'O re

Watching this was quite a puzzling experience. I felt like reevaluating my feelings about the film as I went along.

Costume design and overall cinematograpy is top notch. I can only imagine the effort on research and tailoring. Very few movies have struck me with the attention to detail on that front, and I observed that with this one results were also functional - unlike what Michael Keaton put on for batman in 1989, this film from the same year makes sure people can move inside their outfits.

Now... Ornella Muti is a force of nature. There are two layers to watching in her scenes: 1. You are watching the movie 2. You are watching Ornella Muti. She's beautiful on a mystical level, but can also act. And no words are needed for Giancarlo Giannini. He was great back then, more than a decade before he went full international with Hanniabal.

Even if you know little or nothing at all about the era, the story is very clean and relatable. Reminiscent also of The Barefoot Countess and certain other classics, it deals with the turbulance in and around Italy as the king of Naples is falling out of power, while the king having troubles with the wife due mostly to his Oedipus complex of sorts.

But that's not really the most important plot here: We get to see the ordinary people, those who get subjected to murder on a daily basis as conflicts go on. Everything is highly theatrical, surprisingly colorful on a visual level, and also kinda surreal.

I was beginning to get bored close to the end, but despite problems with pace and sequencing the film managed to come full circle to make sure no dots remained unconnected. I'd like to thank RAI Storia for airing these hidden gems, so people like me can enjoy via satellite. But also, I keep not understanding why they keep the very same content hidden via geoblocking when it comes to RaiPlay.

Anyways... Surprisingly unique costume drama with an awkwrd and powerful spirit of its own.