Massimo Girotti turns in one of the finest performances of his long career in Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek's touching tale of regret and redemption.
As the amnesiac survivor of the concentration camps, Girotti not only provides the film's emotional core, but he also serves as the excuse for unhappily married Giovanna Mezzogiorno to get together with her handsome neighbour (Bova), as they unravel his muddled memories.
Typically, Ozpetek's sense of place is exemplary, but he doesn't always successfully marry the contrasts between Mezzogiorno's domestic discontent and Girotti's suppressed persecution.