Many of us just don't love ourselves enough, so we look to others to affirm that we are worthy and lovable. The family is the traditional place where we should find unconditional love and appreciation of our true being, even with all of our flaws. Yet many people are never given the support they desperately need. Such is the case in Gabriele Muccino's energetic and emotionally poignant Italian film Remember Me, My Love.
In this sequel to the immensely popular The Last Kiss, we pick up with the two characters who are now married and living in Rome with their two children. They have not fulfilled their dreams, and their children have inherited their frustrations, along with a few special needs of their own. The director keeps this intimate drama moving along swiftly with many colorful incidents that show the characters striving to break out of their shells and get in touch with their inner gold.
Carlo (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) works unhappily in a financial firm that does not tap into his talent or stir his imagination. He is also in a rut in his relationship with Guilia (Laura Morante), a school teacher whose mood swings constantly create high voltage tension in their home. Lack of free time and money keep them from sharing their feelings and frustrations with each other. This couple suffers from having high expectations of a dramatic life filled with adventure. It has not come to pass for Carlo, who set aside the novel he was writing, or for Guilia, who gave up her passion of acting. Even more importantly, they do not really appreciate each other or offer praise for a job well done.
A crisis in their marriage is precipitated when Carlo encounters Alessia (Monica Bellucci), a beautiful woman he loved when he was a student. They begin an affair, and she encourages him to complete his novel. Meanwhile, Guilia learns from a friend about a role in a theatrical production; with great trepidation, she tries out and wins the part. The attraction to show business has also invaded the hopes of Valentina (Nicoletta Romanoff), Guilia and Carlo's eighteen-year old daughter. She is very aggressive in her pursuit of a television star who eventually gives her an audition for a spot as a dancer in his show. Her brother Paolo (Silvio Muccino) is a lost soul who hates himself and is most upset when the girl he is interested in sees him as a loser. Trying to win her praise, he sets up a party and promises marijuana for all the eager youth who attend. It turns into a fiasco, and he feels more lonely than ever. Comparing himself to his ambitious sister doesn't help matters.
When Guilia finds out about Carlo's affair, the family tries to rally together to stem the tide of changes in their lives. Remember Me, My Love is one of the best movies ever made about the universal yearning for affirmation and the complications that arise when it is missing in intimate relationships.
