Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 24/1/2019)

The same could probably be said about DW Griffith's Orphans of the Storm and Dimitri Buchowetzki's Danton (both 1921) and WS Van Dyke's Marie Antoinette and Jean Renoir's La Marseillaise (both 1938). Subsequently, while Hollywood has played fast and loose with the facts in such antic outings as Anthony Mann's The Black Book (aka Reign of Terror, 1949), Bud Yorkin's Start the Revolution Without Me (1970) and Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2005), European film-makers have produced more considered interpretations as Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes (1982), Andrzej Wajda's Danton (1983), Patrice Leconte's Ridicule (1996), Eric Rohmer's The Lady and the Duke (2001) and Benoît Jacquot's Farewell, My Queen (2012). Thus, it would be nice to report that Pierre Schoeller's One Nation, One King is on a par with Abel Gance's Napoleon (1927) and Robert Enrico's bicentennial mini-series, The French Revolution (1989). But, for all its grand intentions, this bold bid to put a populist spin on authentic recreation fails to work as either a history lesson or an allegorical comment on Macroniste France. 

During the Maundy Thursday feet washing ceremony at Versailles, the angel-faced P'tit Prosper (Aymeric Castelain) looks down at Louis XVI (Laurent Lafitte), as the absolutist monarch imitates Christ by kissing the feet of the poor, and informs him that he hopes one day to own a pair of clogs. The boy has been plucked from the neighbourhood in the shadow of the Bastille in which glassblower Louis-Joseph Henri (Olivier Gourmet) has his workshop and Solange (Noémie Lvovsky), Françoise (Adèle Haenel) and Margot (Izïa Higelin) take in laundry. But, while they join in the celebrations as Reine Audu (Céline Sallette) sings a song about brandy flowing like water, Prosper and his playmate Clémence (Emma Stime) fail to appreciate the significance of the storming of the forbidding prison and the penknife decapitation of its superintendent. 

Some time later, Henri (who is known to all and sundry as `The Uncle') joins with Tonin (Johan Libéreau) and Landelle (Audrey Bonnet) in gazing up in disbelief at the sunlight filtering into their benighted enclave for the first time in centuries as stones are chipped away from the turret of the Bastile. But Françoise is in no mood to marvel, as she is consoled by Margot, following the death of her newborn baby. Come October, however, the sisters stand shoulder to shoulder during the march of the faubourg women to Versailles to demand that the royal family moves to Paris to deal with the ongoing crisis in the capital. Reine Audu and Pauline Léon (Julia Artamonov) are among those attending the National Assembly under President Jean Joseph Mounier (Guillaume Marquet) in order to alert the estates to the flour shortage. 

Their demands are challenged, however, by the likes of François-Henri, Comte de Virieu (Patrick Hauthier) and Philippe-Claude, Comte de Montboissier (Guillaume Clémencin) and consensus is only secured when Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (Rodolphe Congé) calls upon Louis to accept the August Decrees ending feudalism in France. The king signs the document by candlelight and the terms of the Declaration of the Rights of Man granting liberty, fraternity and equality are proclaimed before the Assembly. The shutters are closed at Versailles and Louis and Marie Antoinette (Maëlia Gentil) take a coach to Paris with the children, while the Assembly moves into the former riding school at the Tuileries. 

Down by the Seine, Reine Audu leads the washerwomen in a chorus commenting upon the state of the revolution and they occupy the gallery, as incorruptible lawyer Maximilien de Robespierre (Louis Garrel) addresses the Assembly on liberty and vows to uphold the rights of the people to enjoy it. Among those to benefit from the relaxation of the law is Basile (Gaspard Ulliel), a chicken thief who is freed from the stocks through the intercession of curé Norbert Pressac (Stéphane De Groodt) during a tree-planting ceremony at Saint-Gaudent in June 1790.

