#6 The Etruscan Smile: A Look Beyond the Warmth – Family Drama Takes Center Stage

,,The Etruscan Smile“ directed by Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis, was an intensive and emotional movie.

It’s sooo close to life and after a few minutes you don’t feel like you sit in the seat of a cinema – no. You feel like you’re inside the movie and live together with these characters.

This drama it’s funny, sad and serious. It makes you thinking about your life: Yourself as a person, the family and most of all the little things. The little things which are making your life full and better and how often you don’t see them – or forget them.

I don’t want to explain the content of this movie. It’s great as well, but today I just wanted to explain my impressions on.

Review:

“The Etruscan Smile” digs deep into the fertile ground of family drama. It’s more than just a heartwarming story about an aging father and his adorable grandchild. The heartwarming bits are certainly there, but they bloom against the backdrop of a complex and often strained relationship between Rory, a crotchety Scottish farmer clinging to his traditional way of life, and his estranged son Ian, a successful businessman assimilated into the fast-paced world of San Francisco.

The film throws them together under difficult circumstances. Rory’s declining health forces him to leave his beloved island home and move in with Ian’s family. Their years of unspoken resentments and missed connections come bubbling to the surface as they navigate this unexpected cohabitation. Rory struggles with the unfamiliar city life and clashes with Ian’s more modern approach to everything. Yet, beneath the gruff exterior, there’s a yearning for reconciliation.

It doesn’t shy away from the emotional challenges. We see Rory grapple with his mortality and the fear of losing control. Ian wrestles with guilt over the distance that’s grown between him and his father. There are moments of anger, frustration, and tears, but also moments of tenderness and unexpected understanding. The film ultimately celebrates the healing power of family, even when it’s messy and imperfect.

In this Movie I saw me, my dad, my grandpa and myself a bit. Strange family-relations with unspoken feelings and thoughts.

I cried 2 times and that was okay, because it heals wounds like this in your heart.

And it improves your acting skills a bit 🙂

Do you think people should cry in cinema if they can’t hold it back? And why/why not?

Write in the comments! 🙂

PS: Wrote this with half eye open….corrections are incoming 🙂

Share the Post:

Related Posts

Framing in Filmen: Die Kunst, Geschichten visuell zu erzählen

Framing ist eines der kraftvollsten Werkzeuge in der Filmkunst. Es geht dabei nicht nur um die einfache Anordnung von Objekten und Figuren im Bildausschnitt, sondern um die bewusste Entscheidung, wie die Zuschauer die Szene wahrnehmen sollen. Framing kann Emotionen hervorrufen, Spannung aufbauen und die Erzählung auf subtile Weise lenken. Doch was genau bedeutet Framing im filmischen Kontext, und warum ist es so entscheidend für die Wirkung eines Films?

Read More

Two Steps Behind Me: My Dance with my Dark Companion

This morning, after a long time, I used a social network again and scrolled half-heartedly.

There, I came across a post that reminded me of one of the reasons why I distance myself from these networks as much as possible.

To not fully replicate this mental fog, the core message was: „Depression doesn’t exist. You can have a depressive phase, but work on yourself and you are free.“

Having lived with this dark companion for over a decade now, I can say that this person and all who agreed with him have no idea what depression entails.

Of course, I am happy for those who told me how bad they felt for a while and that they managed to improve their mental state with regular exercise and writing down their problems. I would say these people had a bad phase in their life and found a way out of it.

But depression is not just a bad phase or sitting sad in a corner because something bad happened or you are overwhelmed with life. Depression is the brick in your backpack as you climb a mountain. It’s the key left in the ignition overnight, draining the battery. It’s the dripping tap that slowly floods your apartment while you are on a world trip.

Depression has many facets, which is why it can’t be identified as simply as a broken leg.

Read More
Translate »
Skip to content