“Who covered the nightshift to prevent the heart of the world from falling?”
Matteo, played by Enrico Lo Verso, walks out the front door of the hospital and is happy to be breathing fresh air. He glances over at a tall, middle -aged, beautiful blonde, who holds up a mountain climbing carabiner ring. Recently having undergone a heart transplant, receiving the heart from a young girl who was in a car accident, Matteo is thankful for his second chance on life, stating, “There is no greater gift than life with life.”
Sonja, played by Nastassja Kinski, was in the hospital at the same time as Matteo, for a diseased mitral valve, and underwent, a mitral valve replacement. Mitral valve replacement is performed when the valve becomes too tight (mitral valve stenosis) for blood to flow into the left ventricle, or too loose (mitral valve regurgitation) in which case blood can leak back into the left atrium and thereby back into the lung. Mitral valve disease can occur from infection, calcification, inherited collagen disease, or other causes.
While realizing that they both went through similar life changing surgeries, and that they both love to rock climb, Sonja made a promise to Matteo, that they will climb together. Sonja, who is already married to Mark (played by Julian Sands), taught her to climb, and feels threatened by Matteo, however, he allows the two to go climbing together in the Dolomites in Trentino, Italy.
While on route, Matteo talks to his new heart as if it were a real, live young girl in his presence, at one point in the film he explains, “I’m old enough to be the donor’s father, but I am like a son to her.” Meanwhile, Sonja needs closure to determine if her body still has what it takes to climb mountains. She takes her wedding band off during the adventure. The music begins to pulse to the sound of heart beats. Will their hearts remain strong enough to make it to the top safely? Will this test of time result in a love affair?
MUST SEE.
“Those two, holding each other by the Rhine Bank, could have been you or I, but we will never go walking along the river bank together again. Come walk with me, at least in this poem.” ~Izet Sarajlic
Film directed by Edoardo Ponti, Written by Erri De Luca, Produced by Silvia Bizio, Paola Porrini Bisson, Massimiliano Di Lodovico, Cinematographer, Ferran Paredes Rubio, starring Nastassja Kinski, Enrico LoVerso, Julian Sands, and Erri De Luca.
Article by Sharon Abella
1worldcinema.com