The Old Man by the Sea

In this smoldering mood piece from Starnone (The House on Via Gemito), an 82-year-old accomplished author persists in his life’s work despite his physical and mental decline. Nico, who has come to the Italian seaside to die, fills a notebook with every passing observation. In the meantime, he lingers at the water’s edge, spying on locals as he combs the beach with a metal detector or teaches himself to kayak. He takes special interest in a much younger shop assistant named Lu, and buys her gifts. Secondary characters such as oafish shop-owner Silvestro, would-be-writer Gino, and philosophical crank Maurizio take the gestures as Nico’s show of chivalry. In fact, Nico is drawn to Lu because she reminds him of his mother, whose memory he hopes to reconstruct, having come to believe that words and stories “train the brain not to be satisfied with appearances.” Eventually, Nico’s fanciful imagination propels the story from its placid surface to dark waters. The turn is foreshadowed by Silvestro, who, annoyed at Nico for charming his beautiful and unsatisfied wife, claims there’s a “serpent lurking deep inside” him. The result is an evocative glimpse into a man’s inner world. (Aug.)