This terrific coming-of-age film tells a story of growing up largely without parents, of the complex world of becoming an adult when the adults aren’t there. It’s the story of Flavia, autonomous and a bit uncouth; Flavia, whose mother works as a carer in Italy, her father on a construction site. She’s adopted a certain sarcasm she uses even with Luca, with whom she flirts in a cool way; the attraction is strong. Luca’s parents aren’t there either and his grandmother is frail, meaning he is the one more or less taking care of his sister Tina – who brings home two more kids with her one day. Fears of commitment and emotional blocks start to dissolve and, like in an adolescent novel, a self-chosen alternative family forms almost in passing, where living in freedom, critical relationships and taking care of one another are a given. Carried by Andrei Butică’s precise, yet loose-limbed camerawork and atmospheric direction inspired by Pialat and Rohmer, the adolescent ensemble takes on responsibility – and gets in the driving seat. Whether visiting caves in the forest or everyday life in a prefab block: their intelligence and vigour are delightful, the dynamics of their shared bonds subtle.
