His Secret Life (Le Fate ignoranti) (2001)
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74% of critics liked it
(34 reviews) -
87% of users liked it
(4,631 ratings)
A woman dealing with the loss of her mate learns he had a surprising secret life in this drama from Italy. Antonia (Margherita Buy) is a doctor who finds both challenges and rewards in her work with people with AIDS, who has also enjoyed a long and seemingly happy relationship with her husband… More A woman dealing with the loss of her mate learns he had a surprising secret life in this drama from Italy. Antonia (Margherita Buy) is a doctor who finds both challenges and rewards in her work with people with AIDS, who has also enjoyed a long and seemingly happy relationship with her husband Massimo (Andrea Renzi). When Massimo is killed in an auto wreck, Antonia is crushed and turns away from her work and her friends; while she tries to reach out to her mother Veronica (Erica Blanc), Veronica is too emotionally distant to be of much help. As Antonia struggles to come to terms with her grief, she discovers to her shock that her husband had been having an affair through much of their marriage, and her confusion is intensified when she learns that Massimo's lover was a man, Michele (Stefano Accorsi). Antonia confronts Michele, who would prefer not to say anything about Massimo, but Antonia is persistent, and in time the two open up to each other about the man they both deeply loved. As a friendship grows between Antonia and Michele, she has another surprise in store -- she finds she's pregnant with Massimo's child. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ferzan Ozpetek
- Written By
- Ferzan Ozpetek
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
- In Theaters
- Jun 20, 2001 Wide
- Studio
- Medusa Film
Critic Reviews
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Ty Burr, Boston Globe
It's a soapy, simplistic, but surprisingly affecting ambisexual melodrama that plays a little like Pedro Almodovar without the surreal frills.
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Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
It's a lovely film with lovely performances by Buy and Accorsi.
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Matt Weitz, Dallas Morning News
A warm but realistic meditation on friendship, family and affection.
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Marta Barber, Miami Herald
Though intrepid in exploring an attraction that crosses sexual identity, Ozpetek falls short in showing us Antonia's true emotions ... But at the very least, His Secret Life will leave you thinking.
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
A movie that grows better by the minute.
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Cast
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Margherita Buy
as Antonia
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Stefano Accorsi
as Michele
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Serra Yilmaz
as Serra
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Andrea Renzi
as Massimo
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Erica Blanc
as Veronica
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Rosaria DeCicco
as Luisella
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Gabriel Garko
as Ernesto