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While the film won’t leave you swooning due to the romance or even the lead actors, it’s a pleasant way to spend a little over an hour and forty minutes.
| Director(s) | Giacomo Campiotti |
| Writer(s) | Fabio Bonifacci, Alessandro D’Avenia |
| Noted Actors | |
| Leo | Filippo Scicchitano |
| Beatrice | Gaia Weiss |
| Silvia | Aurora Ruffino |
| Professore | Luca Argentero |
Summary
Leo, this 16-year-old boy infatuated with this young woman named Beatrice, learns she has leukemia. With learning that, he does whatever he can in order to make her happy and possibly save her. All the while, his best friend, who has loved him since the 8th grade watches in jealousy. Yet, as hope is lost, she is all he has. Alongside his literature teacher who tries to relate to him in ways Leo’s parents seem unable to.
Collected Quote(s)
“It takes courage to admit you have a dream and to fight to fulfill it.”
“When you admit you’re afraid of something, you’re already overcoming the fear.”
“If you really love her, don’t leap tall buildings in a single bound. Sometimes the most important things we do are the most simple ones.”
Highlights
It’s Likable
As with most teen romances which seem like a YA novel adaptation, our male protagonist is your usual happy go lucky dreamboat. Someone with so much charm that you question why he struggles so much to win over this one girl. Alongside him, Silvia is also quite likable in her plain Jane kind of way. As is Beatrice who, to some surprise, isn’t stuck up but this rather frail and vulnerable person.
But, while all very much likable, I can’t say any are so endearing you’ll want to see what else they have been in.
Low Points
The Chemistry Is Kind of Eh
Whether it is Beatrice and Leo, or even Silvia and Leo, there isn’t much in the way of chemistry there. You just get this cute guy and cute girl, or this cute guy and this girl who the female audience could perhaps picture themselves as. There is nothing really here to make you say, “Leo should be with her!” or have any feelings of shipping so and so with this person or anything like that. Everyone just gets along well. We aren’t given any real reason to be excited about the matchups.
Also, It Does Get Kind of Eye-Roll Inducing and Cheesy
There is something cheesy and generic about the movie. It’s like it wants to be taken seriously, but it also wants to be this fun romance at the same time. Thus making it trip all over itself while trying to mix the lightheartedness with the fact this boy’s love interest is essentially dying. Which no actor in the movie really does well in balancing out.
But, considering most of the lead actors were only on, at most, their 3rd production, you have to give them some slack. Though, fun fact, one of the writers handled one of the foreign adaptations of Red Band Society.
Overall: Mixed (Divisive)
While by no means horrible, this certainly is one of the films I can only imagine someone watching because it comes with their Netflix subscription. As for paying for it? Unless they were a fan of someone involved, I would actively advocate against that idea. For while it contains likable characters, a cheesy romance, and isn’t a terrible way to spend nearly two hours, considering how many other productions handle the premise better, so comes the question of why choose this?
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