Rating: 
Summary: Massimo we hardly knew thee...
Review: "Le Fate Ignoranti" (The Ignorant Fairy) is a throwback to the 50 and 60's American melodramas like "Imitation of Life," "The Magnificent Obsession" or more to the point, "Back Street" except that the American versions, some of them directed by Douglas Sirk, were tempered with an overriding sense of irony and humor while "LFI" is, at times deadly serious to a fault.
"Le Fate Ignoranti" tells the story of Antonia (Marguerita Buy) and her discovery, after her husband Massimo's death, that he had been having an affair with Michele (Stefano Accorsi) for seven years. To put it mildly, this is a shock to Antonia who nonetheless finds herself welcomed into Michele's coterie of friends: some societal misfits, most not.
It is in this company that Antonia realizes that Massimo had much more than an affair; he had an entirely different life with a whole circle of other friends.
It is to the director, Ferzen Ozpetek's credit that this film becomes, not a film of revenge or hate but one of understanding and acceptance. Antonia, unlike the Vera Miles character in "Back Street" who does everything she can to make her husband's mistress Rae (Susan Hayward) miserable, learns to care for Michele and his friends. Antonia's mother, obviously a very wise woman and speaking for the writer I would think, says and I'm paraphrasing here: "It is always the mistress who suffers the most, she is the one who must spend holidays alone, she is the one who must wait for the phone to ring, she is the one who must accept her lover's limitations or live without him."
If Ozpetek makes any miss-steps here it is that some of the scenes are directed with a TV soap opera seriousness that smudges the earnest caring and thoughtfulness of his mise en scene.
Marguerita Buy does an outstanding job as Antonia: fearful, regretful, scared, repulsed, angered yet ultimately accepting and loving. Stefano Accorsi's Michele is a nice guy who finds himself in an untenable situation: he wants to strike out at Antonia (he does at times) but he also realizes her loss is greater then his and he respects this. Accorsi tempers Michele's pain with remorse and guilt and thereby creates a multi-layered, rather than one-dimensional character. Accorsi and Buy imbue their characters with a sort of damaged nobility that strikes a cord in our hearts and in our minds.
"Le Fate Ignoranti" is in many ways a "pot-boiler" harkening back to some of the films of the American 50's and 60's but it's head and heart is firmly rooted in the new millennium. It is a film that recognizes the differences in people and embraces and celebrates them wholeheartedly and without question.
Rating:
Summary: Well done!
Review: A worthy effort. Strong acting. Intelligent story. Why can't American filmmakers be as skillful in treating subjects like this in their films? (P.S. I've never seen so many handsome men in one film)
Rating:
Summary: "I don't know who he was."
Review: Antonia (Margherita Buy) and Massimo (Andrea Renzi), childhood sweethearts, have been married for 15 years, when he is suddenly killed. They appeared to have a happy, settled, and successful marriage, although there are warning signals that Antonia, a doctor, fails to see. Devastated by her loss, Antonia finds a clue that Massimo hid secrets from her. Through some detective work, she discovers that her husband had a long-term relationship with another man--the sultry, Michele (Stefano Accorsi).
"His Secret Life", from director Ferzan Ozpetek ("Facing Windows") raises some fascinating questions. How much do we ever really know anyone--especially if that person goes to considerable lengths to hide a certain side of their character? Massimo's death becomes an opportunity for growth for Antonia. She's rigid and often judgmental, and even her mother bemoans the fact that Antonia needs to ease up on her approach to life. When confronted with Michele's band of friends, Antonia discovers a group who has largely been rejected by society, and yet they are totally accepted by each other. Massimo, who appears just briefly in the beginning of the film, remains an enigma to those who loved him best, and the film, thankfully, makes no effort to understand his motives. Instead the story largely concentrates on Antonia's exposure to Massimo's secret, the range of emotions she experiences when she learns the truth, and her reactions to the individualism expressed by the people she meets at Michele's flat. Unfortunately, the film declines into a rather silly romance, and while the romance itself raises some serious questions about Antonia's behaviour, the sell-out ending, ultimately, panders to naivety. In Turkish and Italian with English subtitles--displacedhuman
Rating: 
Summary: a different take
Review: Excellent actors who litteraly make the movie so credible. It's a deep story of a man and woman who find their destiny crossed when they both loose the one man they love. The acting is sensational, you are carried away in many different emotions, you see the whole story behind neutral eyes, it's great.
