My roommate is sitting behind me right now watching The Last Kiss, the Zach Braff movie that came out in 2006. And all I can think about is how awful that movie was, and how much I loved the original. I saw the original version, an Italian film called L’ultimo bacio, a year and a half ago in a course on sex and politics in Italian cinema at Stony Brook University.
The only words I know in Italian, other than various swear words, are the ones that are the same in Spanish. So I don’t speak Italian even remotely, much less the rapid-fire Italian that is in some of the scenes. Normally this would create a problem for me because I hate reading subtitles. I find myself so busy reading about what is going on in the movie that I barely have time to see it, which ruins the viewing experience. But for some reason, that didn’t happen to me when I watched L’ultimo bacio. It probably had something to do with the pacing, or maybe I was just really on top of my game.
Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The characters are well developed to the point where the viewer even feels a connection to those who aren’t the stereotypically “good” characters. And assuming the subtitles are true to the Italian script, the story was written very well. That, in conjunction with the great acting on the part of the entire cast, made the pivotal scenes of the film even more intense, and it made the lines delivered even more powerful.
After I watched L’ultimo bacio that first time, I was dying to see it again. I later looked for it in Blockbuster, and another video rental place near my home in Queens, but nobody carried it. Finally, after waiting an excruciatingly long time for another student to return it to the university library, I borrowed the DVD. I was afraid that my excitement would make the movie fall below my expectations. But no! L’ultimo bacio came through for me once again. I loved it just as much as the first time, and I honestly think I could watch this movie over and over again.
Rent it! You will not regret it.
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