'Fragments of Light', a delicate Icelandic coming-of-age story

On a mild, bright day, Una meets love, friendship and feels overwhelmed by the emotions provoked by the people and events around her.

Chosen as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival 2024, 'Fragments of Light' is a delicate coming-of-age story, in which a fracture in the existence of several people can become a way to grow faster than expected.

That light in the title is a metaphorical key to talk about an unexpressed feeling, the reflections of which are only perceptible within the everyday life of the characters, provided one is able to observe them with the right attention and sensitivity.

Icelandic cinema - which has undoubtedly grown in recent years - has often shown us, as one of its main themes, the integration between human beings and their environment.

The sea, the coast and, of course, the sunlight are as much protagonists of the film as its characters, well played by a credible cast, starting with the talented leading lady Elín Hall.

The film has a hypnotic atmosphere and visually beautiful sequences, but the overall design creaks a little in the middle section, due to some rather predictable and even forced passages.

There is no shortage of charm, but a few more flashes wouldn't have hurt a partially unresolved film, rich in suggestions but lacking any great reflections to be remembered at the end of the credits.

Also among the new releases is 'Leopardi & Co' by Federica Biondi.

Mildred, a Hollywood agent, is looking for a way to make international headway with David, a young, somewhat dim-witted American actor. When he is chosen by the famous Italian director Ruggero Mitri to star in his next film 'Giacomo in Love', Mildred forces him to accept and the two set off for Recanati.

David does not even read the script and is convinced that he has to play Giacomo Casanova. Arriving on the set, he discovers that it is another, but very different, illustrious Giacomo, namely Leopardi. When the director realises that David does not even know who Giacomo Leopardi is, he entrusts him to Silvia, a coach who has the task of explaining everything to him about the poet, precisely through his poems.

An unpretentious summer viewing, 'Leopardi & Co' is just another sentimental comedy, pleasant but lacking depth. The overall package is decent, but the narrative twists and turns are predictable and there is no room for noteworthy surprises. The cast includes Whoopy Goldberg and Jeremy Irvine.