Italian Studies

Released Jan 14, 2022

1 hr. 21 min.

Drama

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List

40%

52 Reviews

Tomatometer

22%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

From award-winning filmmaker Adam Leon, Italian Studies is a lyrical film about dislocation, connection, and the elusive nature of identity. While visiting New York City from her native London, writer Alina Reynolds (Academy Award®-nominee Vanessa Kirby) inexplicably loses her memory and suddenly becomes unmoored and adrift on the streets of Manhattan with no sense of time or place -- or even her own name. As Alina's consciousness swings between imagined conversations, fragments of her own short stories and the bustling city around her, she finds an anchor in charismatic teenager Simon (Simon Brickner). Drawn to the lost woman, Simon soon introduces Alina to his free-spirited group of friends, and together they make their way through a disorienting cityscape full of life, beauty, and music.

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Premiered Jul 11

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Critics Consensus

Vanessa Kirby is always a magnetic screen presence, but Italian Studies is too disjointed and superficial to take advantage of her talents.

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John A

The director's vision makes for a fairly confusing picture however the cinematography is nice and there are some striking visual flourishes.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/23/23

Full Review

ethan h

This is why I love film. Indie movies that don't require guns, murders or language, just good acting with a solid vision. No one fly's nor does lasers come out of anyone's eyeballs but I'll take a good character drama over that any day of the year. This was one of my favorite of '21.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I can honestly say this was the worst movie I have seen in the past decade. I kept hanging in hoping it would get better and it just never did. If I could have recovered the lost minutes of my life I spent on it I would. It just never came together. The actors themselves were not what made it so bad it was the story and the sad part is they could have done so much more with it. Don't waste your life on this one, take a nap instead.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Italian Studies is the perfect example of a holy mess of pretentious art-house fair that is all imagery and no filler. Vanessa Kirby is simply wasted here, in something that so unfocused its own title will still raise questions after viewing it.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Italian Studies is a strange experience that doesn’t work as well as it should. Vanessa Kirby was great as always. I also really liked all of the teenagers. Another highlight was the score. It really enhanced the mood and the tone of the film. There really isn’t much of a story. The film just meanders on throughout its very short runtime. I just kept waiting for the film to have a reason to exist, and I don’t think it does. There’s some nice atmosphere but it doesn’t add to much. Overall, this was pretty mediocre. I wish the film was more focused, because it had the atmosphere and lead performance to be great. Sadly, the film doesn’t succeed. I will continue being excited for whatever Vanessa Kirby does next.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/22

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Adam Leon

Director

Vanessa Kirby

Alina Reynolds

David Ajala

Ade

Annika Wahlsten

Annika

Lars Wahlsten

Lars

Neil Comber

Neil

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Italian Studies: Trailer 1

1:56

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

I don't really know what they're aiming for here... There needs to be a point to why we're telling this particular story in this particular way.

Jan 26, 2022

Full Review

Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

It's only 81 minutes long but feels like an eternity or two.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 20, 2022

Full Review

Glenn Kenny

New York Times

Its idea of time is multidimensional, as is its idea of form.

Jan 19, 2022

Full Review

Bill Bria

Vague Visages

In essence, Italian Studies is a movie made up of bits and pieces that never quite coalesce, and perhaps that’s its entire point.

Jun 6, 2023

Full Review

Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

An impulsive saturnine film that follows Vanessa Kirby as she billows around New York City for an unclear amount of time in an amnesiac fugue state. The non-linear timeline of the film accentuates the

Rated: 70/100

Nov 18, 2022

Full Review

Dallas King

Flick Feast

The film’s runtime is just 81 minutes however every New York Minute feels like a hour stuck in rush hour traffic on the way to JFK.

Nov 12, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

From award-winning filmmaker Adam Leon, Italian Studies is a lyrical film about dislocation, connection, and the elusive nature of identity. While visiting New York City from her native London, writer Alina Reynolds (Academy Award®-nominee Vanessa Kirby) inexplicably loses her memory and suddenly becomes unmoored and adrift on the streets of Manhattan with no sense of time or place -- or even her own name. As Alina's consciousness swings between imagined conversations, fragments of her own short stories and the bustling city around her, she finds an anchor in charismatic teenager Simon (Simon Brickner). Drawn to the lost woman, Simon soon introduces Alina to his free-spirited group of friends, and together they make their way through a disorienting cityscape full of life, beauty, and music.

Director: Adam Leon
Executive Producer: Michael Bloom, Lia Buman, Tim Headington, Ryan Heller, Vanessa Kirby, Maria Zuckerman
Screenwriter: Adam Leon
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Animal Kingdom, Topic Studios, Tango Entertainment
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 14, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2022
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.5K

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