A rare moment, a love story amongst the other thrillers, oddballs and the more serious variety. But it's a love story set in prison or as director Claudio Giovannesi says, the obstacle to the love story.
Daphane, a teenager sent to a juvenile detention centre for robbery, finds it difficult and finds way to lash out. These encounters brings her in contact with Josh, an inmate in the male wing of the prison. A friendship blossoms through secret notes, talks through bars and looks through each others windows. But with strict rules stopping these two as well as their own problems, love is harder to hold on to.
Made with s mixture of professional actors and new comers, those who are even criminals, the result is realistic and beautiful portrayed.
A simple story at heart, but just like other love stories, there are complications that come with the genre. Daphane has her father, a recent ex-con, but he can't help her beyond the rare visit. Her friend in prison is released early and the boy she's become closer to is be let out in a few months. The film's focus is on Daphane as she appears in nearly every frame but her arrest and life outside seems distant compared to her friendship with Josh. He himself shares his problems with her almost straight away and she, claiming to be bored, offers to help.
Even though the word 'love' is never exchanged, it's pretty clear that these two are in love. Small gestures and the endless looks speak louder than words can. This story has its tragedies, minor to do outsider but shattering to those affected, but there is a hope at the end that these two will have the freedom to be with each other. It's refreshing to see and as I haven't seen an Italian movie in ages, I throughly enjoyed the story.