Search - But Forever in My Mind on DVD

Engaging Teen Romance from Muccino... Good DVD Transfer

dooby | 05/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those who enjoyed "Last Kiss" (L'Ultimo Bacio) and "Remember Me My Love" (Ricordati di Me), this is a chance to see an early effort by director Gabriele Muccino. Made in 1999, it is a lightweight romantic comedy involving contemporary Italian teenagers, set amidst a farcical student insurrection at the local high school. Sixteen-year-old Silvio (Silvio Muccino) and his friends have one big thing on their minds, to lose their virginity. Silvio has a fascination for the pretty Valentina (Giulia Carmignani), who happens to be going out with his friend Martino. After an impetuous kiss with the girl when they are alone, he stupidly blabs it to his pals and soon the whole school knows, including an enraged Martino and a dejected Claudia (the lovely Giulia Steigerwalt) who has been secretly nursing a crush for him. Muccino juxtaposes his story of adolesecent first love with a satirical look at teenage rebellion where the left wing students, inspired by their parents' own days of student activism, try to instigate a protest against a school reform program. Their aims encapsulated in the inane chant, "no to privatisation, no to standardisation," sound woolly and quite silly which was undoubtedly Muccino's intention. This adolescent rage contrasts vividly with the sweet blossoming of young love. An engaging early effort from a director who has become much more famous with his recent films. The script written by Muccino, his teenage brother Silvio and another teenager, Adele Tulli, won the Best Screenplay award at the 2000 Brussels Film Festival.

The DVD from PictureThis is pretty good if bare-bones. The transfer is in the film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The only negative point is the lack of anamorphic enhancement (not enhanced for widescreen TV). Otherwise picture quality is excellent with a clean clear print, rich, vibrant colors, natural skin tones and deep black levels. The Italian soundtrack comes in its original 2.0 stereo and a 5.1 surround mix. Optional english subtitles are provided."

The Sudden Fires of Adolescence that Create Maturity

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 05/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"COME TE NUSSUNO MAI translates from Italian to "like you anyone ever" or one's first experiences in life are unique solely to you, never having been experienced by anyone in history. BUT FOREVER IN MY MIND is simply a quote lifted from this film about the agonies and ecstasies of adolescence and to fully appreciate the story from the adolescent aspect, the Italian title is far more appropriate.

As written by brothers Gabriele and Silvio Muccino (also Gabriele directs and Silvio stars) this radiant little film covers a day in the lives of Italian highschool kids caught up in a youthful rebellion against their school's policies while at the same time sorting out the nascent changes in their burgeoning sexuality. The boys languish over their expected, anxiously awaited first physical encounter while the girls (at times on split screen just to make the comparison more strongly) relate their feelings about first time encounters with the boys. The two stories run parallel: student riots involve the police and of course eventually their parents, the two sources of authority the kids naturally challenge, and the taste of honey one of the boys achieves which becomes a gossiped, bloated misdirected moment of braggadocio that eventually leads to the serendipitous beautifully innocent discovery of teenage love.

The young boys include Silvio (Silvio Muccino) and his talkative confident Ponzi (Giuseppe Sanfelice), the one sexually active lad Martino (Simone Pagani) while the girls include the experienced Valentina (Giulia Carmignani) partner of Martino, and Claudia (Giulia Steigerwalt), Silvio's longtime friend who dreams of a relationship beyond friendship. The remainder of the cast (especially Enrico Silvestrin and Giulia Ciccone who are splendid as Silvio's 'ex-hippie' parents) is quite strong. The parallel between the physical rebellion in the school incident and the hormonal rebellion within this collected group's bodies is a true sense of cinematic metaphor and makes for a fast-paced, humorous, touching coming of age story that is a joy to watch! In Italian with English subtitles. Grady Harp, May 05"

Gay/lesbian?

film newbie | boston,ma | 07/08/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"why is this movie listed in the gay/lesbian section? there is no gay content in this movie!?"

Coming of Age in Rome

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 08/01/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""But Forever In My Mind"

Coming of Age in Rome

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

Picture This Entertainment has just released "But Forever in My Mind"; a very tender Italian coming-of-age story that has a great deal of depth. The movie is a multiple award winner and is a must-see. It manages to combine several elements--love, politics, and coming of age during one of the most turbulent ties in Italian history, the 1960's when the country was a buzz with revolutionary ideas. It follows the teen years of Silvio when his high school is overtaken by his fellow students.
Silvio is totally not interested in the student revolution. His mind is set upon Valentina who just happens to be the prettiest girl in the school. Valentina, however, already has a boyfriend who is intensely jealous. One day when the Valentina and Silvio are alone they share a kiss and Silvio mistakenly tells his best friend about it By the end of the day everyone knows about the kiss and there are two students who are not happy--Martino, Valentina's boyfriend and Claudia, a young girl who has a huge crush on Silvio.
Things become very complicated and Silvio who lives with his ex-revolutionary parents finds himself being stifled.
What I have written seems to be quite serious but the movie is in effect a farcical comedy of confused intentions. At the end of the movie, Silvio finds a new person to love, someone he had regarded as only a friend but who is actually much, much more.
This is an energetic movie that movies very quickly. The plot deals not only with student revolution but also with kids wanting to make love for the first time. The title has to do with remembering that first time that one experiences something. The film looks at adolescence from the adolescent point of view. Covering a day in the life of Italian high school kids who rebel against their school's policies, we also watch the changes in the burgeoning sexuality of the kids. The boys moon over their awaited first sexual experience and the girls are a good deal more subdued. The kids are actually rebelling against two kids of authority--their school's and the society in which they live that does not look fondly on premarital sex. The physical rebellion at the school parallels the rebellion of the kid's hormones within their collective bodies.
The movie reminds us that what we live is new, not to be repeated and too intimate to be talked about.
Each of our experiences is unique even though they may be similar to those of others. We all go through a period that will affect the way we do things and during which our identities are formed just as Silvio and his friends do. With subtle humor, we get a look at ourselves to a degree. One of the tings I loved about this film is watching Silvio's feel discomfort at some of the things he does while they did the very same as revolutionaries.
On the surface ths is a very simple movie but only so on the surface. When you realize that you are watching your own story, perhaps altered a bit, the movie takes on new meaning,
"