Steel (Stefano Mordini, 2012): Italy

Reviewed by Casey Cummings at the metro 4 theater, Santa Barbara

Steel was somewhat entertaining but needed work in my opinion.  The plot was confusing and at some points it was difficult to understand what was really going on. The film really didn’t have any significant meaning to the title because it was mostly about two young teenage girls, besides the brother working in the steel mill. It was interesting what occurred throughout the film, but was too jumbled to understand the true meaning. This was not a horrible film, but in my opinion not the best.

It was in Italian so i didn’t know the actresses or actors including the director. The acting was good but i felt more could have been put in the plot to make the film more entertaining.The first act shows the two girls, Elena and Francesca, and what they do for fun in the days of summer. It also focuses on one of the girls older brother, who works in the steel mill and is the father figure throughout the film because her dad is not really in the picture. It shows the girls different prospectives about boys and other interests.

You were aware by the way the director portrayed the brother that something bad was going to happen. You weren’t sure who or what was going to be the problem but he made you think it was going to be something in the mill. What else i got out of the film was the fact that Francesca liked Elena more then a friend. There were scenes that showed her jealousy when Elena was with boys. Elena didn’t feel the same way i got the impression, even though they were best friends.

Overall the film was okay but not my favorite in the festival