By February 1791, the Assembly is busy drafting a constitution and In June 1790, Basile is freed from the stocks via the intercession of a priest during a tree-planting ceremony. By February 1791, the Assembly is working on the constitution and Françoise raises eyebrows by demanding that women should play an active part in political life, as they were at the Bastille and have a right to be equals. Janis the actor (Baptiste Chabauty) extols the virtues of censitary suffrage, but Françoise feels it's unfair to be excluded and The Uncle warns that only tax payers will be enfranchised. Away from the lively debate, however, Louis is visited in the night by the ghosts of Louis XI (Serge Merlin), Henri IV (Patrick Préjean) and Louis XIV (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing), who chastise him for being a coward and frittering away their legacy. 

A caption declares 1791 to be `The Time of Betrayals', as Basile is working in the fields when Louis is detained at Varennes during his failed bid to flee France. The king accompanies his daughter, as she relieves herself in a woodland clearing surrounded by troops, and Basile kneels at Louis's feet. He lays his hand upon the peasant and he looks meaningfully at Antoine Barnave (Pierre-François Garel) before returning to his carriage. He rides through the Parisian crowds in silence, while the rabble-rousing Jean-Paul Marat (Denis Lavant) calls him a traitor, a label that is taken up in the Assembly. Some supporters protest that Louis was abducted, while others accuse him of absconding in order to raise an army. But, while some propose regicide, Pugnon (Fabrice Cals) insists that the country needs to retain a balance between monarchy and elected assembly to prevent despotism from exploiting the divided factions forming into the Girondin and Jacobin camps.

As the heroes of Varennes are billeted on the people, Basile comes to live with The Uncle, who accepts him even though he doesn't seem to know what the Revolution is about and clearly played no direct part in apprehending the fugitive king. Desperate for another child, Françoise tries to sleep with him, but is repulsed by the prison branding on his chest. He seduces her anyway and she feels sufficiently close to him to show Basile a handkerchief that had been tossed to the crowd by Marie Antoinette. Excitedly, he reveals that the King had shown him kindness on the road to Paris and they are momentarily lost in the mythology of the monarchy. Yet, they rush to the Tuileries to protest when the royalists call for an end to the revolution, as it has served its purpose in establishing a constitutional crown. 

On 15 July 1791, Barnave echoes this call for reflection, as he fears that further reform would bring about the end of the monarchy. Marat brands him a reactionary, but he counters with the contention that governments can only grant freedom if they are stable and warns that further chaos would be to the detriment of France. The Uncle and Françoise are among those to condemn Barnave from the gallery and, in the tavern that night, they agree to join the Cordeliers on the Champs de Mars for a call for the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic. Basile is surprised by Françoise's vehemence, as she had so clearly treasured the queen's monogrammed keepsake.

Fearing that the protest and the signing of a petition could provoke unrest, military leader Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette declares martial law on 17 July opens fire on the crowd. Tonin and Margot are among those killed and Janis, The Uncle and Françoise are arrested. The latter is questioned about her affiliations and what she saw during the massacre. But she remains defiant and curses Lafayette in declaring that the word `citizen' should not be debased. Shortly afterwards, Louis is presented with the constitution, which he signs in September 1791. But Robespierre is not content with the new regime and, while he writes about the people taking charge of their own destiny, Françoise gives birth to a daughter. 

The summer of 1792 brings insurrection, with the Cordeliers calling for the king to abdicate because armies representing his fellow despots are massing on the border. The people arm themselves to resist and Louis is suspended for failing to prevent the Champs du Mars outrage. He is forced to attend the National Concention and listen to proceedings behind bars at the back of the hall. On 21 September. Georges Danton (Vincent Deniard) calls for extreme laws to help regain control. But Marat speaks against a reign of terror and Solange faints as he speaks. He calls for calm and urges the deputies to listen to the people and not the Girondins who oppose him. 

When Solange comes round, Year One of the Republic is proclaimed and she returns to the faubourg to attend to The Uncle, whose eyes have been damaged while fighting the invading forces, As the autumn comes, the situation deteriorates and the king becomes more vulnerable. Louis-Antoine de Saint-Just (Niels Schneider) calls for the king's death. But Fauchet (Jean-Philippe Meyer) opposes his demand and Robespierre avers that he has no hatred for Louis, only his crimes. Nevertheless, he supports his execution so that the Nation can live, while Marat insists that the vote should be taken by roll call so that everyone in France can know how their delegates voted. 

