This was a touching story about love, and modern family.
Arturo and Alessandro are a not-so-happily married couple. Somewhat leaning on a gay stereotype, they have been through multiple affairs, written off as the normal extracurricular activities of a long-term relationship. The third spoke of their wheel is Annamaria, a very chic single mother of two children, who comes from a noble, but very troubled background.
When Annamaria becomes ill and needs to go to hospital, Arturo and Alessandro – in addition to their motley crew of neighbours – take care of her children. Their efforts put a further strain on their relationship, as they struggle to work out what love truly means.
'The Goddess Of Fortune' is a lovely film that suffered from a few minor faults. One was – so I’m told – a hallmark of Italian cinema that perhaps doesn’t translate well to the average Australian audience: naff music and lots (and lots and lots) of staring off into the distance and into each other’s eyes. There were so many lingering stares, in fact, that cutting a few would have shorted the film by about 30 minutes. A good edit would have tightened the story, as it was a fraction too long for a heartwarming film which ended precisely how you thought it would.
The tangent stories too could have been edited down – in an effort to show different types of love, some characters were so narrowly sketched that they became token. Finally, again related to editing, sometimes characters would just appear – for example half-way through a dinner scene – with no introduction, which was disorientating. It didn’t come across as a narrative tool, it came across more as carelessness.
While there were no surprises in 'The Goddess Of Fortune', there was a lot of warmth and comfort, which might be exactly what we need in these COVID times.
★★★☆☆
