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Editorial Reviews
In his warm and witty follow-up to the 2010 hit Mid-August Lunch, writer-director-actor Gianni Di Gregorio has created another sparkling comedy with a dash of bittersweet. In The Salt of Life, Gianni plays a middle-aged retiree who has become invisible to all the women of Rome, regardless of age or relation. He contends with a demanding mother (played by Lunch s great nonagenarian Valeria de Franciscis); a patronizing wife; a slacker daughter; and a wild party-girl neighbor who uses him... as a dog walker. Watching his codger friends snare beautiful young girlfriends on the sun-kissed cobblestones of Trastevere, Gianni tries his polite, utterly gracious best to generate some kind of extracurricular love life with both hilarious and poignant results.
DVD Special Features Include:
Gorgeous HD master, enhanced for widescreen viewing
30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage
U.S. theatrical trailer
DVD Special Features Include:
Gorgeous HD master, enhanced for widescreen viewing
30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage
U.S. theatrical trailer
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Forced to retire at 50, Gianni finds himself unnecessary in his wife's and daughter's lives (though there's obvious affection, and the little we see of his relationship with his wife has the comfortableness of long companionship). And he is perpetually at his mother's beck and call despite her having a full time caregiver. One of Gianni's friends brings to his attention some of the other older men who area carrying on affairs with younger women and begins encouraging him to pursue his own affair with a younger woman - any younger woman.
Gianni begins to notice attractive young women everywhere - almost as though surrounded by them (at one point, he is). These beauties, though, almost seem to live in a world where he is a ghost; observing them while he goes unnoticed. He also begins noting a separate world of old men, unconnected to a life with women and fears becoming one of them. He makes awkward attempts with a few of the attractive young women who are aware of him, tries to rekindle an old flame, and gets shanghaied to be "wingman" on an attempted double-pickup. Many of the women are unselfconsciously beautiful and charming. Others, simply capitalize on their good looks to encourage older men to spend money on them.
The humor is mostly gentle, and often subtle, relying on lingering moments and tiny shifts of posture and gaze.
"The Salt of Life" reveals a bit of the difference between the life we have vs. the life we imagine we could have and how they are reconciled (or not).
Gianni begins to notice attractive young women everywhere - almost as though surrounded by them (at one point, he is). These beauties, though, almost seem to live in a world where he is a ghost; observing them while he goes unnoticed. He also begins noting a separate world of old men, unconnected to a life with women and fears becoming one of them. He makes awkward attempts with a few of the attractive young women who are aware of him, tries to rekindle an old flame, and gets shanghaied to be "wingman" on an attempted double-pickup. Many of the women are unselfconsciously beautiful and charming. Others, simply capitalize on their good looks to encourage older men to spend money on them.
The humor is mostly gentle, and often subtle, relying on lingering moments and tiny shifts of posture and gaze.
"The Salt of Life" reveals a bit of the difference between the life we have vs. the life we imagine we could have and how they are reconciled (or not).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
You may recall that a few years back Gianni Di Gregorio scored an unexpected hit (big in EUrope, modest in the US) with his directorial debut "Mid-August Lunch", in which he is forced to entertain his 93 yr. old mother and her friends. The success of the movie encouraged De Gregario to now come back with this movie, which is not a sequel as such to "Mid-August Lunch", but it does feature a number of the same characters, including of course Gianni and his now 95 yr. old (fictional) mother.
In "The Salt of Life" (original Italian title "Gianni and the Ladies"; 2011 release from Italy; 90 min.), Gianni finds himself, at age 60 and being a pensioner, becoming invisible to the opposite sex, and his friend Alfonso is determined to help Gianni find romance again. Meanwhile Gianni must deal with his mom, who calls him frequently when she is sick (real or imagined) or needs help in some way. Gianni's wife and daugther (played by Gianni's real life daughter), along with her slacker boyfriend, are around as well, causing yet more headaches and problems for Gianni. There is no major "plot" to speak of, the beauty of the movie is to watch Gianni react to the situations around him, making observations about ageing and wanting to find new meaning (and romance) in life. There are a number of laugh-out-loud scenes in the movie, but the overall tone is more bittersweet than funny. Please note there are a couple of nice extras on the DVD, including a pleasant 20 min. "Behind the Scenes" documentary, giving glimpses in the complicated movie-making process, even for such a 'simple' film as this one, as well as an interview with lead actor/writer/director Di Gregorio.
I couldn't help but think back to that other "Italian" movie from earlier this year, Woody Allen's "To Rome With Love", and how in retrospect so contrived that movie is compared to this one, which by all means brings a real slice of life, not some tourist postcard-like movie. I had seen the trailer for "The Salt of Life" a number of times here in Cincinnati when catching other movies, but for whatever reason the movie never did make it here. I didn't realize that the DVD had already come out so when I saw this earlier this week, I immediately snapped it up. So glad I did. If you are in the mood for a funny yet bittersweet top-notch quality foreign movie, "The Salt of Life" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
In "The Salt of Life" (original Italian title "Gianni and the Ladies"; 2011 release from Italy; 90 min.), Gianni finds himself, at age 60 and being a pensioner, becoming invisible to the opposite sex, and his friend Alfonso is determined to help Gianni find romance again. Meanwhile Gianni must deal with his mom, who calls him frequently when she is sick (real or imagined) or needs help in some way. Gianni's wife and daugther (played by Gianni's real life daughter), along with her slacker boyfriend, are around as well, causing yet more headaches and problems for Gianni. There is no major "plot" to speak of, the beauty of the movie is to watch Gianni react to the situations around him, making observations about ageing and wanting to find new meaning (and romance) in life. There are a number of laugh-out-loud scenes in the movie, but the overall tone is more bittersweet than funny. Please note there are a couple of nice extras on the DVD, including a pleasant 20 min. "Behind the Scenes" documentary, giving glimpses in the complicated movie-making process, even for such a 'simple' film as this one, as well as an interview with lead actor/writer/director Di Gregorio.
I couldn't help but think back to that other "Italian" movie from earlier this year, Woody Allen's "To Rome With Love", and how in retrospect so contrived that movie is compared to this one, which by all means brings a real slice of life, not some tourist postcard-like movie. I had seen the trailer for "The Salt of Life" a number of times here in Cincinnati when catching other movies, but for whatever reason the movie never did make it here. I didn't realize that the DVD had already come out so when I saw this earlier this week, I immediately snapped it up. So glad I did. If you are in the mood for a funny yet bittersweet top-notch quality foreign movie, "The Salt of Life" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By KHENSE
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A kindly look at a man growing older who now gets the crumbs instead of the meat. We have the idea that he never was a winner - even when young - however we like him all the better for it. His young female neighbor is a goddess at first glance - then we are reminded that what we want is better than what is really there. In the background, old men are sitting in chairs on the sidewalk - waiting in line to die. But not our guy. He'll be around for a while - but in a surprise ending - he gets a glimpse of Heaven.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gianni and the Women...in Sunny Rome....
In "Gianni e le Donne" ("The Salt of Life") from 2011 and directed by Gianni di Gregorio, we have a bittersweet tale in the life of an aging retiree who thinks he's lost his spark... Read more
Published 4 months ago by CARLOS ROMERO
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gianni I love you
This guy - is so likeable, so amusing. I watch this and Mid-August Lunch over and over - not something I normally do but there's a sweet sort of resignation that just speaks to me.
Published 5 months ago by JVP