Across the city, The Uncle tries to teach Basile the art of glassblowing and he slowly becomes accustomed to the heat of the furnace and the touch of the rod holding the molten liquid. But the temperature is no less excruciating at the Convention, as speakers for and against deposition and death hold the floor. Some, like Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet (John Arnold) fear anarchy if the king is removed and advise imprisonment and banishment when the war is over. But Camille Desmoulins (Étienne Beydon) and Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans (Gérard Cesbron) join Marat, Robespierre and Danton in advocating the guillotine. The verdict is delivered on 17 January 1793, with 370 voting for immediate death and 319 for banishment. 

Landelle attracts the scorn of her neighbours by saying they will come to regret their folly, while The Uncle hugs Basile because he has created a perfect glass sphere, which proves that `Le Peuple' can succeed with the right tuition and intentions. On 21 January 1793, Louis prays in his carriage and the crowd falls silent as he steps out. He has his hair and collar cut and tries to resist having his hands tied, as he is warned of the slippery steps to the dais. Looking around, he asks where his good people are before meeting his fate. His head is brandished and a cheer rings out. While some dance, a small girl dabs a handkerchief in the blood spattered on the skin of a soldier's drum. That night, Basile dandles the daughter whom Françoise is proud to call a Child of 92.

One can sympathise with Pierre Schoeller's aim in trying to show how people power transformed France. But his determinedly classical approach to recreating the past leaves this handsome, but hollow film looking old-fashioned and staid. While those portraying historical figures declaim like animatronic waxworks, those cast as the fictional characters strain for a sans-culottish naturalism that feels increasingly arch with each politicised utterance. Viewers without a solid grounding in the Revolution's ever-shifting complexities will struggle to recognise anyone bar Louis Garrel's Robespierre, Denis Lavant's Marat and Laurent Lafitte's Louis XVI. But any hopes that Schoeller might have had of making events accessible by presenting them from the perspective of ordinary people are dashed by the cipheritic dullness of the storylines involving Olivier Gourmet, Adèle Haenel and Gaspard Ulliel's plebs. 

The latter do their darnedest, as they keep finding themselves as witnesses to epochal events that have a habit of spiralling out of control within shakily established time frames. But they are confounded by the stiltedness of Schoeller's sloganistic dialogue, which contrasts starkly with the melodious grandiosity of his score. There is much to admire in Julien Hirsch's photography, Thierry François's production design and Anaïs Romand's costumes. Yet, despite its laudable attempt to place women in the vanguard of change, this lacks the distinctive vision of Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots, let alone Yorgis Lanthimos's The Favourite. Consequently, there is little wonder that it recouped so little of its €16.9 million budget at the domestic box office.

There have been a number of film dramas about the connection between human trafficking and prostitution, including Marco Kreuzpainter's Trade (2007), Lukas Moodysson's Lilya 4-Ever (2002), Megan Griffiths's Eden (2012) and Jenny Lu's The Receptionist (2018), The latest in this line is Tabrez Noorani's Love Sonia, which has been flagged up by Newsnight as an exposé of considerable significance. Yet, while this often unflinching picture means well, it lapses into lurid melodrama once the scene shifts to Hong Kong and Los Angeles and falls a long way short of the standards set by Born Into Brothels (2004), Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's Oscar-winning study of child prostitution in Kolkata's Sonagachi red light district. 

Calculating from the outset, the action opens with sisters Sonia (Mrunal Thakur) and Preeti (Riya Sisodiya) having their cheeks kissed by a butterfly that classmate Amar (Abhishek Bharate) has captured in a jam jar. They lead a hardscrabble existence with their mother (Kiran Khoje) and strict fafher Shiva (Adil Hussain) on a parched piece of land that yields nothing but dust. Consequently, Shiva feels he has no option but to ask landlord Dada Thakur (Anupam Kher) to find the clumsy Preeti a job in Mumbai and Sonia is so distraught at being separated from her sibling that she sneaks away in the middle of the night to ask Thakur to send her to the same place.

