Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 18 Apr only

Silvio Soldini / Italy / 2012 / 108 min

Have you ever wondered why statues can’t talk? Silvio Soldini gives them a voice to add a hint of social criticism to his The Commander and the Stork. The otherwise light-hearted comedy, along the lines of Soldini’s earlier Bread and Tulips, is tainted by this overambitious yet superficial attempt at topicality.

The majority of the film luckily is less experimental, creating an effective story of three misfits who are too loving, too idealistic or too visionary to assert themselves in the modern world. Widower Leo (Valerio Mastandrea) is left with the upbringing of his children, Diana (Alba Rohrwacher) struggles to make a living with her art and her intimidating landlord Amanzio (Giuseppe Battiston), hides his kind-heartedness behind grumpy idealism.

As each of them struggles to resolve their more or less everyday problems, their lives are interwoven in a – if not surprising – satisfying and entertaining way. It is due to this that the film makes for an overall enjoyable cinema experience. There is no doubt plenty to criticise today but it’s questionable whether figures like Giuseppe Garibaldi or Leonardo Da Vinci would agree with the pseudo-profound babble put in their chiseled stone mouths. The film does not answer the question why statues cannot talk. But it makes you glad that they don’t.