There are really myriad waves. Even we produce waves with any of our actions. Most of them are intangible and imperceptible, though present; some, even some very essential, are one-direction, and missing them once means losing them. This film is about waves. From the occasional meeting between Francesca (Anita Caprioli), who wears a large birthmark on the left half of her face, and Francesco (Ignazio Oliva) who became sightless at the age about 18 years, many waves arise. One suffering from a hugely life-impairing handicap, the other from an appearance trouble of very relative importance, they regard their problem oppositely, Francesco gathering from it even more than normal will to live, Anita secluding herself from contact with the others, firstly affective contact. In a perfect world, theirs would be a perfect story, yet human world is far and away from perfection, thus they will perhaps miss some of the many waves arising from their lucky meeting.
In the ample commentary included in precious Italian DVD release, director Francesco Fei states «Waves» was a four-hand work by himself and film editor Claudio Bonafede; they both declare their primary intention was to stand clear of making it mercantile and require some thought effort of the viewers, rewarding them with artistic sincerity. An «honest» work, they say. There is no gainsaying that, along with refined and atmospheric (and well-paid for to get it licensed, something Fei says — and we shall agree — wouldn't've been done if this weren't an independent production) music (much needed, in a film on waves), good acting (mainly by Oliva and Timi — while Anita Caprioli appears as more suitable for TV series and fiction, something her following career has then confirmed), long-sighted and courageous direction and editing choices featuring a barely believable passion for detail, the prime of the many qualities of «Waves» is the fundamental one: artistic honesty. Not that we guess Oliva did so much as to read books about people who became eye-impaired, ask to a blind woman to stay in her house for some days, watch other films having blind characters, yet when he tells us so we instantly trust his word. Nor do we feel surprise coming to know director shot images by a distance and using zoom lenses, in order to catch anything in the surroundings, to the purpose of respecting reality first of all.
This is a particular film in itself, and a very peculiar one on the scene of Italian cinematography, that is by some decades blighted by a system corrupt up to the roots, absurdly awarding funds to awful trash productions that grant by themselves high earnings, furthermore coming from the same producers, directors, and featuring the same actors year by year, luster by luster. «Waves» was fully overlooked on its release, and while less for a good Marina Remi all actors have had good careers, neither Fei nor Bonafede have been asked to realise other real films by any producer after this beautiful essay of theirs.
In the ample commentary included in precious Italian DVD release, director Francesco Fei states «Waves» was a four-hand work by himself and film editor Claudio Bonafede; they both declare their primary intention was to stand clear of making it mercantile and require some thought effort of the viewers, rewarding them with artistic sincerity. An «honest» work, they say. There is no gainsaying that, along with refined and atmospheric (and well-paid for to get it licensed, something Fei says — and we shall agree — wouldn't've been done if this weren't an independent production) music (much needed, in a film on waves), good acting (mainly by Oliva and Timi — while Anita Caprioli appears as more suitable for TV series and fiction, something her following career has then confirmed), long-sighted and courageous direction and editing choices featuring a barely believable passion for detail, the prime of the many qualities of «Waves» is the fundamental one: artistic honesty. Not that we guess Oliva did so much as to read books about people who became eye-impaired, ask to a blind woman to stay in her house for some days, watch other films having blind characters, yet when he tells us so we instantly trust his word. Nor do we feel surprise coming to know director shot images by a distance and using zoom lenses, in order to catch anything in the surroundings, to the purpose of respecting reality first of all.
This is a particular film in itself, and a very peculiar one on the scene of Italian cinematography, that is by some decades blighted by a system corrupt up to the roots, absurdly awarding funds to awful trash productions that grant by themselves high earnings, furthermore coming from the same producers, directors, and featuring the same actors year by year, luster by luster. «Waves» was fully overlooked on its release, and while less for a good Marina Remi all actors have had good careers, neither Fei nor Bonafede have been asked to realise other real films by any producer after this beautiful essay of theirs.
