Don't Tell (2006)

When Sabina’s father dies, she is left haunted by a terrible dream that becomes a living nightmare. She seeks out her only sibling hoping to find an answer… while keeping her daunting journey a secret to those she loves most.

It brought out a lot in me...

This film really brought up a lot for me, emotionally. I loved it, and when it was over I wanted to see it again.
Fine acting, great directing, though one wouldn't, on the surface, see it as a "great" film because, to some degree, it has perhaps too much of a psychological agenda to be a full-out "art" film . All I know is, it touched me in a major way. It's the story evil people in the lives of two children, now adults. Who doesn't have someone like that, from the past? In this case it is very damaging to the victims but - the "up" side of the story is that in their present lives they are surrounded by people who love them, care for them, empathize with and want to protect them and help them, including each other. So, as it is remarked upon at the end of the film, though we cannot get back the children we were, and we must forget the bad things that happened to us in the past, at least we can heal and live fairly optimistic lives with the people who love us now. A "happy" ending made me cry, and I also wept copiously throughout the whole film. August 22, 2008

Don't Bother

I always thought that while movies about incest were shocking in, say, 1975, that path had been well-worn. Not to say that I'm only looking for shock in movies, but I found this renouned drama to be rather flat and bloodless. Sure the acting is good, but the script is rather pedestrian, the characters uninteresting, and after the end we don't get a sense that much has changed. And it's all told so slowly, with lots of portentious flashbacks (it reminded me in that regard of Barbra Streisand's Nuts, another overpraised film) as though there's this great profundity when in fact there's nothing but banality. I was waiting for the twist, the surprising insight, but it never came. The video box is plastered with awards and nominations, but compared to the ground-breaking Italian cinema of Fellini and De Sica and other, lesser names, this is banal television. Can't say I'd recommend this, unless you're looking for something light. Yes, light. It seems odd to describe a movie about incest that way, but 2007 isn't 1975. July 23, 2007

Superb film

This award winning Italian film tackles a difficult issue in a subdued but dignified manner with great acting along the way. The title, "Don't Tell," sums up the main question behind the film. When should you tell about deep secrets?

The film's answer appears to be always. Sabrina's problems come from covering up her childhood suffering caused by her fathers' sexual abuse of her as a child. Will she ruin her retationship with the famous actor who loves her so? Of course he did cheat on her when she was with her brother in the states but he does not think it important.

Relationships are very fragile in this drama which easity could have degenerated into a melodrama but the fine film avoids that danger and delivers a subtle but nevertheless real emotional impact. April 28, 2007

It is that which we hide from others that most defines us.

Or something like that. It seems that this is perhaps the central theme of this beautifully directed Italian drama.

A woman is troubled by a dream of being molested by her father, and is afraid she has awakened a memory that she has repressed for years, so she goes to America to visit her estranged brother and his family and try to talk about the sensitive subject matter and address issues that might be troubling her.

Don't Tell covers the delicate ground of child molestation and how, as adults, the victims try to deal with the painful memories. It also covers other very emotional territory, like the cheating nature of men (every man in the film at some point cheats on his lover, leaves her, talks about having done so, etc.) I don't know if that part of the story is in the original novel, or if it was added because the film was directed by a woman. Either way, it feeds the relationship doubt that women already have.

Don't Tell is a very moving and superbly acted film. There is not a lot of action, but the intensity of the story carries the movie along, until the end when a strange montage on a train really detracts from the ultimate impact of the movie, and seems like it will leave most viewers, myself included, simply feeling confused.

It's definitely clear why this film was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2005 Academy Awards, and if you're in to troubling dramatic films, this is definitely one to check out. January 23, 2007

great movie

The writing and directing were fantastic, and Ms. Comencini was able to get wonderful, moving performances from everyone in the film. Highly recommended. November 24, 2006

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