original title:
L’amore imperfetto
directed by:
cast:
screenplay:
cinematography:
editing:
set design:
costume design:
music:
Bernardo Bonezzi
producer:
production:
distribution:
world sales:
country:
Italy/Spain
year:
2001
film run:
92'
format:
35mm - colour
aspect ratio:
2.35:1
sound:
Dolby Digital
release date:
12/04/2002
festivals & awards:
Sergio, thirty years old, works in a supermarket. His wife, Angela, is Spanish and is about to give birth. Doctors have diagnosed a serious malformation but the parents, mainly the woman who is very religious, have decided not to interrupt the pregnancy. The child is born and is baptised with the name of Miguel Juan. The name brings back to mind that of an inhabitant of the village in Aragona where Angela comes from, to whom, according to a tradition of the 17th century, the Virgin of Pilar of Saragozza performed an incredible miracle, giving him back his leg which had been amputated owing to an accident.
The child, to the doctors' advice, is destined to live but a few days. When the father learns this, he is overcome by despair, whereas the mother, deep inside, absurdly hopes for the performance of a miracle.
In the meantime, in the supermarket where Sergio works, the police is investigating on the suicide of a young salesclerk (Louise), who, shortly before committing suicide, has apparently been raped. Sergio, who has given her a lift home the evening before, is amongst the suspects.
Sironi, the Chief Inspector who is leading the inquiry, is gathering information on the couple and is somehow involved in the dramatic vicissitude of young Miguel Juan. He meets Dr. Melzi, head of the hospital who is following the case, and through his remarks, gets a clear picture of the child's parents. Sergio, frustrated by his wife's precarious financial situation, starts hoping himself that his son will survive, against all odds, and as a sign of rally and personal fulfilment. The death of the child would mean to him the final defeat, the sign of an unfair destiny. Angela, whose mind is less twisted and whose nature is radiant, serene, totally rejects the possibility of her son's death, thanks to her blind faith in a fair God.
Miguel Juan's destiny, between life and death, ends up catalysing the tensions and existential anxieties of both parents, driving them to a state of breakdown. The father in particular, reflects himself in his son, feeling hìmself somehow between despair and hope, life and spiritual death.
The police inquiry and the worsening of the new born's state of health will force Sergio and Angela to face reality.