Agata and the Storm

Agata and the Storm - Agata e la tempesta - 2004 Italian film directed by Silvio Soldini. "Another engaging magic realist adventure from Bread And Tulips director Silvio Soldini, Agata and the Storm is also yet another valentine to his luminous lead actress Licia Maglietta, cast in the title role of a radiant middle-aged bookstore owner being wooed by a young and married male customer. A swirl of pop-art color, madcap magic, and the bittersweet call of life and love suddenly take the mature, ravishing, self-reliant Agata by storm. When Agata, the popular bookshop proprietor and dispenser of sunny wisdom in the form of books, is suddenly wooed by a man almost half her age, her electricity hits high-voltage. It even sends light bulbs bursting in her wake. Yet it is Agata's joy and 'explosive' magnetism in the face of life in all its irony that eventually offers the eye of the cyclone. There, all is supremely quiet and still, as Agata creates a haven of love and freedom to quell the storms of life's unfulfilled desires. Also stars Giuseppe Battiston. Unrated, 125 minutes, in Italian with optional English subtitles.
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