 and Tizza Covi(who also wrote the screenplay, edited, and did sound)){kind=link}
Is Vera, from directors Rainer Frimmel (who was also the cinematographer) and Tizza Covi
(who also wrote the screenplay, edited, and did sound), a documentary or a narrative film? At times, it’s very difficult to tell. There are moments when you feel if it were a true documentary, with a noticeable crew around, subjects would turn to the camera to ask them what they saw, for proof that the others are lying (a point for narrative). However, it’s filmed very much like a documentary in other ways, and the main subject is a real person. If by the end of the film, the end credits shed some light on the answer. But I can too. It’s a narrative film, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some truths.
There’s a great scene early on that kind of bowties the “nepotism baby” thing. We are watching this film because Vera Gemma’s father was famous for being in spaghetti westerns. It’s given her a certain amount of fame, money, and recognition that she would be the main subject of this film. However, while her father had “the look” everyone fell for, she gets told she doesn’t have the “right look” and that she doesn’t look like her father. She turns up to an audition and gets stopped before she even gets to read because she doesn’t have “the look,” but when the director finds out who her father is, he fans over her and wants to take a picture with her (still doesn’t let her read). However, there was another layer in this scene I liked. She knew this director, knew his previous work, but chose to show up in wardrobe that wasn’t right for the film she was auditioning to be in. She was sabotaging herself before she got there. She also speaks about not wanting to be known for her father, but she led the conversation in that direction.
The main storyline stems from Vera refusing to drive because her father died in a car accident. So, the audience is not surprised that when her driver appears to hit a father and son, injuring the son, she wants to get involved. Very early on, her driver insists she’s being conned, but Vera won’t listen, because they allow her a human connection, one not built on her father’s fame.
Vera’s loneliness and search for connection is another big theme in the film as her sister encourages her to get a new driver after the incident, but she won’t because he’s been with her forever. Even though, at the time, Vera also believes that he might no longer be great at his job. It’s that need for connection again. At the beginning of the film, Vera attempted unsuccessfully (albeit in a sexual manner) to connect with her cab driver, and you see in all her actions her desire to cling to the connections she’s built.
Even when information comes to light that should have her running the opposite direction, she clings harder.
The film could use some editing. While there’s an interesting story at the core, it gets lost in repeated or drawn-out beats. You could probably trim about 30 minutes from the film without losing any of the narrative.
Vera premiered at the Venice Film Festival as part of the Orizzonti (Horizons) section.
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