"Ciao" has gotten some pretty polarizing reviews, while I can see why (the slow pacing especially can be very off-putting to the average viewer who is not used to watching foreign art-house cinema that doesn't spoon feed you every detail in a hyper kinetic, more-is-more fashion. This is a film that really takes it time to unveil itself, much like a blooming flower), I must also admit that watching this alone on a rainy afternoon in a movie theater was one of my most memorable filmgoing experience. The cinematography is very stylized, consisting of beautifully composed close ups and single-take wide shots, but the mood conveyed is somber, melancholy and ultimately very human and touching. There were several moments that struck my emotional chord, and I don't recall being this moved by a love scene that is presented in a way that I have never seen in cinema before. To the naysayers, I say: I'm sorry you didn't get to experience "Ciao" the way I did, and as evident by the other audience members who were at the screening I attended, I'd think most of them would agree with me. I've seldom watched a film where a majority of the viewers stayed through the entire credit roll and slowly exited the theater like they've all experienced something hypnotic and profound. Such is the effect of "Ciao." It had a lingering power that stayed with me for days after.
Review of Ciao
