Who Will Save the Roses, written by Cesare and Guido Furesi, directed by the former - 8.5 out of 10

Who Will Save the Roses, written by Cesare and Guido Furesi, directed by the former
8.5 out of 10


Given the subject of the motion picture, the melancholic love between two men, I wonder if the screenwriters are married and share the same name, or they are otherwise related.

Regardless, their story is delicate, heartwarming, nostalgic, at times somewhat outre, puzzling.
Carlo Delle Piane is wonderful as the aging hero, Giulio Santelia, a gentle, dedicated, intelligent, loving, self effacing, brave, hard working...perhaps we should say in short a near perfect Super Hero, even if or perhaps especially since he might have passed eighty.

Lando Buzzanca is the gifted artist who plays Claudio, the ailing lover and life time friend of the hero, who has had to stay in bed for the past years...were they ten or more?
A visit from Valeria and young Marco is somehow amusing in that it seems for a while that she is the daughter of Claudio, seeing as she is scolding and rather critical of, hostile to poor Giulio.

On the other hand, she is very tender and kind with Claudio.
When they arrive at the mansion, Valeria and Marco, her son, see a room where everything is covered with sheets...

Why is all the furniture covered?
To keep the dust away...

But when Mario tries to sit, we see that there are carton boxes and no piece of furniture...
The presumption is that Giulio has been gambling, this being arguably his only shortcoming.

Although, even this aspect is debatable, for he has such a technique that we think of professional poker players that have this job which they master well and thus win millions.
Indeed, Claudio will explain that over the past years, his love has not gambled...

On the contrary!
He is asking Valeria and Marco to convince him to play poker, for that will resuscitate, invigorate the man.

Meanwhile, he finds from the visitors that Giulio has staged a play for him, in that he has recorded voices to maintain the pretense that he has help.
He doesn't.

The Superman has been caring all alone for his sick lover, keeping up a large house, the garden and everything else!
They have no money left, they owe large sums to the money which would soon foreclose the hotel.

Unless, of course, they find a solution.
Perhaps a game with big stakes?