Flavio Parenti and Maeve Dermody in The Space Between. Photograph via Lavazza Italian Film Festival.
He wears blue as he broods about the things he’s lost: opportunities, connections, dreams, futures. She dons red as she immerses herself in a different country, explores her roots and ventures down new roads. As one laments, the other looks forward — and the choice of hues that writer/director Ruth Borgobello (shorts Claudia’s Shadow and The Gift) selects for her lead characters couldn’t make a more obvious statement. Nor could the title of her debut full-length effort, and the local industry’s first-ever Australian-Italian co-production, with The Space Between emphasising the chasm between her protagonists.
Stressing such clarity and blatancy isn’t indicative of a movie that only resides in clear-cut territory, however, as recognisable as The Space Between‘s romantic drama storyline might be. Borgobello may endeavour to highlight aspects and emotions that already stand out — mindsets, hopes, struggles, and the stages in their lives Italian chef Marco (Flavio Parenti, Wondrous Boccaccio) and aspiring Australia designer Olivia (Maeve Dermody, Pawno) find themselves at, for example — but her movie’s moniker could also easily refer to the ambiguity she lets linger, and the transitory feeling she presents rather than tries to neatly explain.
The two figures collide in the picturesque, peaceful surroundings of Udine in Northern Italy, where Marco has largely put aside the cooking prowess that once allowed him to ply his trade in New York to make a living working in a factory, using his father’s ailing health a handy excuse for his stagnation. After tragedy sees him acting as the caretaker for a friend’s bookstore, he meets Olivia, whose visit is tied to her family in a different way. Their bond is quick to form but slow to build, though both can glean what’s best for each other with greater astuteness than they’re known to apply to their own journeys. Shared experiences cause their romance to bloom, even if they might be following different paths.
As co-written with fellow newcomer Mario Mucciarelli, and loosely based on her own initial dalliances with the man that became her husband, Borgobello’s script is fuelled by significant issues such as grief, identity and acceptance, yet remains littered with discussions that focus on everyday minutiae. As well as ranking among the movie’s many purposefully juxtaposed gaps, the screenplay also gives Parenti and Dermody room to craft characters that gently become more than the sum of their plot-mandated traits, and to turn in quietly attuned performances.
Indeed, while their bold attire sets the tone, theirs prove evocative portrayals that convey both the big themes and small details they’re tasked with grappling with. That said, that the duo seem to wander through their troubles also springs from cinematographer Katie Milwright’s (Looking for Grace) involvement, with her images dwelling between overtly dream-like and crispy naturalistic. Of course, it’s where those lines meet and blur that life happens, as The Space Between smartly observes. While clumsiness also encroaches at times, the final film is moodily perceptive, emotionally honest, and — crucially — modest yet involving.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
The Space Between
Director: Ruth Borgobello
Italy/Australia, 2016, 100 mins
Rating: M
Lavazza Italian Film Festival 2016
www.italianfilmfestival.com.au
Sydney: 13 September to 9 October
Melbourne: 15 September to 9 October
Hobart: 15 September to 25 September
Canberra: 20 September to 12 October
Adelaide: 21 September to 12 October
Perth: 22 September to 12 October
Brisbane: 28 September to 19 October
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