Escorted on the bus journey by Anjali (Sai Tamhankar), Sonia ignores the advice of a concerned hotel manager (Ankur Vikal) to return home and arrives wide-eyed in the big city. However, she soon comes to realise she has been duped when Anjali introduces her to backstreet brothel owner Faizal (Manoj Bajpayee), who employs bouncer Bunty Bhai (Abhinav Gupta) and madam Madhuri (Richa Chadha) to keep his girls in line. Scared and desperate to find Preeti, Sonia is befriended by Rashmi (Freida Pinto), who was sold into prostitution by her polygamous husband after giving birth to his son.  

Desperate to get Sonia back, Shiva asks Anjali for help and she takes the money Thakur had given him in return for the information that his daughter is somewhere along the notorious Grant Road. While her father discovers the sordid realities of life on the streets, Sonia is introduced to her first elderly client. She tries to run away after following a policeman out of a side exit, but she is returned to Faizal, who terrorises her with a cobra and threats against her parents and sister. However, Madhuri shows her unexpected kindness and urges her to imagine she is in a movie that will eventually come to an end.

High on drugs to numb the pain, Rashmi is less encouraging and warns Sonia that she will be disowned by her family for bringing shame upon them. But hope comes in the form of Manish (Rajkummar Rao), who works for an organisation that rescues trafficked girls and he promises to help her. However, after Madhuri is diagnosed with AIDS, Rashmi persuades Faizal that Sonia needs taking down a peg or two. Thus, having allowed her to meet Preeti and discover that her sister blames her jealousy for her fate, Faizal allows Sonia to be sodomised for the price of a cigarette and he makes plans to sell her to a contact in Hong Kong after Manish raids the place with the cops and Sona is too scared to emerge from her hiding place. 

Madhuri is also bundled into the container sailing for the entrepot, where Sonia's virginity is sold to a rich American. Her hymen is promptly repaired before she is sent on by ship to Los Angeles, where a kindly client (Mark Duplass) allows her to access an e-mail from Amar (who is in Mumbai searching for her) and gives her a smartphone. However, it's Madhuri who enables her to escape when she slashes her wrists at a smart party to create a diversion and Sonia finds her way to the CAST safe house run by Selma (Demi Moore), where she is able to tell her story through Jiah (Aarti Mann) and chat with Preeti via Skype. 

Sobering statistics follow a coda in which Sonia returns to Mumbai to find that Preeti's drug addiction has caused her to return to squalor. But Manish promises to help find her and she thinks back to happier times with her sister and hopes for a better future, as Amar comes to see her and she starts working with some of the other lucky girls who manage to escape from their nightmare. 

Given that 270 women and young girls go missing in India each day, this is a crisis that needs to be addressed and Tabrez Noorani and writers Ted Caplan and Alkesh Vaja should be commended to their efforts. But, while this cleaves more closely to Parallel Cinema than Bollywood, their treatment is hardly the subtlest, with Noorani emulating Cecil B. DeMille in lingering on the sin he is supposed to be condemning. 

Despite being based on a true story, the narrative is frustratingly formulaic, with Sonia and Preeti being pitched into a melodramatic vortex rather than a social realist hell. Moreover, the characterisation is paper thin, with all of the male characters except Amar and Manish being misogynist tyrants, predators or exploiters. Even Sonia is a cipher, who symbolises an innocence that remains untainted by her experiences. 

Newcomer Mrunal Thakur plays the part effectively enough, although Noorani overdoes the wide-eyed demureness that makes Sonia a less believable and interesting character than Rashmi or Madhuri, who are capably essayed by Freida Pinto and Richa Chadda. However, he keeps Lucas Bielan's camera intrusively close to the faces of the actors in order to emphasise the sense of confinement suggested by Ravi Srivastava's stifling sets. But he fails to recover the sense of peril once the action moves abroad, while the cameos by Mark Duplass and Demi Moore - together with the closing power ballad composed by AR Rahman - edge this further away from being the hard-hitting critique it clearly sets out to be.

There's no knowing why a film that has been shelved for several years suddenly finds its way on to the release schedule. Ari Gold's The Song of Sway Lake must have been around a good while, as one its supporting players, Elizabeth Peña, passed away in October 2014. But it turns up for download in the UK this week and, like the record album at its centre, it might just find an appreciative audience.

