St. Ali Italian Film Festival: You Came Back

Having closed the Venice International Film Festival last year, Italy’s festival favourite actor Stefan Accorsi stars as a man torn between the past and future in the psychological thriller You Came Back. 

Marco (Stefano Accorsi) and Anita (Serena Rossi) discover that they are expecting a child. It is a ray of light for Marco following the heartbreaking loss of Leo, his firstborn son with whom he shared with his former wife, Clara. Yet despite his hopes of becoming a father, Marco’s optimism is short-lived when a mysterious woman unravels ties to his past, putting his future into question. 

Perla, the new owner where Marco and Clara lived until the tragic accident, barges into their lives, claiming to feel both a strange presence and tormenting voices of their deceased son. It is here that Marco soon finds himself torn between his plagued past and fruitful future. 

You Came Back is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Christopher Coake and transports the viewer through an engrossing gothic drama set against the backdrop of moody Venice. From the opening scene, cinematographer Luigi Martinucci immediately makes it known to you that this movie is an Italian Festival feast. Panned shots of the iconic Bridge of Sighs, the architectural marvel of St Mark’s Basilica and the famed canal waterways are a perfect introductory scenic tour. 

The tone is always lingering on the precipice of ominous darkness, highlighting that despite the more light-hearted, happier and joyous occasions in Marco and Anita’s life, they will forever face difficulty in moving forward.  

If you love a movie littered with flashbacks, then You Came Back is for you. They are used perfectly throughout the film as a way of emphasising moments from Marco’s past, whilst conveying how heavy grief can be to move on from. 

A Hollywood-type ghost story this is not; instead, it is a more subtle tale about superstition and the paranormal. It is a pristine example of how progressing from a tragic event can be more terrifying than the fear of what we cannot actually see. You Came Back provides insight into the human psyche and how we, as humans, all grieve in our own unique ways.  

Now screening at the St. Ali Italian Film Festival.

St. Ali Italian Film Festival
Screening at select Palace Cinemas and Cinema Nova
Till Wednesday 15 December 2021
italianfilmfestival.com.au