Mine vaganti Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Mine vaganti Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 22, 2011

Screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek's "Mine vaganti" a.k.a "Loose Cannons" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors 01 Distribution. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original Italian theatrical trailer; making of featurette; deleted scenes; stills gallery; music video; audio commentary by director Ferzan Ozpetek and writer Ivan Cotroneo; and more. In Italian, with optional English and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Can you love me?

Ferzan Ozpetek’s latest film tells the story of a large Italian family operating a pasta factory in the city of Lecce, southern Italy whose members have been living double lives for years. Almost all of them are addicted to love but only a few are happy with their lives.

Tommaso Cantone (Riccardo Scamarcio, My Brother Is an Only Child, Romanzo Criminale) and his elder brother Antonio (Alessandro Preziosi, The Lark Farm) are informed that the time to take over the family business has come. But Tommaso, who has just returned home from Rome, where he studies business, has other plans – he is going to announce in front of the family that he is in love with another man and that he wants to be a writer. He has already prepared his bags because he is convinced that his father Vincenzo (Ennio Fantastichini, Open Doors, Against the Wind) will kick him out of the house as soon as he delivers his confession.

The family gathers for dinner but it is Antonio who announces his homosexuality first. Enormously upset, Vicenzo immediately disowns him and then collapses. A few hours later, the doctors in a nearby hospital declare that he has suffered a mild heart attack. Afraid that if he announces his homosexuality the family will lose Vicenzo, Tommaso decides to stay for awhile and be the ‘good son’.

In the factory, Tommaso is assisted by the stunningly beautiful and single Alba (Nicole Grimaudo, Ferdinando e Carolina, Baarìa), who falls madly in love with him. The two spend plenty of time together and eventually Tommaso reveals to Alba what she has already figured out on her own – that he cannot love her as she wants him to.

Meanwhile, Tommaso’s lover and a few of his friends from Rome arrive in town. Unaware of their sexual preferences, the reenergized Vicenzo invites them to stay in the house. This complicates things because the boys are anything but shy.

Ozpetek works with familiar material in Mine vaganti. As it was the case with his fabulous La finestra di fronte and Cuore sacro, the focus of attention is on a ‘difficult’ relationship that climaxes with a life-altering realization. Again there are important secrets, unshared fantasies, broken hearts, and memorable food rituals.

Mine vaganti, however, is the least exotic amongst Ozpetek’s films. The main protagonists are simple people with simple needs whose dilemmas are resolved in familiar ways, though how they think, communicate and express their feelings could potentially surprise and even confuse viewers who have never visited southern Italy.

There is a near perfect balance between comedy and drama. Parts of the film could have easily been directed by Pedro Almodovar, while with a few minor updates other parts would fit perfectly in a Pietro Germi film.

The acting is uniformly wonderful. Scamarcio, in particular, is great as the quiet son who suddenly finds himself in the middle of a very complex situation. There are numerous scenes where he looks straight into the camera but does not utter a single word yet the viewer understands exactly what torments his soul. The fantastic looking Grimaudo is also very convincing as the confident but lonely assistant. Fantastichini is absolutely hillarious.

The film has a cracking soundtrack featuring the forgotten club hit "Sorry, I’m a Lady" by the Spanish disco band Baccara, songs by Italian legend Patty Pravo, Nina Zilli, and others.

Mine vaganti Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Ferzan Ozpetek's Mine vaganti arrive son Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors 01 Distribution.

This very recent Italian film looks spectacular on Blu-ray. Detail is exceptional from start to finish, with many of the outdoor scenes, and particularly the ones from the big villa, looking very impressive. Close-ups also convey tremendous depth and clarity (see screencapture #5). Color reproduction does not disappoint either. The variety of blues, browns, greens, and especially the rich yellows look simply magnificent. Furthermore, there are no traces of post-production sharpening or contrast boosting. The high-definition transfer is also free of artifacts, serious aliasing or banding issues. There are no stability issues to report in this review either. All in all, though I have not seen too many Italian Blu-ray releases yet (since the high-definition format was launched, I have seen approximately 15), this is one is hands down the most impressive one to reach my desk, and I must speculate probably one of the very best on the Italian market. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Mine vaganti Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, 01 Distribution have provided optional English and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. When tuned on, the English subtitles split the image frame and the black bar below it.

There isn't a lot of surround activity but the audio quality is very impressive. During the crucial dinner, for instance, it literally feels as if one is in the room with the family. Elsewhere, when Alba drives through the streets of Lecce the screeching tires are rather impressive. The beach sequence is also very effective. The dialog is consistently crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. Also, there are no sync issues or problematic audio dropouts to report. The English translation is very good.

Mine vaganti Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Mine vaganti. In Italian, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Galleria forografica - a gallery of stills from the film. (5 min, 1080p).

• Scene tagliate - a gallery of deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Ferzan Ozpetek. In Italian, not subtitled. (15 min, PAL).

• Making of - standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film. In Italian, not subtitled. (19 min, PAL).

• Making of breve - additional raw footage. In Italian, not subtitled. (5 min, PAL).

• Videoclip Nina Zilli - music video for Nina Zilli's "50Mila". (3 min, PAL).

• Commentary - an audio commentary by director Ferzan Ozpetek and writer Ivan Cotroneo.

Mine vaganti Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I liked Ferzan Ozpetek's Loose Cannons a lot. It is elegant and sexy, thought-provoking but also very relaxing. I think that if Pietro Germi was still shooting films today, they would have looked very similar to Loose Cannons. 01 Distribution's presentation of the film is very impressive. My only complaint here is the lack of optional English subtitles for the supplemental features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.