In the big-band era, Cole Porter's lover, Tweed McKay (John Grant), recorded a version of `Sway Lake' at the wedding of Charlotte (Mary Beth Peil) and Hal (Brian Dennehy). Their son, Tim (Jason Brill), was an avid record collector before he took a suicide plunge into the icy waters of the lake where his parents had lived. As something of a vinyl junkie himself, Tim's long-haired son Ollie (Rory Culkin) decides to head for upstate New York after the funeral and unearth the disc. He is accompanied by his Russian slacker pal, Nikolai (Robert Sheehan), and Charlotte (who is known to everyone as `Charlie') reports on his odyssey to the late-lamented Hal in one of her daily missives.

Having disturbed the purple-haired Isadora (Isabelle McNally) and her rich pals playing on the jetty, Ollie becomes obsessed with her. But Nikolai is solely interested in having fun with the local bar girls until Charlie shows up with her devoted Cuban housekeeper, Marlena (Elizabeth Peña). She is also after the crackly old 78rpm, but attaches must less sentimental value to it, as she proposes to sell it. But, just as Ollie hears echoes of his father's voice talking to him about the discs he has loved down the years, so Charlie hears Hal playing the piano and reading to her from their love letters. Moreover, while she finds it hard to connect with Ollie, she begins to get a little crush on the strapping Nikolai, who rarely wears a shirt while working in the overgrown garden or while trying to fix an old motor launch moored at the jetty. 

Boat supply seller Jimmy (Jack Falahee) is leading a campaign to enlarge the capacity of the lake dock and Charlie attends a meeting to voice her opposition. Ollie locates a secret passage to a hidden attic and finds `Sway Lake'. He also comes across Tim's childhood record log and a note stating that Ollie is the only person who understands him. Emboldened by his discovery, Ollie spies on Isadora, as she cleans rooms at the lakeside hotel. Spots him and invites him to a party that night, but he is appalled to find her canoodling with Jimmy's surly son. Nikolai wreaks revenge on his behalf by sabotaging the engines of the cabal's jet skis. 

When Ollie oversleeps, Nikolai finds the disc behind his pillow and puts it in a drawer in his room. He coaxes Ollie into taking Isadora for a spin in the reconditioned launch, but it breaks down and they have to paddle it home. But the time alone allows Isadora to get to know Ollie and she accepts his invitation to dinner that night. Nikolai is less successful in making his feelings known to Charlie and she announces her departure, even though Ollie has helped Marlena find the record, along with some of Hal's other belongings, including his naval cap and some photographs. 

During the meal, however, Charlie snipes as Isadora for wanting to open a hotel of her own. She also reveals that her real name is `Lisa' and that her family used to work for the Sways years ago. When Ollie tries to defend Isadora, Charlie blurts out that he is attached to dead things like his father, who was an impossible child and she wishes he had never been born. Although she regrets her words, Ollie is stung and he fetches the record that has not been played since her wedding night. He reveals that McKay never saw a penny when the song became a hit and claims to hear his pain in the way he is singing slightly off key. 

Charlie orders him to stop being so melodramatic and Ollie thumps Nikolai when he tries to keep the peace. He accuses him of betraying their friendship by stealing the record and drives after Isadora, who has stormed off in the rain. While they cuddle in the front seat, Nikolai and Charlie dance to Tweed McKay and kiss, with Nikolai wearing Hal's cap. Overcome by emotions, Charlie sobs in Marlena's arms, as she was packing to go home to her children in Cuba.

The next morning, Nikolai steals Hal's watch as he is about to leave. However, he hears Isadora's friends on the jetty and stalks off to confront them. A fight breaks out and Nikolai hits his head on a jet ski as he falls into the lake. Ollie arrives in time to dive in after him (even though he can't swim) and pluck him from the water. The timepiece sinks to the bottom and lodges between some stones, as Ollie takes Nikolai to the hospital by boat and looks back to see Charlie on the jetty for the first time since Hal and Tim had died. Perhaps they could be a family again, after all.

