The Magic of Marciano

"The Magic of Marciano" begins as a rock solid journeyman drama about a boy (Morgan), trying to cope with an emotionally unstable working class single mom (Kinski) and her abusive boyfriend, who finds a friend in an older man (Forster). As the film wears on, however, it takes a nose dive as Barbieri begins replaying scenes with two different outcomes, apparently in a feeble and annoying attempt to show the boy's fantasies, only to crash and burn with an unsatisfying conclusion and poor resolution. An okay watch for fans of the players but when taken as a whole little more than a mediocre small screen watch. (C)

This heartfelt drama is a gritty film with wonderful writing and performances. The actors showed great emotional range. With a wonderful soundtrack, this movie will stay with you in more ways than one.

This story of a mentally ill mother and her steadfast son is realistic, touching and unsentimental. Rather than the melodramatic circumlocations that this theme tends to engender, this is a rock-solid, realistic representation of what probably would or could happen in the real world. It even has an upbeat ending which is not the full blown Hollywood fantasy, but the best that life can offer when it's functioning well. Miss Kinski is terrific in it, Robert Forster is a gem of a warm and intelligent actor and Cody, who plays James, is a wonder. If what you want to see is an excellent film, with a real story, artistically done, with some fantasy scenes to flesh out some inner feelings, and held together with superb acting...then this is for you. If you prefer Hollywood glamour, sentimental soporific themes and ridiculous action, find any readily available commercial film instead.

In Barbieri's second film you see a complete transformation in his style of directing. I remember the feeling from "One" (the first film) and I remember how I felt when I left the Theatre after seeing "Marciano." I was beside myself. I was so into the characters that I forgot this it wasn't real. I find myself going back to the words that describe Tony Barbieri to me. Full of life and always very passionate.

I was privileged to see the premier of this movie in Los Angeles and was very impressed. I had watched a portion of the filming in Canada. Was very impressed with Tony and his belief in a new actor- this was Cody's first movie. I am sure there are many kids in similar circumstances in every town. The fact that he chose to be happy made the movie educational. I found Ms. Kinski to be a very compassionate person in real life. While I am not an avid movie buff, I did enjoy the movie and hope it will come out in DVD form.