Rating:
Summary: The strange interplay between sexual desire and affection
Review: Film making is not about bringing together photography and theater, but painting and music. So said Robert Bresson, and Turkish director (but living and working in Italy) Ferzan Ozpetek shows how this is possible. Anna (a young and rich widow living a sheltered life, admirably played by Margherita Bui) discovers her deceased husband (with whom she was truly in love) had a gay lover. She traces this man, and discovers a whole world she had not dreamed of - just a few kilometers from home. She mourns her marriage for the second time, and is both repulsed and attracted by the former lover and his friends (living in a semi-incredible commune which FerzanOzpetek creates and describes in flourishing details). In the end she accepts this separate reality, discovering it inside herself as well as outside.At the beginning I was fascinated by the technical talents of Ferzan Ozpetek, and how he interprets other directors without actually copying them: the general atmosphere of the gay commune reminds me of Pedro Almodovar (the costumes, for example, and the terrace in Rome like the one in Madrid in Women on the verge of nervous breakdown). The way of picturing the streets of this old, lower-class area of Rome reminded me of Mario Martone and his film L'amore Molesto. By the time I realized the biggest debt is to Julian Shnabel's Before Night Falls I was so much into the film that I did not care any more, and simply let myself being carried away by the magic of emotions. At the end I left the cinema totally dazzled. (There is a brief scene when Antonio is looking for condoms and unexpectedly finds a poetry book which for me is worth many a therapy sessions discussing sex and affection). I cannot guarantee that this will happen to you as well, but you are certain to see a film full of art, by that rare director who established himself (Turkish Bath was his first film) not by marketing savvy but by word-of-mouth from casual viewers becoming enthusiastic supporters. By the way: the connection with Before Night Falls is clear in two points. Both films surprise viewers with emotional documentary footage when the ending titles are showing. Here it is about the year 2000 Gay Pride march in Rome (a national confrontation after the Vatican and the left-wing prime minister tried to have it banned or moved somewhere else). The second point is even more clear: in both films there is a scene (and a very moving one) where soft, melancholic music is used (apparently out of context) under footage of a loud and roaring party. In Le Fate Ignoranti the two main characters look at each other with romantic longing - while both are engaged (actively or passively) in overtly sexual courting with other partners. Loneliness hidden in apparent merriment is exactly what Shnabel wanted to show, as well.
Rating:
Summary: touching
Review: good movie. actors are good.
the storyline is believable and well acted.
A must see!
Rating:
Summary: A touching and entertaining film!
Review: His Secret Life touched me. I found myself thoroughly engrossed with the story and relating to both main characters, and the secondary ones. The kind of real emotion and character development is exactly what's missing in most Hollywood films, making me turn to the Foreign section most of the time. This is one of the best gay-themed films I have seen, one anyone can enjoy and relate to. It is a sweet film, heart-warming and touching without being overly sentimental. The chacters are thouroughly developed and experience real emotions as they deal with loss and heartbreak. Words cannot describe how this movie affected me and made me long for a better world where people can care about each other as much as this small group does. A wonderfully entertaining and emotional experience that is highly recommended. P.S. Despite the preview, this is not sexually explicit and only features one scene of a gay threesome. The rest of the film is tame.
Rating:
Summary: Molto Bene!
Review: I bought this DVD some months ago and watched it in portions. For some reason I just wasn't able to focus enough to watch it in its entirety. I recently decided to travel to Italy and getting into the spirit of things, remembered this movie. Once I turned the movie on - it turned ME on! The story and characters were wonderful and very real. There is a sadness that turns to gratifying and empowering self-discovery. Antonia, the main character, has just lost her husband Massimo in a car accident. In viewing his personal belongings, she discovers that Massimo was having an affair for the past 7 years. Little does Antonia realize that the affair was with a man (Michele). Antonia develops a sometimes tense friendship with Michele and his group of friends. Over time, the friendship with this group becomes a part of Antonia's family. The movie is complete with the token transexual, AIDS victim, as well as a fag-hag from Turkey. Each of them are a delight and add a real richness to the storyline. Filmed in Rome, the movie takes us to understand that no matter where you live or what language you speak, that family is the most important thing there is. It doesn't matter if your family members are blood-related or not. Family is what you make of it. The only minor fault that I found was the portrayal of the stereotypical bitter queens who are so dishonest and unfaithful to themselves - and each other. Lines like "If you tell the truth, they will stop loving you" made me cringe a bit. The character of Antonia found this upsetting as well. The music score was very good and I especially liked the music played during the closing credits (Tiromancino's "Due Destini") It is a superb song! Overall, I give this FIVE stars as the movie was in itself a great portrayal of turning obstacles into opportunities and finding the value in family relationships.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: I find this movie as pretentious, heavy-handed, boring and silly as the previous one directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, 'The turkish bath'. So much for 'auteur theory'. I don't know what people see in them.
The transfer in the dvd is ok.
Rating:
Summary: A true life-story
Review: I just loved this movie! The story is intriguing, clever and real, however to really grasp the meaning of it, you must be hypocrisy-free!
As an heterosexual wife and mother of 2 young adult heterosexual boys, I was very pleased of seeing a movie which portrait gays under a different light and point of view.
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