Handsomely photographed by Eric Lin to make the most of the lovely lakeside setting and Ada Smith's evocative wood-panelled interiors, this is the kind of affecting muddle that defies critical wisdom to becomes a cult curio. Poignantly scored by the director's twin, Ethan Gold (who also composed the theme tune), the action hangs together by threadbare contrivances that don't always make sense. Yet, Ari Gold and co-writer Elizabeth Bull cobble together some cogent thoughts on family, friendship, memory, romance and the emotive power of music. There's even a hint of insight into how music defines an era and how even those who didn't live through it can be captivated by its nostalgic spell. But, despite the closing shots of the sinking watch and the naked underwater bodies, this is a film of surfaces rather than depths. 

As in Kogonada's Columbus, Rory Culkin proves an engagingly offbeat presence. However, such is his distinctive style that he often appears to be in an entirely different picture to Robert Sheehan (who adopts a cartoonish Russian accent) and Isabelle McNally. Mary Beth Peil is elegantly enigmatic, while the ever-reliable Elizabeth Peña brings more to her largely watching brief than is contained in the script. But this is hardly surprising, as the narrative meanders on the convolutional tide that is forever being diverted by wistfully lyrical montage sequences, ethereal visitations and voiceovered flashback that clutter the action rather than enhance it. Yet, for all its mawkish mishmashiness, this atones in atmosphere for what it lacks in substance and coherence.

CinemaItaliaUK returns to the Regent Street Cinema in London on 28 January with Francesco Falaschi's As Needed, a foodie feel-good comedy that marks the director's fourth feature outing after the award-winning I Am Emma (2002), Last Minute Marocco (2007) and This World Is For You (2011). It's writing credentials couldn't be much more impressive, as Falaschi and relative newcomer Federico Sperindei are joined by Ugo Chiti, who has co-written Matteo Garrone's The Embalmer (2002), Gomorrah (2009), Tale of Tales (2015) and Dogman (2018), and Filippo Bologna, who helped Rolando Ravello, Paolo Costella and Paola Mammini concoct Paolo Genovese's Donatello-winning smartphones and secrets parable, Perfect Strangers (2016), which has since been remade in Spain (Álex de la Iglesia, 2017), Turkey (Serra Yilmaz), France (Fred Cavayé), Mexico (Manolo Caro) and South Korea (JQ Lee, all 2018) - and, one suspects, there will still be a few more versions to come, including one in English, although the rights are currently held by the much-troubled Weinstein Company.

Motorcycling chef Arturo Cavalieri (Vinicio Marchioni) emerges from jail to accept an alternative sentence of community service teaching cookery at the San Donato Institute. In the vegetable garden, Dr Anna Morelli (Valeria Solarino) introduces him to his students. They all have Asperger's Syndrome, including Guido Sernesi (Luigi Fedele), who seems to know everything about the fortysomething Arturo's Michelin Stars and prison record. This is preventing him from finding a new position and he seeks out mentor Celso Conti (Alessandro Haber) for the backing her needs to open his own restaurant. However, much as the old man adores his wayward student, he has been burnt too many times before to trust him. 

Adding to Arturo's frustrations is the fact that his former business partner (and the cause of many of his problems), Daniel Marinari (Nicola Siri), has become a celebrity chef, while the best that he can do is accept a favour from old pal Marione (Mirko Frezza) to work for the decidedly shady Corradi (Gianfranco Gallo). He wants Arturo to front for him at a new venture in Milan and his offer comes as Guido announces that he has entered a competition open to the best Tuscan chefs under 25. Anna is angry with Arturo when he tells Guido he doesn't stand a chance, as he is so sensitive that he can't stand being touched or criticised. But he agrees to accompany him to the event and is amused by his views on football and sex, as they drive across country in Guido's grandfather's car.

They are forced to sleep in the vehicle because Guido objects to the chemicals that have been used to clean his room and Arturo is dismayed to discover that Marinari is the chief judge of the contest. However, his mood is improved when Guido introduces himself and declares it an honour to meet him, even though some people think that his cooking style is more about media panache than authenticity. Marinari is surprised when Guido makes it through the first round by identifying the ingredients in a variety of dishes and offers Arturo a deal to let him through the next stage if he agrees to bury the hatchet about their past differences. But Arturo refuses because he remains convinced that Marinari swindled him in striving to attain his fourth Michelin star and because he believes that Guido has the talent to succeed without being patronised.

