A Scandalous Journey (2002) User Reviews

Madness and Poetry two sides of the same coin??

[silviopellerani · 6/10 · 16 October 2002]

Could you imagine Michele Placido -the famous actor of "LA PIOVRA", a succesfull mafia TV serie- shooting a film about a poet's life, well this is the case and the result is remarkable.

Placido decided bravely to use a non commercial theme and describe deeply the life of an early 20th century poet, considered as a genius by all his colleagues. He is well acted by Stefano Accorsi, one of the latest generation Italian actors, well known after the succesfull blockbuster: L'Ultimo Bacio; he has a discontinuous and peaceless love story with Laura Morante, who in the film is a "well" known high class lady in the poetry male circles. The relation is well far to be a quiet one also because he starts to have more and more internal conflicts with himself. Laura Morante is splendid in her role, a nice middle age lady who has an unforgettable past with a family that finally she leaves to follow inconditionally his Poet friend. The film is well located in the Italy of those years and the atmosphere is perfect. The story can not finish in a different way than in a mental hospital.

Michele Placido seems to debate with us about the real meaning of poetry (or more in general arts) and the difficulties for a Poet (or an art man) to see life as everybody does in a standard way. However the film has certain moments where you can notice a lack of continuity in the story but the overall result is good.

Rating: 6/10

The thin line between madness and love

[anthonyf94 · 6/10 · 25 November 2019]

The intense love story between the writer Sibilla Aleramo and the amazing poet Dino Campana: the social and psychological problems of the second one, but also his genius, make the story difficult, with continuous fights between the lovers, and with the effort of accepting the complexity of the world from a complex mind.

The movie in reality, is not a masterpiece: I think that some scenes are too full of pathos and this risks to reduce the good tension. But Campana Is a gigantic poet and so I think also that they are important film that talk about his life and art. Waiting for a better movie about him (and about Sibilla) we can watch this without too many expectations, and simply living an emotional, tragical, story between love and madness.

A Passionate Love Story

[fanni · 6/10 · 8 October 2002]

The movie is about the ardent love story between the brilliant poet Dino Campana and the well known writer Sibilla Aleramo.

The Cultural background and atmosphere is the beginning of the 20th century with its revolutionary content relating sentimental life, human relationships, the new attitude of women and men, the refusal of the so called conformism and so on. And from this point of view I got the impression that the movie succeeded.

What I did not appreciate is the description of the development of the two main characters' love. As a matter of fact there is no description or explanation of what happened to Sibilla Aleramo's or Dino Campana's mind, heart, what where their reflections. You see the story of their strong love, but you do not understand the deep motivation of this passion, you feel you remain of the surface...

I think the movie could have been better.

Crazy poet, battered woman, violent sex, great movie.

[davidtraversa-1 · 11 July 2008]

No doubt, we are in the presence of a magnificent director, I picked this movie after seeing "Romanzo criminale", also directed by Michele Placido and where he shows again his portentous talent for film directing. He moves the actors so smoothly and gets top performances from them as very few directors are able to do. From the very beginning the art direction is superb, the recreation of the period impeccable and so are the costumes and props.

We seem to be back in 1910. The acting is so good that it's impossible to imagine anybody doing it better. The main characters, tormented --both of them-- to the point of paranoia, reach insufferable mental torture and in her case, tremendous blows --battered woman anyone?-- being pushed, pulled, raped, from the front, from the back, from any possible angle that the human body permits the act. Crushed against the walls, thrown with violence against the floor --Ouch! mind that tiled floor, it's very hard!-- to the extent that one wonders why she doesn't finally looked like the "Bride of Frankestein".

In the 90s she could have gone to Brazil, to Doctor Pitanguy, for some plastic surgery to remove all the bruises gotten in those agitated physical encounters, but in the 1910s I suppose she could only get some ointments and resign herself to the condition of a battered woman (battered in this case is a very light understatement). It's extremely difficult to understand her love --passionate at that-- for this crazy man that will end his days in a madhouse for something like 20 years, and where he will eventually die. They say that "love is blind", well, this case would be the perfect example for that saying.

