Primo Amore

Proof positive that writer-director Mateo Garrone's THE EMBALMER (2002) wasn't the product of a passing interest in depraved romantic obsession, his follow-up is an even darker descent into a love that's literally consuming itself. Vittorio (Vitaliano Trevisan) and Sonia (Michela Cescon) meet through a classified ad, and Sonia is obviously pleased by his austere good looks. But Vittorio makes no effort to hide his disappointment: "I thought you'd be thinner," he tells her. She's understandably insulted but too gracious to deny Vittorio's persistent request that they at least share a drink, and after a while they begin to trade personal details. She works in a free tr...