The next day, Arturo takes Guido to one of his favourite rustic restaurants and to the cemetery where his father is buried. He didn't approve of Arturo becoming a chef, yet kept press cuttings in his wallet and Guido explains that his father neglected his mother while she was dying and abandoned him because he thought he was an idiot. He asks Arturo what the phrase `as needed' means in a recipe and whether this is a precise measurement. But Arturo suggests that it's an instinctive amount that Guido will learn through experience.

As a treat, Arturo lets Guido drive, but he gets so tense whenever another vehicle approaches that he runs off the road and breaks the axle. They are towed to the nearest town, where Guido is recognised by Giulietta (Benedetta Porcaroli), a promotions girl who is working on the Young Tuscan Chef event. Arturo smiles at his pleasure at getting a friendly wave, as Guido's greatest ambition is to get a girlfriend and a car so that his grandmother no longer has to worry about him.

Anna turns up in time for that evening's challenge (a bowl of acquacotta) and Guido overcomes a shaky start to make it into the final with Diego (Teodoro Giambanco) after Guido intervenes during a time out to urge him to cook with `full power'. While Arturo and Anna are canoodling in her room, however, Guido does a bunk and they find him proffering a bunch of purloined flowers to Giulietta, who misunderstands his intentions and calls her father for help when he tries to kiss her as she closes up her market stall. Anna smoothes things over, while Arturo explains that Guido can't simply march up to a girl and expect her to fall in love with him.

However, he returns to the hotel to find Marione waiting with news that his appointment to cook in Milan and sign the paperwork for Corradi's restaurant has been brought forward. This means that he won't be able to mentor Guido during the grand final and asks Celso to stand in for him. On reaching Milan, however, Arturo feels guilty at letting his friend down and, after Guido calls to wish him good luck, he dashes across Tuscany to arrive in time to see Guido and Diego prepare a Timballo de' Medici. 

When Guido refuses to put cocoa on the finished pie, Marinari disqualifies him and declares Diego the winner. But Celso insists on tasting both dishes and walks away with Guido's for his own consumption and the other judges and audience start to applaud. As they eat, Guido offers a slice to Giulietta, who is packing away the competition stage. She declines with a half-smile, but her colleague tucks in and Guido rejoins his companions to inform them that he finally understands the meaning of the term, `as needed'. 

The story ends a year later, with Arturo and Guido working in Celso's new restaurant. Several members of the San Donato class have been hired to wait tables and all seems well. However, Anna arrives with news that Guido's grandfather has been rushed to hospital and he asks Arturo what he should say when he sees him. He recommends giving him loving encouragement to pull through and they smile when Guido suggests telling him to use `full power'.

By ending on a note of ambiguity, Falaschi and his co-writers leave the audience with a side order of imponderables to go with their wholesome, if somewhat milk-and-water main course. There is always a risk in basing a story around a character with a condition like Asperger's that the result might seem either insensitive or patronising. The writers are too shrewd to fall into such a trap, as they ensure that Guido is anything but a victim by showing him to be opinionated, impulsive and single-minded in his determination to succeed. Yet, despite the excellence of his performance, the choice of Luigi Fedele will disappoint advocates of appropriate casting.

The focus falls so firmly on Fedele and Vinicio Marchioni that more time might have been taken over the evolution of their friendship, perhaps at the expense of the Corradi subplot, which exists solely to create a conflict to be resolved in the denouement. Indeed, a greater emphasis should have been placed on Arturo's relationships with Celso and Marinari, as his tensions with the latter feel rather manufactured. A similar problem besets the romance with Anna, who is accorded little professional respect as a qualified psychologist and would score pretty low on a Bechdel test. Yet, while the ingredients may not blend perfectly (a case, perhaps, of too many writers?), this is an easy film to digest, while its heart is most certainly in the right place.