European Films

Italian director Saverio Costanzo puts himself into the league of major European directors with In memoria di me (In Memory of Myself), the follow-up to his Golden Leopard-winning debut Private that is part of the official competition here in Berlin. The story of a young man who enters a Jesuit novitiate in Venice because he  "wants to be a person" works both as the particular story of this individual, which will interest a few scattered viewers,  and as the universal story of human beings on a quest for answers and guidance in decision making, which should pack the arthouses across Europe. With a sterling cast headed by Christo Jivkov, breathtaking cinematography and a spellbinding accumulation of increasingly complex material that is treated with insight and clarity, In memoria di me is the best film of the Berlinale so far.

In a splendid Venetian monastery built in the Renaissance, Andrea encounters the other novices as well as his severe Father Superior (André Hennicke) and all seem to look at him with a strange gleam in their eyes that betrays contempt, amusement, longing, disdain, jealousy and fear. Andrea finds it difficult to find his place even in the rigidly structured life of the religious order and he is distracted by every minute detail that does not seem to be part of the daily routine, including strange happenings after dark. Andrea starts wondering around at night, and viewers might at first be led to believe that the film will go into Name of the Rose territory, but Costanzo is interested in more substantial matters; the wanderings of Andrea in the dark have more thematic value than narrative purpose.

 

The immense vaulted corridor that connects all of the novices’ cells becomes a leitmotiv that shows the lost souls that make up the congregation in their most naked state of being: wandering around aimlessly, trying to understand things that can perhaps not be understood. Andrea forges acquaintances if not exactly friendships with some of the other novices and each one seems to be as lost as the next, which both creates a connection of recognition between them but which also positions each one as an island. Will Andrea find the answers he is looking for here?

 

As described above, the film might come across as a highly intellectual exercise on existential loneliness, but Costanzo’s craft turns it into a compelling study of lost souls who all want to belong somewhere and make the right decisions about themselves and their future. As such, In memoria di me is not so much about a person entering a religious order as it is about the more abstract themes of wanting to connect with oneself and others in order to find one’s place in society, which is a theme that will interest many more viewers than just those interested in a semi-fictive rendition of the successful Grande Chartreuse documentary Die grosse Stille (Into Great Silence).

 

Cinematography by frequent Vincenzo Marra-collaborator Mario Amura is key in establishing not only the location of the monastery but especially the dislocation of the characters’ minds. The first shot in which Andrea looks out of the window towards the Venice skyline speaks volumes about just how conflicted he is. As Andrea, Jivkov confirms what was already evident in The Passion of the Christ: his low-key approach to heavy themes allows the audience to connect with his character without loosing the enigmatic qualities that make him so interesting in the first place.

 

The supporting cast, led by a superb Hennicke is in top shape, and the precise editing by Francesca Calvelli gives the story the rhythm it needs to allow its more universal themes to arise from the material organically. As the film progresses and layers are added, In memoria di me grows more complex but never more opaque: many more experienced writer-directors and editors lack the skill put on display here in exploring such a vast subject with such clarity of purpose and finesse. 

 

Seen that the film’s apparently religious subject might turn many potential viewers off, it could be hard to attract the audience this little gem about big themes deserves. In memoria di me will need all the critical acclaim and festival awards it can get to help it reach audiences across the continent. 

This film was screened as part of the 2007 Berlin Film Festival. 

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