A New Movie "The Salt of Life" by Gianni Di Gregorio

February 29, 2012 ~ Sooner or later, we all get there. Some will feel it sooner than others.  Middle age can be traumatic. It can seem that suddenly you are invisible -- that younger people no longer see you or have any interest in anything about you.  "The Salt of Life," a new comedy by Italian director Gianni Di Gregorio is based on this inevitable phase of life.  The movie is a follow-up to Di Gregorio's 2010 film "Mid-August Lunch."

As a newly retired man living in Rome, Gianni, who plays the lead role, is sandwiched between an aristocratic mother who, with the help of a beautiful Eastern European caregiver, spends his inheritance on bottles of expensive champagne, and a wife who is more interested in Gianni's pension check than having a marital relationship.  And then there is Gianni's punk daughter, whose boyfriend hangs around his house, becomes a sort of confidante, and at times feels Gianni's pain.

 Mid-way through the movie, you expect Gianni to break away from his dull routine, from the monotony of his life.  Gianni's friends are having affairs with younger women.  The opportunities are there for Gianni, too:  his mother's caregiver, as well as a former girlfriend, and a wild young neighbor with an active party life.  Gianni is tempted and considers an affair. But we won't spoil the movie's ending -- you'll have to watch it to find out. Adults of a certain age will enjoy this movie not because it's about sex, but because it's about life.

The movie by Zeitgeist Films is in Italian with English subtitles. It premiers March 2, 2012 in New York. (By Francesco Isgro) WATCH TRAILER

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