Product Details

• Actors: Margherita Buy, Stefano Accorsi, Serra Yilmaz, Gabriel Garko, Erika Blanc
• Directors: Ferzan Ozpetek
• Format: Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, Import
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000W4SMAY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,087 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

AIDS doctor Antonia's husband is killed by a car. She gets depressed until she learns he had been cheating on her with a man. Following her newly born curiosity for life, she goes to see her husband's lover, Michele, and finds a huge apartment that he shares with gay and transgendered friends, including a Turkish immigrant and a prostitute. Antonia is reluctant to tell these people of her relationship to the dead man, but needs prompting to move on to a new phase of her life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You want to see this movie!!, November 18, 2003

By 

Denzil W. Cuddy (Easley, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: His Secret Life (DVD)

This is an amazing film!! It is touching, and heart warming wihtout ever getting to be sacharine or melodramatic. The characters are strong and believable and the acting is superb! Foreign movies are great and Italian is a beautiful language to hear! If it helps in your decision the cast is very attractive, and there is one very hot make out scene between three guys. If you are looking for a lot of skin though this is not the movie for you, this is a movie of human relationships and dealing with loss; not to mention coming to terms with the people we love. The main character is a woman who's husband has just died. She discovers he has been having a relationship with another man for 7 years (seti ani). The two (the wife and the other man) become friends and discover things about the man they both loved that they never knew before. It is a complex and engrossing story that can be viewed more than once. So if you have not purchased this DVD yet get to it!! You will not be sorry.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching and entertaining film!, July 9, 2004

By 

Mark Twain "Sam" - See all my reviews

This review is from: His Secret Life (DVD)

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.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant Message about Love, Need, and Family, March 30, 2003

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Released on DVD with the English title HIS SECRET LIFE, this beautifully involving film is another triumph from Director Ferzan Ozpetek in which he explores the sub rosa aspect of the lives of his characters. Antonia is happily married to a handsome Italian man (Massimo) who dies suddenly in an accident, leaving her bereft and lonely. Massimo's friends at work bring Antonia his belongings and in opening the office clutter she discovers a painting ("The Ignorant Fairy") which has an inscription on the back that it is from a lover of seven years. Antonia is convinced that her husband has had another woman and sets out to confront her, only to discover that the lover was a man (Michele) who lives in a wholly gay household with a devoted 'extended family'. At first taken aback, Antonia learns about her husband's bisexuality, becomes part of this extended family and indeed is a very important member as she is the one selected to administer the AIDS IVs to one of the family memebers. Gradually Antonia and Michele grow to understand each other as each related to the common love for Massimo. The ending is too beautiful to destroy by a review. See this film and grow.
All of the actors are richly gifed and the photography, settings, dialogue, and general message are so strong that this movie should be seen by a very wide audience, perhaps helping to relsove misunderstandings about many aspects of gender identities. A film of great sensitivity, comedy, and grace while it explores a tough subject, director Ozpetek establishes the promises of a wise and compassioante figure in cinema. Highly Recommended.