Gay neo-Nazis Perk up otherwise Lackluster Rome Film Festival

For a new recruit recently dismissed from the army, Lars (Thure Lindhardt), the feelings of belonging turn to love when he temporarily moves in with Jimmy (David Dencik), one of the leaders of the gang. Jimmy is shocked to realize that he, too, has feelings for Lars that go beyond the fraternal. Donato’s film derives its tension not so much from violence as the threat of violence, by having carefully sketched two lifestyles and emotional realities that cannot rationally overlap.

Same-sex relationships were a big theme in this year’s Rome lineup, though the other films were not as successful as “Brotherhood” in balancing the intersection of love and need for drama. Argentinean film “Plan B,” the feature debut of Marco Berger, comes off as an amateurishly filmed, written and acted take on the need of two token straight guys to explore their feelings for one another (think a two-dollar amateur “Humpday” remake as posted in not necessarily connected episodes on YouTube), while the only intermittently fiery local period drama “Sea Violet” by Donatella Maiorca is a Sicily-set tale of Sapphic desire that necessitates cross-dressing to set things, well, straight.

There is also a strong undercurrent of female desire - though no nun-on-nun action - in Margarethe von Trotta’s “Vision,” about the life of German mystic and composer Hildegard of Bingen. Actress Barbara Sukowa reunites with the director who gave her some of the meatiest roles in her career and comes up with another intense performance, while the object of her irrational affection is played by young Hannah Herzsprung (who also had to deal with lesbian advances and music in the German prison drama “Four Minutes”). The film played very well in a metropolis were religion permeates everyday life to a much greater extent than almost any other major city. (The righteous Polish biopic “Popieluszko, Freedom is Within Us,” about the assassinated priest that preached to the members of the non-Communist trade union Solidarity, seemed to have emptied Roman convents and a large part of the Vatican to an even greater extent during its single screening.)

Another period piece that looks at the composition of music in its historical context is “I, Don Giovanni,” by Spanish master of musical films Carlos Saura, which screened Out of Competition. The film, in Italian and largely filmed in Italy, recounts the creation of Mozart’s dramatic opera “Don Giovanni,” but with an emphasis on the life of librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte rather than the composer. Young Lorenzo Balducci is especially convincing as the priest-turned-libertine and student of Casanova who might be mending his ways. And in a nice bit of enhanced programming, the official screening was preceded by a small concert of several Mozart arias featured in the film (but the arias were not subtitled).

“Vision” and “I, Don Giovanni” had earlier premiered at Toronto, and several other titles that were first shown there or at Telluride found their way to Rome. Festival opener “Triage,” with Paz Vega as an ersatz Penelope Cruz opposite Colin Farrell’s confused war photographer, kicked off the festival on a barely audible note despite its subject, while George Clooney starrer “Up in the Air” confirmed the rumor that no Italian festival can do without an appearance by the jovial actor.

Some of the best performances of a film in competition were to be found in the Tolstoy biopic “The Last Station,” with James McAvoy, Christopher Plummer and Rome Best Actress winner Hellen Mirren. Equally strong performances were on display in the Lebanese female tale “Every Day is a Holiday,” which is toplined by one of the world’s best actresses bar none, Hiam Abbass, and the “Red Riding” trilogy, which is one of the most impressive feats of filmmaking to have come out of the U.K. for years.

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