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Como una espía
Sumario
Esta amable e interesante comedia dramática italiana acompaña a una auditora secreta de hoteles de 5 estrellas, poniendo en escena su trabajo y lo que implica afectivamente esta ocupación para su protagonista, una mujer bella y elegante, bastante segura de lo que quiere, pero no exenta de hacerse replanteos frente a determinadas situaciones. Y lo hace sin cargar las tintas ni caer en obviedades o moralejas y eludiendo la tentación de la postal turística.
Reseña
Irene (Margherita Buy) es una auditora secreta que recorre hoteles 5 estrellas en todo el mundo verificando si cumplen los estándares acordes a esa calificación. Por supuesto, para cumplir con esta función se registra como una viajera común sin revelar su condición, y solo la hace expresa en el momento del check-out.
Viajo sola es una amable e interesante comedia dramática de Maria Sole Tognazzi sobre lo que implica para Irene este trabajo aparentemente ideal: estar permanentemente de viaje y la imposibilidad de entablar relaciones estables y de formar una familia, siendo esta imposibilidad también una elección.
Los afectos más cercanos de Irene son su amigo Andrea (Stefano Accorsi), con quien mantiene una interesante relación, y su hermana Silvia (Fabrizzia Sacchi), casada y con dos hijas, quien como mujer que ha formado una familia funciona de algún modo como contraparte y espejo, pero sin caer en la obviedad. La película se detiene esporádicamente en ellos, sobre todo en el rol de la hermana. El contraste entre la vida "real" de Irene y la que lleva en esos hoteles caros está marcado solo en el punto justo, eludiendo los esquematismos.
Resulta interesante acompañar a Irene en su recorrido por los lujosos hoteles y seguirla en su minucioso y sumamente profesional checkeo de sus prestaciones, en una tarea que, como ella dice, tiene visos de espionaje. Si bien hay muy bellas locaciones y la película nos hace viajar con la protagonista (y esto se disfruta mucho en estas épocas de encierro), no cae en la tentación del recorrido turístico con sus postales. Irene nunca para de registrar y, en definitiva, de trabajar. Además, los cortes y la elipsis del relato contribuyen a prevenir cualquier engolosinamiento turístico.
Margherita Buy nos brinda una extraordinaria actuación por su naturalidad, que nos conquista desde el minuto uno. Hace suya la sobriedad con que la película plantea los conflictos de Irene, una mujer bella y elegante, bastante segura de lo que quiere, pero no exenta de hacerse replanteos frente a determinadas situaciones, sin recargar las tintas. Este tono no es una limitación sino el logro de una película que evita las sentencias y las moralejas.
Like a spy
Summary
This friendly and interesting Italian dramatic comedy accompanies a secret auditor of 5-star hotels, staging what this profession implies affectively for its protagonist, a beautiful and elegant woman, quite sure of what she wants, but not exempt from being reconsidered facing certain situations. And she does it without underlining or falling into the obvious or morals and avoiding the temptation of the tourist postcard.
Review
Irene (Margherita Buy) is a secret auditor who tours 5-star hotels around the world verifying if she meets the standards according to that rating. Of course, to fulfill this function she registers as a common traveler without revealing her condition, and she only makes it express at the time of check-out.
A Five Star Life is a kind and interesting dramatic comedy by Maria Sole Tognazzi about what this apparently ideal job implies for Irene: being permanently on the road and the impossibility of establishing stable relationships and starting a family, this impossibility being also a choice.
Irene's closest affections are her friend Andrea (Stefano Accorsi), with whom she has an interesting relationship, and her sister Silvia (Fabrizzia Sacchi), married with two daughters, who as a woman who has started a family functions in some way as counterpart and mirror, but without falling into the obvious. The film sporadically dwells on them, especially in the role of the sister. The contrast between Irene's "real" life and the one she leads in those expensive hotels is marked only at the right point, avoiding schematics.
It is interesting to accompany Irene on her tour of the luxurious hotels and to follow her in her meticulous and highly professional check of her benefits, in a task that, as she says, has overtones of espionage. Although there are very beautiful locations and the film makes us travel with the protagonist (and this is very much enjoyed in these times of confinement), she does not fall into the temptation of the tourist route with her postcards. Irene never stops recording and, ultimately, working. In addition, the cuts and ellipsis of the story contribute to prevent any tourist gluttony.
Margherita Buy gives us an extraordinary performance because of her naturalness, which she conquers us from minute one. She endorses the sobriety with which the film raises the conflicts of Irene, a beautiful and elegant woman, quite sure of what she wants, but not exempt from rethinking herself in certain situations, without recharging the ink. This tone is not a limitation but the achievement of a film that avoids sentences and morals.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A heartfelt human interest story. Slow pace, but I enjoyed it.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
One person's happiness, is not always the same as another's. This was a key lesson I learned in A Five Star Life's final moments. A lesson I take to heart.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Give me any film with Margherita Buy and Stefano Accorsi and I'll watch it!
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/15/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Believable story and good screenplay. This one's a limited release but definitely worth a shot.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/07/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"Up in the Air" meets "I Am Love," but with a nice feminist twist where the female protagonist doesn't actually need a man to be happy. That's how I'm billing "A Five Star Life" ("Viaggio Sola," or "I Travel Alone," in the original Italian) and I'm sticking to it! In this visually sumptuous (sponsored by "The Leading Hotels of the World!") coming-to-terms-with-life story about a visually sumptuous middle-aged woman - an amazing Margherita Buy ("We Have a Pope") - we meet Irene (Buy), a luxury hotel inspector who travels the world for an agency that rates five-star hotels to determine whether they still deserve all five of those stars. Along the way, she is forced to rate her own romance-free child-free life and determine the best path forward.
On the one hand, it's a beautiful movie, buoyed by Buy's magnificent performance, and like "The Trip to Italy" and "Magic in the Moonlight" offering the viewer the aesthetic delights of gorgeous locations that (somewhat) make up for flaws in the screenplay. On the other hand, however, those flaws accumulate to the point where the script and characters become too schematic: conversations between Irene and her sister, and Irene and her former lover feel overwhelmingly expositional; a late arrival to the story - a British feminist intellectual - is inserted into the plot, it seems, merely to force Irene into self-awareness. Still, there's something to be said for elegantly presented and marvelously acted eye candy, and you could do worse than spend 85 minutes (blessedly short!) watching Margherita Buy traipse through some of the most stunning hotels in the world.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
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