La Sapienza

2014

1h 37m

Drama

List

88%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

50%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

An aging architect (Fabrizio Rongione) tries to rediscover his passion by going on a research expedition to the birthplace of 17th-century master Francesco Borromini.

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Audience Member

Moving at a leaden pace, over-intellectualized and stiff in style, La Sapienza recoils from the compelling story at its core--husband and wife each meet an unlikely younger friend and maybe refresh their own relationship as a result--and it strangles the life out of the character relationships, moving at a leaden pace for the first hour until it finally suggests a reason for this. I'm not against slow, considered films (I quite liked Museum Hours, for example), but this one didn't do it for me.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Numerous ways this movie engaged me and kept me learning. Love it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Com planos e ângulos bastante simétricos, o filme fala sobre um arquiteto ateu e que valoriza o caminho da razão. Até que ele e sua esposa encontram um jovem aspirante à arquitetura que mostra para ele um jeito mais emocional e espiritual de enxergar o mundo. O filme inteiro traça paralelos entre o sagrado e o racional, seja contando a história de dois arquitetos famosos ou colocando personagens com pensamentos diferentes em diálogos profundos. O que pode ser desagradável é o fato de o garoto de 18 anos ter tanto conhecimento sobre a vida, mas se o espectador levar para o lado da metáfora, não terá problemas com isso.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Visually, this is one of the most stunning and beautiful films of all time. Although the film is very light on plot, the film is full of intelligent, and interesting dialogue, and the film is, overall, one of the best films of 2015 so far.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Pretentious, stiff, reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman films of the 1960s, but (fortunately) adding stunning scenery of Italian lakes and Roman churches. So setting/scenery: check. All but absent in the plot, character development, or meaning departments.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie intertwines the inner lives of four intriguing individuals with an astonishing set of lessons in art, architecture and beauty. Most compelling!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Eugène Green

Director

Fabrizio Rongione

Alexandre

Christelle Prot

Alienor

Ludovico Succio

Goffredo

Arianna Nastro

Lavinia

Hervé Compagne

Minister

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Nicole Armour

Film Comment Magazine

While Green's film is dense with historical fact and theory, it's not averse to plumbing life's mysteries. Suffused with warmth, it expresses a potent admiration for human striving and accomplishment.

Aug 3, 2015

Full Review

Sam Lubell

Los Angeles Times

On the surface, writer-director Eugne Green's film "La Sapienza" is slow, strange and awkward - but stick with it and it may win you over.

Jun 26, 2015

Full Review

Boyd van Hoeij

Hollywood Reporter

The Sapience juxtaposes insights on how people are emotionally connected with ruminations on the buildings and spaces through which they move, in which they live and, in Alexandre's case, which they also create.

Jun 5, 2015

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

Sapienza is a pretty lovely film. Symmetricities are everywhere, starting with that opening architectural showreel, which deliberately avoids perfect symmetricity...

Jan 24, 2023

Full Review

Dustin Chang

ScreenAnarchy

Their sincere expression of these thoughts rings true and melts away its artificiality in its presentation soon enough. This is the beauty of La Sapienza and Green films in general.

Feb 14, 2021

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

It's a nice entry point into a peculiar cinematic universe, and those willing to open themselves to it will find a lot to enjoy.

Jun 18, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

An aging architect (Fabrizio Rongione) tries to rediscover his passion by going on a research expedition to the birthplace of 17th-century master Francesco Borromini.

Director: Eugène Green
Screenwriter: Eugène Green
Production Co: RAI Cinema
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2016
Runtime: 1h 37m

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