SnoopyStyle Marianne (Hope Davis) dies in a car crash with her daughters in the back. The youngest Mary causes the crash. Joe (Colin Firth) goes to teach English Literature at the University in Genova, Italy and brings his daughters Mary and Kelly (Willa Holland) over for the summer. Mary is racked with guilt and Kelly falls in love with a local boy. Joe is struggling to move on with college Barbara (Catherine Keener).The movie is dealing with some heavy issues. The problem is that these people are trying to avoid the issues. It doesn't make for great intensity. I wish Mary and Kelly have some better conversation. This is basically a foreign vacation with some dark undertones beneath it. The most compelling parts are a couple things with Mary. Kelly isn't doing anything outrageous that the audience can attribute to more than simple teenage rebellion. It's OK to have the characters avoid the subject matter but they have to go off on other tangents to get the intensity.

Mark McCorkell I adored this, but I can see why many people felt let down by it. It starts strongly, but in terms of narrative it meanders and lacks any real story or ending.But to me this was more a snapshot of the life of a family coming to acceptance of the loss of a parent. And, like real life, there isn't always a narrative or happy ending. Things happen for no particular reason and life goes on.Now on to why I loved this. Firstly, the setting. Genoa/Genova is a captivatingly beautiful place, and the camera-work makes the most of it. I dare anyone to watch this and not want to take a weekend break there exploring that city.Secondly, Colin Firth. The film starts with the loss of his wife, leaving him the sole parent of two young girls. His performance as a father left as the sole parent is exemplary. Not yet come to terms with his own grief, he ploughs on trying to be the man of the house rather than being a father.He finds himself left with two daughters. The youngest blames herself for her mother's death; the elder expresses her grief by reinforcing her sister's guilt and exploiting her new-found sexuality. He struggles to cope with properly grieving. He fails to see the psychological scars his younger daughter is carrying. He fails to come to terms with his elder daughter's transition into becoming a young woman.And while all this is happening he finds himself being offered an opportunity to escape the role (burden?) of fatherhood via the romantic interests of an attractive young Italian student. Ultimately, he places his responsibility as a father first.The great thing about this film is that all I've just said is suggested. A touch here, a glance there, unspoken conveyance of emotions. There's no heavy-handed exposition, no guiding the viewer down a particular path. You might watch this film and come away with a completely different interpretation and it would be just as valid as mine.Particular praise goes to Perla Haney-Jardine as the younger daughter. She delivers a really strong emotional performance for a kid. Willa Holland is decent as the elder daughter, striking the right balance between childhood and teenage rebellion/sexuality.In summary, it's the kind of art-house film you're either going to love or hate. But even as someone who generally hates art-house/indie cinema Genova captured my heart.

maarvarq-1 I saw this on TV after the guide gave it a good review, and I was vastly disappointed. It was as if the film makers had plotted out the characters' lives in excruciating detail, taking care to include all the mundane parts and not place any emphasis on any part that might give an insight into the characters' emotions, then took random bits from this time line, and that's what wound up on the screen. There are many scenes which lasted not much more than a minute, and which seemed completely pointless.It felt much longer than the quite short running time, and I didn't care a bit about any of the characters except the younger daughter, or see any point to what I had been shown. It did remind me a little of "Don't Look Now", which is not a good thing (I definitely wanted those two hours of my life back) although it didn't have the older movie's staggeringly moronic twist ending ... or any kind of twist, really. It plods for 90 minutes then just stops.Avoid.

Will Merrett I worked with Michael Winterbottom once on The Claim and did not like his directing style but I was crew, not talent so he had no impact on my job. However, I have watched a few of his films since then, and his style did not get any better from the other side of the lens. This film was very slow paced and I did not feel drawn into the story by the story , if you get my drift. The talent did a fine job with the script but it was a lacklustre script and a boring storyline. The film was called A Summer In Genoa when it came out on rental and was rented as it had Colin Firth in it, always a fine actor and well worth watching.I will careful check future films for Winterbottoms name and avoid them at all cost.