The Salt of Life

Comically examining the invisibility of the middle-aged male, filmmaker Gianni Di Gregorio stars as Gianni, a married man with an adult daughter (played by the director's real-life daughter, Teresa), and a controlling mother, Valeria (96-year-old Valeria De Franciscis Bendoni). Everywhere he goes, Gianni runs into attractive younger women (his employer forced him to retire at age 50), but they either don't notice him or see him more as someone to walk their dog or pick up their groceries (although older women treat him much the same). In an American movie, Gianni might buy a sports car or try a spray-on tan, but Di Gregorio's approach plays more like Fellini by way of Nanni Moretti, if lighter in tone. The Salt of Life also sports a subtext about the idle rich, since Valeria—who has a refrigerator full of champagne—expects Gianni to keep providing for her in high style. Gianni tries to make himself more visib le, while encouraging his mother to go easy on the spending. Unfortunately, his lingering glances towards women make him come across as a little creepy, especially since he isn't single (he also experiences a misadventure with a little blue pill). Still, an unexpectedly surrealistic ending, after Gianni accidentally ingests a hallucinogen, is delightful. While not quite as charming as the director's wonderful debut Mid-August Lunch, this is recommended, overall. (K. Fennessy)