I did not understand the praise showered on La Sapienza, but had a similar response when I subsequently saw a different film, Columbus. Both films involve strangers using architecture to explore an unexamined part of their life and invoke the idea that sharing the same space is a type of time travel, a spatial communion of saints, which rejuvenates the characters so they can move forward. Both films have directors who are not born in the country where the film is shot. Unfortunately I found La Sapienza’s stylized dialogue (apparently a declamatory Baroque style-wooden) and framing of characters (a character faces and directs the dialogue to the camera instead of the other character), though beautiful, too static for my tastes and struggled to stay awake.
A husband, who is an accomplished and recent award-winning architect, and his wife, a sociologist who tries to increase happiness by studying statistics and poverty, feel as if their life has plateaued personally and professionally. He decides to go to Italy after a commercial and cynical setback from his client, and his wife chooses to go with him even though he says that she should not feel obligated. They encounter a brother and sister, separate by gender—the wife takes the brother’s place and visits the sister, and the husband permits the brother, who wants to be an architect, to accompany him to revisit Borromini’s great works. The majority of the La Sapienza feels like a tour as the camera spends the majority of its focus on the buildings, not the people, and the dialogue analyzes Borromini’s work.
I love architecture, but I am not knowledgeable about the subject so a lot of the information, while interesting, was not basic enough for an acolyte such as myself, failed to take root or resonate with me. Someone with more knowledge of Borromini or architecture may find the film revelatory. For me, it was like a bird-over my head, and I was open to the experience of trying something different- subject matter, type of directing or acting. If you are the kind of person who immediately gets angry when something is different and will immediately complain that it is pretentious, don’t waste your time.
If you love philosophy, this film may also be for you. La Sapienza’s central question is how to measure or achieve happiness: success, money or something else more elusive. There is a question of light, which is not necessarily equated with God, but takes on a physical and spiritual dimension that I did not completely grasp in between my naps (FitBit only registered one nap which lasted 1 hour 23 minutes, but there were more.) The goal of all the characters is to return to Eden. There is also an Amadeus like subplot in the retelling of Borromini’s story-a war between the rational and mystical, which the rational is losing.
La Sapienza reminded me of a couple of movies. Rushmore is just as quirky and stylized, has a similar improbable kinship and mentoring despite the age difference, but La Sapienza lacks the humor though there are moments. While We’re Young also focuses on a childless couple who feel rejuvenated after encountering a younger couple, but it is played for laughs. The older couple is far more insecure, and the younger couple is disproportionately more cunning and savvy than their years.
As a bystander, I normally miss sexual tension between two people in real life unless it is extremely obvious, but I saw it all over La Sapienza. I felt like the husband was interested in the brother (the way that they interact at the club, and when the husband lingers at the brother’s hotel room when he is asleep). I also theorized that the brother and sister were more like a couple than close siblings though they had not necessarily acted on it yet, and because of their interaction with the older couple, they wouldn’t. Do I need help and am I the only one seeing this? To be clear, I’m glad that nothing happened, but was surprised that it didn’t. Maybe I have been watching too much Game of Thrones.
If you love Italy, architecture, philosophy or declamatory Baroque acting style, La Sapienza was made just for you, not me unless I need the rest. If you are like me or are less open to trying something new, skip it.