'Once We Were Strangers': Romantic Culture Clash

June 15, 1998

Showings:
June 18 - Colonial Promenade, 9:30pm

Once We Were Strangers is a charming romantic comedy which had its Florida Film Festival premiere on Saturday, June 13, 1998. Set in New York City, it follows the travails of two immigrants - Antonio (Vincenzo Amato) and Apu (Anjay Naidu) - in their pursuit of women. Antonio, an illegal Italian immigrant, pursues Ellen (Jessica Whitney Gould), an American radio talk-show host who is about to embark upon a two-year trip to Paris. Apu, who emigrated to the U.S. from India, pursues Devi (Anjalee Deshpande), his arranged-marriage bride who arrives in the U.S. to marry him. Besides Italian, Indian and American, other cultures are represented - for example, Antonio's favorite hang-out is a Russian bar owned by Natasha (Lynn Cohen).

Antonio is very, well, Italian - impulsive, fiery, romantic. His romance of Ellen literally sweeps her off of her feet and throws her off-balance. Apu and Devi have a culture clash of their own - Apu has abandoned his identity as an Indian, and Devi doesn't know how to be anything but Indian. However, rest assured, romances blossom.

This film, written and directed by Emanuele Crialese (an Italian immigrant himself), makes good use of its New York City locations. It presents a wonderful and optimistic view of NYC as "the melting pot." The story and the characters are engaging and unpredictable. On the whole, the acting is good, but a little bit self-conscious in parts. However, Vincenzo Amato (sort of a cross between Vincent Spano and Alfred Molina), as Antonio is excellent in his first-ever foray into acting. He is self-confident and intrepid in his portrayal of Antonio.

I enjoyed Once We Were Strangers, and look forward to Crialese's next effort. He is a filmmaker with a gift for keeping the action moving and the story fresh.

Mary Walsh
My husband, Erik, and I are recent transplants from New England. We live in Longwood with our two cats, Ellie (from Damiel, the angel in the German film Wings of Desire) and Phineas, otherwise known as Blackie (which describes both his fur and his soul). Being childless, by choice, these are our substitutes, and we never miss a chance to discuss them as such, much to the annoyance of our friends with children. We lead very exciting lives, something like jet-setters, except that we rarely travel, don't go out much and both prefer to read or watch films (although Erik also likes professional wrestling, which he continually refers to as our country's second great art form, after jazz).