matteo Solina	...	Zio Antonio
Vincenzo Barreca	...	Cefalo
Sam Mounier	...	La Mosca
Pasquale De Rubels	...	Bufalo
Francesco Edoardo Anglieri	...
Andrea Barreca	...

Comments: DIT 120

Summary: A sunny seaside location and the radiant beauty of Valeria Golino are enough to set the mood in Respiro, a fitfully effective Italian film. Hollywood never quite figured out what to do with Golino, but she blossoms in this story about a sensual wife who's either free-spirited or manic-depressive, depending on your perspective. Her fisherman husband (Vincenzo Amato) finally decides to have her sent away for professional help, which only provokes an even more impulsive act from her. Within this story is a pointed critique of male machismo--Italian style. Director Emanuele Crialese veers between the neo-realist tradition and a more Fellini-esque taste for symbolism, never quite settling on one or the other. But the whiff of classic-era Italian film is welcome, and the seasoned, sun-baked presence of La Golino makes this movie compelling even when its point seems obscure. --Robert Horton