Luca
Might contain spoilers.
What a lovely, warm, and light movie. It’s the perfect antidote to the pandemic blues. The visuals are gorgeous and the characters are charming, like Giulia’s father. The performances from all the (mostly non-Italian, I believe, curiously enough) actors are great. Alberto has a nice, distinct voice. The music is just right for the story.
The story is very self-contained despite being about the animosity between humans and sea monsters. The ending keeps its focus on Portorosso: we have no idea how relations stand between the sea monsters and the denizens of other towns, or how Luca will be received. For that matter, it’s unclear whether everyone in Portorosso has decided to just stop worrying about sea monsters.
Uncle Ugo was funny but mostly unsettling and jarring. His interaction with the fish at the end was amusing, but not the right note to part on. I was also surprised to see Amatic pop up in the end credits—I’ve always thought of it as a typeface only amateur or student films use (though of course that’s just what I’ve usually seen, not a rule of filmmaking or anything of the sort).