Agata and the Storm

The storm which swirls around Genoa bookshop owner Agata (Licia Maglietta, in Silvio Soldini’s previous ‘Bread and Tulips’) is a metaphorical one, as she copes with her attraction to a much younger man and reacts to the shock news that her brother Gustavo (Emilio Solfrizzi) was adopted. Happy-go-lucky fashion salesman Romeo (Giuseppe Battiston) now shares the blood-ties with him, prompted by the death-bed revelations of their poverty-stricken mother, leaving this extended family unit with a lot of catching-up to do. Over two hours of ebb and flow, matters eventually resolve themselves, but as the plotting dawdles along the scenic route, the film’s initial charm isn’t enough to sustain goodwill. Leading lady Maglietta has a certain Susan Sarandon older-woman sultriness which the camera clearly loves, though as nominal protagonist it’s odd that she gets the ensemble’s least interesting storyline. Still, the bright Almodóvar-ish colour scheme adds a certain lift as you wait for this garrulous, bubbly, rather infuriating movie to get to the point.