Click to read the article
His Secret Life (2002)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:25
Rotten:9
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Well-acted soap opera.
Synopsis: When Antonia (Margherita Buy) loses her husband Massimo in a terrifying car accident, she is devastated. Taking care of necessary business after his death, she runs across a painting, a gift to her... When Antonia (Margherita Buy) loses her husband Massimo in a terrifying car accident, she is devastated. Taking care of necessary business after his death, she runs across a painting, a gift to her husband with a note attached indicating that Antonia's partner of 15 years had been indiscreet for seven of them. She tracks down his lover and finds that Massimo has been involved in a homosexual affair with a man named Michele (Stefano Accorsi). She also finds in Michele's home an adopted family of misfits who all knew and loved her deceased husband. As Antonia attempts to understand her husband's secret, she becomes accepted into this commune and also begins to have some of her own loving admirers, including Michele. Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek (STEAM: THE TURKISH BATH) directs this touching film that places caring and understanding before judgement or anger. [More]
Starring: Margherita Buy, Stefano Accorsi, Erika Blanc, Serra Yilmaz
Starring: Margherita Buy, Stefano Accorsi, Erika Blanc, Serra Yilmaz, Andrea Renzi, Lucrezia Valia, Koray Candemir
Director: Ferzan Özpetek
Director: Ferzan Özpetek
Screenwriter: Ferzan Özpetek
Producer: Gianni Romoli, Tilde Corsi
Studio: Strand Releasing
Reviews for His Secret Life
Ozpetek offers an AIDS subtext, skims over the realities of gay sex, and presents yet another tired old vision of the gay community as an all-inclusive world where uptight, middle class bores like Antonia can feel good about themselves.
It's a soapy, simplistic, but surprisingly affecting ambisexual melodrama that plays a little like Pedro Almodovar without the surreal frills.
At once overly old-fashioned in its sudsy plotting and heavy-handed in its effort to modernize it with encomia to diversity and tolerance.
Ozpetek joins the ranks of those gay filmmakers who have used the emigre experience to explore same-sex culture in ways that elude the more nationally settled.
The two leads give wonderful performances and when they try to connect with each other it's as awkward and desperate as you would expect, also real and touching.
Ozpetek succeeds in portraying small nuances that demonstrate the stages of love -- unrequited or blossoming -- and in showcasing the family structure created by a group of people who have been rejected for one reason or another.
Though intrepid in exploring an attraction that crosses sexual identity, Ozpetek falls short in showing us Antonia's true emotions ... But at the very least, His Secret Life will leave you thinking.
This is lightweight filmmaking, to be sure, but it's pleasant enough -- and oozing with attractive men.
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 75% 75% | Sherlock Holmes | 26/12 |
| 38% 38% | The Lovely Bones | 26/12 |
| 100% 100% | The French Kissers | 26/12 |
| 84% 84% | Bright Star | 26/12 |
| 83% 83% | Nowhere Boy | 26/12 |
| | Alvin and the Chipmunk… | 26/12 |
| 00% 00% | Did You Hear About the… | 26/12 |
| 05% 05% | Old Dogs | 26/12 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- His Secret Life at Rotten Tomatoes
- His Secret Life at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

Movieline gets bravely swept away with the recycled refuse of the 2000s.

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions

We're giving away a bunch of stuff from the upcoming Squeakquel.

We're giving away five copies of Tarantino's hit, with thanks to Universal. That's a bingo.



Top Critic


