Andrea Adriatico
Italie 2004 35mm 92min. italian o.v. english s-t.

In his first feature film, Andrea Adriatico creates an elegant work in which a momentary event sets lives spinning out of orbit. Luca and Paolo are lovers in an unnamed Italian city. On a night like no other, Luca, a successful lawyer, rushes home to meet Paolo for dinner. But in a moment of ill fortune, Luca stumbles upon the scene of a political assassination; caught in the crossfire, Luca is critically wounded. Thus begins an evening which, for Paolo, seems to have no end. Accompanied to the hospital by his concerned friend, Francesca, Paolo is struck with horror and grief at the prospect of losing his lover. A tense rebuff of Francesca’s well-meaning support, a painful phone call from Luca’s parents, a nocturnal ramble through the nearly-deserted city streets, and an encounter with a handsome young stranger send Paolo into a spiral in which introspection devolves into a nightmarish loss of self. Seeking comfort and catharsis, Paolo finds both in this mysterious character study. Ultimately an emotionally charged mindscape, Il Vento, di sera is an engrossing, emotional debut feature about impermanence and renewal. – SKF