Desertman84 Dark shadows from a woman's past come back to haunt her in this film,Don' Tell.It was written and directed by Cristina Comencini that was based from her own novel.It stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno together with Alessio Boni,Stefania Rocca,Angela Finocchiaro, and Luigi Lo Cascio.Don't Tell tells the story of Sabina,a woman who would seem to have a charmed life -- she has a successful career as a voice actress, a loving and supportive relationship with her boyfriend, Franco, and a pair of close friends she can confide in, Maria and Emilia. But Sabina's contented existence is shattered when she inadvertently dredges up a long-dormant memory of how during her childhood she was sexually abused by her father. Confused and ashamed, Sabina finds it impossible to talk about her memories with Franco and her friends, but the terrible images refuse to go away. Seeking closure, Sabina travels to the United States to talk to the one person who may have a true insight to her problems, her brother, Daniel.What is the secret? Sabina is determined to bring clarity and serenity in her life. Finally manages to free herself from her so-called "beast in the heart."The film would have been a powerful one considering that it touches issues such as child abuse,sexuality,gender and lesbianism.It's awkward story would have been a good view but unfortunately,the director involved isn't named Pedro Almodovar to generate the viewer's interest.No question that we have witnessed brilliant performances especially from Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Stefania Rocca but it movie falls short as the narrative is told on screen.No question that should the director involved had the experience to film these type of movies,then it would have been an Italian classic.

Ruby Liang (ruby_fff) Be it Sabina in w-d Cristina Comencini's "La Bestia Nel Cuore" 2005, or Giovanna in w-d Ferzan Ozpetek's "La Finestra Di Fronte" 2003, or Giulia in w-d Gabriele Muccino's "L'Ultimo Bacio" 2001, Italian actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno's portrayals are so complexly simple and 'relishingly' memorable to watch."Don't Tell" may not be for everyone due to the difficult, sensitive subject matter. There were Hollywood or television movies that dealt with this 'beastly' subject, and "Bliss" (1996 from writer-director Lance Young) came to mind. "Bliss" is more frank and direct in dealing with the sexual repression issue (the film is for mature audience.) Here with "Don't Tell" - based on her own novel "The Beast in the heart," co-writer and director Cristina Comencini gave us a more 'insider viewpoint' on this issue of family secrets. Through Sabina's anxieties, reactions to her nightmares, and through her brother Daniele's flashbacks and accounts of his childhood responses to his parents, we could feel the painful memories along with them.But the film is never heavy. Comencini has created for us sketches of life: we get to see Sabina in her everyday life, meeting the people she's with and cares for. Through them, we get the balance of humor in the conversations we eavesdrop vs. the somber subject of Sabina struggling internally with unwanted childhood memories. There is Emilia - a longtime childhood blind friend Sabina helps and visits regularly; Maria - a colleague at her marital crossroads Sabina hangs out and chats with; Franco - Sabina's actor boyfriend she loves and lives with; and through Franco at work on a TV soap series, we meet the lively director Andrea Negri, who somehow adds colorful tenderness to the young (love in, love out) couple of Sabina and Franco."A scar is an indelible mark, but it's not an illness," so Daniele, now married with a loving American wife and father of two sons, said to his sister Sabina. There are painful memories that we cannot erase, but we survive and learn to live anew, going beyond the past vs. wallowing in it. "Don't Tell" is a worthwhile film to experience. Thanks to Rosanna Del Bruno's translation (also on Gabriele Salvatore's "I'm Not Scared" 2003), the subtitles were easy to absorb as we appreciate the wonderful performances all round. For the fans of "The Best of Youth" (aka "La Meglio Gioventu") 2003, both the Carati brothers are featured in this film: Luigi Lo Cascio (Nicola) is Daniele the brother, and Alessio Boni (Matteo) is Franco the boyfriend.

Luis Levy OK, let me talk some sense about this movie:1. This is Italian Drama at its worst 2. There are three different movies crammed into one 3. The narrative cues are typical of soap operasThere, I said it. And I know what I'm talking about since I'm from Brazil and we know all about soap operas. This is not a great film, period. Put that in your head, Foreign Film judges.It might have been a good episode (if heavily edited) of prime time TV, but it will NEVER be Oscar material.First, let me digress about the script. As many of you will see, it's a mess from start to finish. The main topic (abuse / incest) has to share time with a struggling TV director and a some thoughts on lesbianism AND blindness at the same time. Can you guys see the SCOPE of all that? How are we supposed to follow all these very intense plot lines and still care for the main theme?Well, the answer is simple. We can't. Soon the audience gets divided over plot lines and the main one never recovers. Since this is a scripting problem - mainly from the adaptation from a book, I'm sure - this would already be a major con for a serious drama.Then we go to acting. The husband gives us the "theater speech" but all we see on screen is an impersonation of a caring husband. He never goes above TV level - just like what they are supposedly mocking. As for the main actress, she is good but her character soon loses steam and she has to rely on pre-fabricated "moments" to emote on. After a while, it gets plain boring.We never get a feel for the lesbian/blind girl either. She is no more than a mental construct, a "moral in a person" that manages to shine in a couple moments and nothing more. A wasted character, I might say.The older woman. She appears from nowhere, turns lesbian, says she's straight then proceeds to kiss the blind girl and disappears again.I have to mention the music. All the cues come straight from a horror picture, making the horrific abuse almost funny. Less strings would be nice. Actually, less music in general would help the movie a lot.Finally, the directing works really well sometimes. The movie has moments of greatness, of true emotion. It's unfortunate that it is so irregular - whole sequences are destroyed by badly selected shots and artificial mis-en-scene. Again, it gets funny when it shouldn't and many important plot points fall flat. This seems to be the work of a novice director, someone still getting to know the tools of the trade.It could be so much better. 30 minutes less, it would be a competent drama. This is watchable for the most part - 70 minutes or so, I'd say - but gets irritating and over-extended close to the third act. As always, great intentions don't make a movie great.I'll end this review saying that I'm stupefied over the Oscar nomination. I still can't put my mind around it and will have nightmares tonight, I bet.

johno-21 Congratulations on this film being one of the five nominated by the Academy Awards for best Foreign Language Film. I saw this at the 2006 Palm Springs International Film Festival and I ranked it #5 of the 35 films I saw. This is a very good film with excellent acting with a strong cast and some very strong and interesting story characters. Great leading actress with a splendid supporting cast. Emilia, Maria and the director are three very interesting characters that really bring the film together. I would be interested in reading Cristina Comenici's novel if it is available in English translation. I would also recommend her film "La Bestia Nel Cuore" ("Don't Tell" English language title which should actually translate to the Beast in the Heart) and give it a 8.5 out of a possible 10.