Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
GarnettTeenage
The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.
Teddie Blake
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Sophie Bergman
Like other reviewers have noted, this film explores the subject of euthanasia and under what circumstances it may be perceived as justified. When a person wishes to end their life due to terminal illness, it is something that many can relate to, even if they do not wholly condone the choice to die. When a person suffers from mental illness and wishes to end their life, it tends to be viewed differently, and even at the least reactionary stance, with understandable circumspection. Ultimately though, that is not what i think this movie is about.When the main character (Irene) is confronted with this individual who wants to end his life due to a persistent loss of interest in life and anhedonia rather than illness, it unsettles and catalyzes her deeply. Her experiences with him, and his ultimate choice to end his life, cause her to examine her own sense of living. Perhaps someone else has commented on it, but if they did, I failed to see it--Irene is clearly depressed, to put it simply, and in spite of what she professes about the meaningfulness of her occupation, the way she lives captures an aimlessness, anonymity, and disengagement with life that is called into question through her experiences with this man. Part of why I feel she responds so strongly to his desire to end his life is because it echoes something in herself. The repeated focus on the death of her mother, which led her to assist terminally ill people in ending their lives, coupled with what is presented of her life--as a loner, who, as Carlo implies, appears to have abandoned her own ambitions to live on the sidelines, as a kind of observer--casts Irene's work with the dying as a kind of cop out. This is not to say that there is something wrong with what she is doing or that it isn't valuable, but her motivations in doing it, and in living as she does, seem like one great avoidance of living her own life. It seems like this all goes back to the death of her mother, which she seems not to have ever moved past. At the conclusion of the film, one gets the sense that through her experiences with Carlo, she has found in herself a desire to embrace life. One gets the sense that she has made the choice to live.
pc95
(spoilers) I thoroughly enjoyed "Miele" (aka Honey), an Italian gem of a movie on an important subject matter, assisted Suicide. Handled improperly or without touch a filmmaker could botch a movie about such a divisive matter, but the talented actress Valeria Golino in her directorial debut creates an excellent, introspective piece. Central to making this work is her lead actress Jasmine Trinca turning in a complex, soft, but a bit dark character of Irene. Irene is mesmerizing, not so much due to beauty, but more so due to her questioning. This is one of the better movies I've seen this year; Golino wisely decides not to pull some punches. It is beautifully directed and acted. 8/10 and recommended.
Alex Deleon
MIELE, ("Honey") Italy, 2013Directed by Valerian Golino: Starring Jasmine Trinca (Miele) and Carlo Cecchi (Grimaldi), Viewed at Jameson CINEFEST, Miskolc, Hungary, October 2013: The Italian film Miele had another unusual subject this week, Euthanasia, and a fascinating lead actress, I have never seen before but would like to see much more of after this. Jasmine Trinca is exceptionally beautiful, has a perfect face, globular eyes and slim body, and you simply cannot keep yours eyes off of her -- even dressed as she is in this film unglamorously in jeans, and with boyishly close cropped hair. MIELE is basically the story (third time this festival) of a relationship between a young woman and a much older man; Irene, 31, and Grimaldi (Carlo Cecchi) 74. The heroine, Irene, nick named "Miele" (honey) has an unusual job which requires her to take trips to Mexico to procure dog killer, Latuna, ostensibly a substance "to put down dogs", but actually a poison to put terminally ill patients out of their misery.The subject is Euthanasia, and the complicated psychology of people who want to end it all. Irene is an illegal suicide assistant and gives the applicants every chance to change their minds, but in the end it is Mr. Grimaldi, a 70 year old man in perfect health but simply tired of living, who will make her change her own mind about the grisly way she has chosen to make a living -- administering illegal drugs and poisons to people who want to die. A bit thin in story line but the hypnotically beautiful lead actress turns it into a compelling sit through; Jasmine Trinca, 31, was the actress playing Irene. The pic was directed by well known Italian actress Valeria Golino, her first turn behind the cameras, a most promising debut to say the least. Trinca, a leading light in Italian films since 2000, received the Italian Golden Globe "Nastro d'argento" best actress award this year for her work in "Miele" and the film itself was screened at Cannes in "Un certain regard" where it won a commendation by the Ecumenical jury, a body whose function is to show support for Good Christian values. One can easily see why since suicide is a mortal sin in the Catholic Church. Ten stars -- Jasmine Trinca will give you a reason to live another day!
Orlando Somera
Jasmine Trinca is Honey, a beautiful young woman enjoying the life of a free spirit, living alone in a beach front apartment in Italy. She seems to be without means but she is in contact with a hospital worker, a friend of hers, who pays her to assist dying patients in their death. She feels she's giving people relief but what she does is illegal.She's handled all the emotional issues until one of her rules is broken and she's suddenly at risk of losing her moral compass. The movie then chronicles her struggle to maintain through her unexpected friendship with one of her older clients, Carlo Cecchi in a wonderful supporting role.The movie is affecting and beautifully shot. The acting is mostly Trinca's responsibility and she carries it off so impressively that I couldn't help thinking how she's somewhat reminiscent of a cross between Keira Knightley and Winona Ryder but better than either. Ultimately what I liked best about this film is that it so convincingly matches or exceeds all other attempts to cover this sensitive topic I'm aware of.
