Days (2001) (AKA "Giorni")
Although this film is another feature about a man
living with AIDS, it has just cause to exist because
it is unique and fascinating. It reminded me of Cyril
Collard's "Savage Nights" and Gregg Araki's "The
Living End" if only that it depicted AIDS not simply
as a disease that someone might die from but as a viable
and sentient thing, something that causes a character
to experience life in a new and unique way.
Here Claudio is a man with a life of staid and
rigid regiment. His relationship with his mother and
his sister is explored as is his romantic relationship
with Dario. But it is Claudio's relationship with his
ailment, with his HIV- positive life that is most important
and at the forefront of his daily activities. When he
meets the young and sexual Andrea, their passion is
overwhelming. And in a surprising and dramatic moment,
Andrea's reaction to Claudio's condition become central
to the theme of the story. In fact, Andrea's reaction
causes a complete life shift in Claudio's world.
The acting in "Giorni" is phenomenal. Thomas Trabacchi
is perfect as Claudio. Handsome yet mature, placid yet
on the verge of becoming unhinged, Claudio becomes a
empathetic character even though he makes choices many
of us would not. We see ourselves in him. It is perhaps
the most perfect and realistic portrayal of a HIV-positive
person in a decade. Meanwhile, Riccardo Salerno is fresh-faced
and passionate as Andrea. It's easy to see why Claudio
would hock his relationship, and entire life for that
matter, for the young man. When they are shown in two
separate scenes each wearing the same shirt (as if they
were interchangeable partners) there is a clarity to
their perfection for one and other.
There are more surprises as well. Dario's reaction
when he finds out about the affair is perfectly realistic
and not contrived in the least. Meanwhile, the relationship
Claudio has with his sister, and by extension his mother,
further propels the themes and plot of the story helping
to draw Claudio as a far more complete and complex character.
The piece is filmed beautifully by Laura Muscardin,
who also helped to script. The camera here sometimes
jostles and often seems zoomed in, causing things to
go in and out of focus as Claudio's desperate search
for clarity and meaning become more and more central
to the film's theme. "Giorni" may move a little slowly
at times but it is never boring to look at.
If there is a problem with the film, it is a rushed
and highly improbable ending that tries too hard to
tie up the loose ends. It seems forced and entirely
too easy. We deserve more. As does this film and its
characters. It's one of the few AIDS features to be
made in the last 10 years or so that deserves to be
seen and reflected upon. It's the first time in along
time that an person with HIV was neither victim nor
hero but rather a complex individual whose many dilemmas
also includes the fact that he has a positive status.
Note:
In Italian with subtitles.
Released in Italy in April of 2001. It played in
America first at the San Francisco International Lesbian
and Gay Film Festival.
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Report
Card
Script:
A-
Acting: A+
Cinematography\Lighting: A+
Special Effects\Make Up: A+
Music: A
Final
Grade: A
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