Rose Island Movie Review - Uncharted Territory

Sydney Sibilia's Rose Island offers a pleasant trip to an unrestricted place.

If there is one takeaway you could take from countless romantic movies, it is this: Love possesses a power so extreme that it drives a person to achieve the impossible. Manjhi carved a road through the mountain when it became the reason for her wife's death. Taj Mahal can be taken as a real-life example. In both cases, love is the common catalyst for galvanizing the opposite partner.

In Rose Island, we have Giorgio Rosa (Elio Germano), an Italian engineer who builds an independent island on international waters. The reason: his ex-girlfriend Gabriella (Matilda De Angelis), whom he meets on the night of passing the state exam. They drink together, talk a bit. Then he offers her a ride in a car built by him. The car has no license plate, so the policemen make an arrest. After a few minutes, Gabriella realizes why she broke up with him in the first place.

Giorgio is a skilled engineer, howbeit the same cannot be said about his behavior. A self-centered genius, Giorgio's actions are motivated by momentary pleasures. He takes Gabriella in his unlicensed car to spend time with her without realizing the trouble that will follow. Similarly, after building a platform for his island, he decides to spend the night on it, not considering the unpleasant weather that may later strike. Erecting a structure on an unoccupied body - along with his friend Maurizio (Leonardo Lidi) - does not invite problems. Soon a resident (Alberto Astorri), a PR manager (Tom Wlaschiha), and a young pregnant bartender (Violetta Zironi) join the club. It is holding on to it that proves to be strenuous. When Gabriella points out that his island represents a disco, not a nation (even after having its own currency, language, and postal system), Giorgio writes a letter to the United Nations for official recognition. Once the Italian government catches the scent, every effort is made to demolish the site. They are scared to see the formation of a free society.

Like any other "based on a true story" narrative, Rose Island follows the same success-failure-success beat. That, however, is the larger picture. Rose Island is superbly elevated by smaller human moments. The interactions between Giorgio and Gabriella, right down to that first meeting at the bar, is beautifully observed (both Germano and Angelis are fine in their roles). The most adorable scene occurs inside a phone booth when Giorgio talks with her mother. He, in all his excitement, speaks about the meeting with the Council, which gets interrupted as her mother questions whether he ate something or not. Notice the change in Giorgio's expression. It's fantastic.

The ending may surprise (or frustrate) those unfamiliar with the real incident. A story like this is conventionally closed with a winning catharsis. Rose Island strips you of that feeling, leaving some faces with disappointment until they read about the island online, apprehending that the actual event itself is tailored without triumph. So what then is the point of Rose Island? Besides informing us about an old development (it unfolds in 1968) and the people involved in it, Rose Island conveys us to pursue things because we can do it. Sure, Giorgio builds the island to prove a point to his girlfriend. But he also takes on the job because he can do it. If the path towards the destination rewards unexpected and welcoming benefits (here: new friends, a positive change, and fame), then the end result becomes a passport for receiving smaller, wonderful delights. Rose Island is a sweet film tucked away in the vastness of Netflix.

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