She was a successful writer in Italy at that time --the story is a true story-- a splendid looking woman (at least the actress, I never saw a picture of the real writer), talented, productive, organized, and she goes and falls for this bum! Yes, he was a genius of a poet and maybe the best poet at the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century in Italy, but who cares!! that's all right for movies and stuff, but in real life who needs that kind of treatment!! Talking about treatments, the one she received for her arthritis seems to be so terrifying for our modern view of medicine that not even cows are treated that way nowadays.

The photography is very dark, full of shadows, matching the mental state of our couple, absolutely exquisite, so is the lighting and the color, that gives such a good old fashion feeling to every scene. Not to be missed is the scene where we are offered a total nude view of Stefano Accorsi with his back to the camera where we can appreciate why -- well, the physical part counts too-- she was so hot about his body. The music by Morricone, sensational. An engrossing film, if you don't mind the very seriousness of its theme.

A very tragic love story

[esteban1747 · 3/10 · 25 December 2002]

It is hard to see a film, where everything is tragic, cruel and the director abuses of sex scenes. The argument could be interesting, even a real one, but the film only discharges suffering, unhappy facts, tough relationship between a man and a woman. Regarding sex scenes one may guess that the director wanted to show them to demonstrate the cruelty of the man, but not all in our lives is misery and misunderstanding. In any case, this film failed to balance the scenes and went in one direction.

Mad about you

[jotix100 · 6/10 · 5 June 2009]

One wonders sometimes how can people go insane over a failed relationship, something that after seeing "A Journey Called Love" is almost too difficult to explain easily. Love being a rapturous period in the lives of two people can have a horrible effect on one of the lovers, as it's clearly shown in Michele Placido's film.

A young schizophrenic poet, Dino Campana, falls in love with a famous writer, Sibila Aleramo. At first, everything seems idyllic, but as they get more involved in their affair, it becomes clear Sibila has made a terrible mistake because Dino's own disease is making him go to extremes that no one can control. But here's the question: Who can tell one's heart the person loved is not in his right mind? Certainly, not Sibila, who loves without realizing what she has gotten into. Sibila's own life has not exactly been a rosy one. She was sexually abused as a child and has married a man she doesn't love. Add to that the natural jealousy that arises from her notoriety in comparison with Dino's. She didn't have it easy.

The film was a surprise, as Mr. Placido's work is worth seeing. Being an actor he knows what to expect from his cast and crew. Laura Morante makes a fine Sibila. This actress is a marvel in her approach to her character. Ms. Morante never gives a false performance. On the other hand, we felt that Stefano Acorsi was miscast as Dino Campana. He never makes us believe he is that man, even at those moments in which he is supposed to be a mad man. Katy Louise Saunders made an impression as young Sibila and Galatea Ranzi and Diego Ribon have some moments.

We were impressed by Luca Bigazzi cinematography. He likes those ocher tones and he bathes his frames with those vibrant Italian colors that are so easy on the eye. Carlo Crivelli wrote the interesting music score that serves the narrative well.

One looks forward to Michele Placido's next ventures since he proves he is a man of vision.

Was it true love?

[paolo-28 · 8/10 · 18 September 2002]

Was it true love? God only knows. She loved him, very much. Crazy for love. He was really crazy, he did not strain that much. Dino and Sibilla, lovers of a century as soon as bloomed. A brilliant poet, Dino Campana and a writer of success, Sibilla Aleramo. The screen colors of a tenuous yellow small cuttlefish, dominates the shadows, only light splashes. And two great actors: Stefano Accorsi and Laura Morante.

Sum of this film better than whole

[opusv5 · 7 December 2004]

I saw this film last night. The scene's involving Sibilla Alaramo's youth were the best: her mother's madness and the brutal rape she was forced to endure at the hands of her future husband. Sibilla was, in Italy, a controversial novelist who challenged the paternalism of her day. That she had sexual relations with men other than her husband is something that Dino Campana cannot really forgive her for. His madness, though real, comes across as a bit self-indulgent. She seems the stronger, more depthful person: in love with a talented madman; having to survive as an independent women when this idea was frowned upon (it still is, to some extent).