CWC D: Edoardo de Angelis. Italy. 104 min. Sep 13, 6:45 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 3 Sep 14, 9:30 am, TIFF Bell Lightbox 4 Sep 17, 5:15 pm, Scotiabank 9. Rating: NN
Conjoined twins Viola and Daisy (Angela and Marianna Fontana) have been paraded around Naples all their lives as a musical act (and possibly holy icons) by their exploitative father (Marco Mario De Notaris). When a doctor offers them a chance at separation, their father balks – so the girls set out on their own.
Director/co-writer de Angelis (Mozzarella Stories) starts from a solid premise, but his film grows less interesting as it proceeds, the whole thing pushing toward a predetermined ending that it doesn’t earn.
Ferran Paredes Rubio’s cinematography is nicely grimy, and the Fontana sisters – identical twins who are not conjoined – are appealing young actors. But there’s just not much here beyond wobbly Catholic allegory.
