Touches You

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The acting in this movie is really good.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

"Viaggio Sola", known on Netflix as "A Five-Star Life", is a window into the evolution of global feminism. This European production exposes the isolated work life of a single middle-aged woman in a world where femininity is still defined by heterosexual mating and child-bearing. It also exposes the lifestyle of the global 1% who stay in 5-tar hotels. I found it interesting that it was sponsored by a luxury hotel chain. Zooming out from the details of the film gives a clear view of the have-vs-have-nots world we in corporately controlled nations occupy. The relatively bourgeois main character is sandwiched uncomfortably between the haves and the have-lesses. She is sandwiched between those living conventional lives and those living above the fray. Her compatriots, those who actually work in the luxury hotels, are also her enemies and servants, since she is a spy, posing as a guest. I recommend it. I have noticed it has garnered mediocre critical reviews. I have to wonder if this relates to its challenge to conformist materialistic ideals in conformist materialistic times. I also speculate that American viewers cannot relate to its European worldliness.

This is an intelligent and well-crafted film with fine acting, a sharp script, at times humorous with some surprises along the way, and ably directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi. I thought the characters were well developed and believable, as well as the movie being beautifully shot via it's cinematography.Margherita Buy is superb as Irene Lorenzi, employed by a publication as a mystery guest, where she travels the globe examining luxury hotels to see if their standards are up to a 5-star rating. She's very thorough and conscientious in her job, but begins to realize that years are passing, and that she remains quite lonely.Irene is unmarried and has no children, and except for her best friend Andrea (Stefano Accorsi), with whom she had a relationship with some 15 years before, her sister Silvia (Fabrizia Sacchi), brother-in-law Tomasso (Gianmarco Tognazzi) and her two nieces, she has no intimacy with anyone else.When a shocking event occurs at one of her hotel stays, she must really focus on re-evaluating her priorities and her life.To me, this was an exceptional and enjoyable movie geared to adults, filled with fine performances, intelligence, humor, and surprises.

A Five Star Life's original Italian title is Viaggio Sola, which loosely translates to "Traveling Alone". That may have been the better English title for A Five Star Life, not only because the heroine travels for 80% of the film but because it would better serve the emotion the film is trying to convey, as some of that emotion seemed to be lost in translation.Irene (Marguerita Buy) is a beautiful woman in her 40s who is a five star hotel secret guest. So she has the best job in the world as she checks into the fanciest hotels all over Europe and meticulously grades everything she sees and experiences. It's a glamorous yet solitary life, and Irene lives it never bothered by the lack of personal relationships one would usually have at her age. Those closest to her include her ex- fiancé Andrea and her sister Silvia, a busy mother of two young girls. When Andrea (Stefano Accorsi) learns he is going to be a father from a one night stand, Irene starts to reevaluate her lonely luxurious life. Irene's sister Silvia is a busy musician, wife and mother of two. She is presented to us as the antithesis of Irene, almost what women are supposed to become if they choose the "normal" path of husband and kids. The scenes between Silvia and Irene are the most interesting in the film. Their conversations display a jealousy from both sides yet each hold a candle of superiority over the other, showing that no path is the true path to happiness.Director Maria Sole Tognazzi paints a beautiful and stark painting of Irene's life on the go. Much like George Clooney in Up in The Air, Irene lives out of her suitcase in the most beautiful rooms in the most stunning places in the world. Back home in Italy you are shown the complete opposite- Irene's empty apartment is a physical representation of her personal life. The camera work in the many places Irene visits is spectacular. From a belly dancer in Morocco to a gorgeous mountain range in Sweden, Tognazzi has an eye for atmosphere and it serves her well in this film. The camera also loves Marguerita Buy. She has the presence of a younger actress with her elegant but casual wardrobe and her perfectly tousled curly blonde hair. Yet she wears her age in such a classic and natural way- you would not want her any other way.The idea in A Five Star Life is that Irene is lonely and she is doubting her life choice to be single and childless. There is no great urgency from her, especially when she's having a leisurely cocktail in Paris, Stockholm, or Berlin. These places take her away from what is really bothering her. She is most lonely and desperate when she's surrounded by her loved ones. They represent what she has left behind and what she can not get back. More scenes with them would have served the narrative better and given the audience more of an emotional tie to her plight. A Five Star Life is a light and delightful travel movie, but for the emotional moral to really hit home it could have used a little less travel.See more at: http://www.mediumraretv.org/review/a-five-star- life/#sthash.GgFE4gsD.dpuf

When I saw "All About My Mother" I couldn't get the leading actress out of my mind. She made such an impact on me with her very real and touching performance as the mother who couldn't get past her loss. It was meant to be that way, real, heart wrenching. In "A Five Star Life", Margherita Buy shines with her portrayal of the professional but lonely hotel inspector, Irene. She lives what others would consider a heavenly life, eating, relaxing, and sleeping in the best resorts in the world, and having an incredible amount of power, too.We accompany Irene as she shows us how it works. She travels to Berlin, Paris, Switzerland, and a few five star resorts. She watches the moves of the hotels' personnel, armed with cameras, voice recorders, timers, and her watchful eyes miss nothing. At times she appears full in control, but she also lets her personal side comes through, showing sympathy for others less fortunate, expressing a bit of jealousy while watching others have what she is missing.The film cuts in and out of her trips by showing what happens to her when she returns to her home, and there is much emptiness in her personal life. She has very good friends, but she yearns for more. She visits her sister and spends time with her nieces, enjoying every moment and knowing she has to let them go because they're not her own children. Still, she says she has no regrets and tries to continue.Something happens in Berlin that makes her realize she might be missing something, and it's hard to watch because it all hangs on the realization that time is valuable and life is precious. Irene is now confronted with making decisions, and by the time we reach the end of the film, we still don't know what she has chosen. It is an open ending, yet there is hope because it shows the possibilities, and the camera shows she might have moved beyond the five star enclosures.What is so beautiful about the film is that it is very honest and shows the simple emotions in everyone's daily life: daughters miss their mothers, people make mistakes, and there are insecurities all over the place. In fact, she might really not travel alone because her life follows her, and no one can leave everything behind. Life is what you make of it, and prisons come in many shapes.Overall, the movie works because of this actress' superb performance. She expresses every single emotion that is required of her. She is happy and frustrated with her family and work. She longs for love and it's sad to see that is difficult. She glows when there is the possibility of love and friendship, and it's shattering to see the low points of her life. Buy is an amazing actress.