A small, sensual and unforgettable Italian drama that transports us to a place wonderfully exotic yet strangely familiar.

You can almost feel the dull heat radiating off the screen -- it's a wonder cinematographer Fabio Zamarion's lenses didn't simply melt clean off -- and this thick and hazy brilliance infuses the story with all sorts of strange neo-realistic vibes.

A beautifully scenic but languid character study that could use a shot of adrenalin and a more straightforward story line.

The film works nicely as long as it operates in a realistic (make that neorealistic) vein, but it eventually turns into an awkward and onerous watch with no endgame in sight.