Quo Vadis, Baby? (2006) Movie Review

From gifted Italian filmmaker Salvatores (I'm Not Scared), here's another gripping and intensely personal thriller that continually subverts expectations. It's hugely entertaining, and easily one of the finest European films of the year.

Giorgia (Baraldi) is a private detective working for her dad (Burruano), trailing philandering women with her chatty sidekick (Germano). Then suddenly her past comes back to haunt her: she receives a box of video diaries made by her actress wannabe sister Ada (Zanella), who committed suicide 16 years ago. Watching them, she becomes obsessed with explaining Ada's death, tracking down an old friend (D'Elia) and lover (Diana) and trying to figure out the identity of Ada's mystery man. Meanwhile, Giorgia's being wooed by a cop friend (Renzi) and a sexy artist (Alberti).

This film is so engaging that we thoroughly immerse ourselves in the complexities of the playful, fiendishly clever script, which is laced with references to filmmakers from Bertolucci (the title's a quote from Last Tango in Paris) to Fritz Lang, via Truffaut, Fellini, Fassbinder, Antonioni and Hitchcock. But that's just texture in a striking and compelling tale of a woman finally dealing with who she is in relation to her family.

Salvatores tells the story in such a lively way that we can't help but be drawn into both the personal drama and the puzzling whodunit. Flashbacks, film clips and video diary entries add a lush visual quality to the film, as does Salvatores' inventive use of light and colour. The more we find out about Ada and Giorgia, the more we want to know. And the filmmakers never let us down. Neither does the fine cast. Baraldi is especially good--bristly and mercurial, funny and warm, terrified and unwavering.

This is strong, witty, charming moviemaking that combines a central mystery with an even more involving personal odyssey that examines deeply resonant themes. "Be careful," one character warns Giorgia. "You can't play with the past, especially if doesn't belong just to you." As events and scenes start echoing and circling, moments of sudden humour and emotion really catch us, and the characters, by surprise. Simply superb.