Comments on: Interview With Simon Breckner of Italian Studies

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 14:52:30 +0000

I think we also need to keep in mind that Simon is a young man and probably not used to giving formal interviews so rather I would read this as a quick chat with an actor in the film. He types like most young people type and I don’t think we need to read more into it than that or say he was just being agreeable to be agreeable.

As for the film itself, I think it’s fairly obvious that it’s not really about memory loss. It’s about Alina immersing herself in her characters and frankly the film is more about them. There are many clues throughout the film that point to this. We never learn much about Alina beyond the superficial but are privy to learning deeply about her book characters. Ultimately I think everyone can take away from the film what they want from it. Life would be boring if we all had the same point of view!

By: Taylor

Taylor — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 03:12:13 +0000

Hayden,
An actor can’t intuit 100% of a writer and director’s intent completely and thoroughly. Did I shove a square peg into a round hole? Most assuredly. Have I over pressed? Probably. Personally I don’t think any other explanation of the movie makes any sense.

But! There are two ways of spinning this.

1. It is about memory (or the lack there of) and while lost in her mind – she is clinging to the only thing that is real to her – aka her writings, her characters.

2. She is so consumed with her writings, and her characters, she goes adrift with them from time to time.

Either interpretation makes sense to me. Personally, I prefer the latter to the former. It makes no sense to me that this movie is about a woman unhinged. For me it’s about the all consuming nature of creation – about art. But I can see how others prefer the more literal interpretation.

But have I gone too far?? Hahaha. Of course I have. As always. It’s the only way to fly.

By: Hayden

Hayden — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 02:56:51 +0000

I’m really sorry but how can his interpretation of the entire movie come down to one line of him simply agreeing with your theory? As close or perfect as it is a theory, it just seemed like he either didn’t really have an opinion and just agreed with you or maybe he happened to be really busy at the time or… I’m not sure. To be honest with you it actually kind of makes me doubt wether or not the director even took the time to entertain the depths of the film with some actors. I mean I’m delighted with what seems like a very honest set of responses and it kind of confirms for me that Simon kind of is Simon give or take some, but again we didn’t get much beyond the super surface. I mean let’s think for a second if we went anywhere near where Simon kind of hinted they had filmed we are talking about a potentially very different movie. I don’t know, interesting though I kind of get the feeling you weren’t really being given to much to run with, but Taylor, if I’m not entirely wrong, even you seemed a bit surprised with how easy it seemed to pin down the very core of the movie…supposedly right?

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 15:52:08 +0000

Simon was by far what made this movie so awesome! I felt it was way more about him than Alina because we learn so much about his character through his own words. His performance was so natural that I felt like I was a fly on the wall watching a real conversation between the teens. Much like Alina who seemed to be outside of it all and just soaking it all in and not really participating. I wish you would have asked about the random wardrobe changes because that’s what cemented for me that the film wasn’t about memory loss at all. Just her in her own world with her characters. So yeah, I think the filmmaker definitely knew it wasn’t really about amnesia at all. Hope to see more from Simon in the future and I’ll definitely check out the music. Such a great little film. I think The Innocents and Italian Studies are equally great and it’s a tie for me right now. It will be hard to unseat these 2.