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The Ignorant Fairies
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Wikipedia article
'The Ignorant Fairies' (; released on DVD in the US as 'His Secret Life') is a 2001 Italian drama film directed by Turkish-Italian film director Ferzan zpetek.
The story follows a woman who discovers that her recently deceased husband had been having an affair with another man.
In 2022, Disney+ released a TV serialization of the film, directed once more by zpetek.
Plot
Antonia, a doctor specializing in the treatment of AIDS, and her husband Massimo are a couple of forty, socially established, who seem to live an intense and perfect bond, albeit quite routine, disturbed only by the difficult relationship that the woman lives with her mother. Antonia's quiet everyday life is irreparably upset when Massimo suddenly dies, run over by a car. Her violent detachment from her husband throws the woman into gloomy despair, into deep mourning that prevents her from reacting and makes relations with her mother, also a long-time widow, even more difficult. Among the personal objects that, in a break from depression, she collects from the office where Massimo worked, Antonia discovers a painting, entitled 'The ignorant fairy', with dedication, which places her on the trail of a mysterious lover, of which of course, the young woman was unaware of existence.
The research that Antonia conducts, will lead her to discover a reality very far from any imagination : Massimo was bisexual and had a clandestine relationship with a man, Michele. The impact with Massimo's secret life is dramatic for Antonia: after the first moment of refusal, which Michele takes advantage of, to accuse Antonia of all the sacrifices he made in order to be with her beloved, the woman decides to meet again the boy to be told about Massimo's life. An ambiguous friendship is established between the two, through which Antonia comes into contact with the colorful community to which Michele belongs : gay friends, a transgender woman, a Turkish refugee, the Turkish singer Emir and a true Neapolitan woman; a kind of extended family that lives in the attic of a public building located in one of the most characteristic neighborhoods of Rome, Ostiense.
Antonia begins to interact with the group constantly with the excuse of assisting Ernesto, a young friend of Michele's, who's HIV positive. Through the contact and impact with the reality represented by the group, mitigated by sharing the memory of Massimo, Antonia undergoes a process of personal maturation and liberation from the bourgeois schemes that certainly represented her golden cage. However, the woman will soon find herself in certain moments sharing the image of her missing husband with Michele, to such an extent that she is tempted to transfigure in the young homosexual the sentiment denied her by the death of her relative : both discover through the other the numerous lies that Massimo he had told to lead the two parallel lives. The balance between the two is broken during a party, during which Antonia sees Michele flirting with two guys at the same time, with whom she will later have a 'mnage trois' ; for his part, the boy feels it as an insult that Antonia presents him with a book by Nazm Hikmet, their favorite poet, which Massimo had said (lying) to appreciate, in order to seduce Michele.
The feud between Antonia and Michele comes to an end when Ernesto runs away from home : it is Antonia who finds him, remembering a secret he said to her, and convinces him to take care of himself once and for all. Shortly after, Antonia and Michele exchange a passionate kiss, which sends both of them into crisis ; later the woman discovers that she is pregnant with Massimo's child, and runs to Michele's house to give him the good news, but she involuntarily listens to a confidence that he makes to his friends, during which he seems to want to distance himself definitively from her. Antonia, more and more confused, decides then, to distance herself from Michele : pretending to accept Emir's court and to follow him on 'tour', instead she leaves alone : it will be this journey to restore the balance between the two.
Production
zpetek, director born in Turkey in 1959, and who has lived in Italy since 1976, with this film : 'The ignorant fairies', returns to the theme of homosexuality which he deeply felt on a personal level ; in its films, it often deals with issues such as : loneliness, family and the detachment caused by a disappearance. Co-produced with French capitals, the film is one of the hits of the 2001 film season.
Stefano Accorsi and Margherita Buy both received the Nastro d'argento as best male and female performers.
Awards
* 3 Nastro d'Argento Prizes (Best Actress: Margherita Buy Best Actor: Stefano Accorsi Best Producer: Tilde Corsi and Gianni Romoli)
* Public's Choice, Image-Nation Festival
* Best Film, New York Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
* Best Film, Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival
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