Genova, the 2008 offering from Michael Winterbottom is a haunting, honest musing on the nature of grief. After a car accident that traumatises his daughters (Willa Holland and Perla Haney-Jardine) and claims the life of his wife (Hope David), university professor Joe (Colin Firth) seeks a fresh start for his family in the Italian city of Genoa (Genova in the native tongue). Whilst Joe becomes absorbed by his work, teaching passionate summer students; his eldest daughter Kelly explores her rebellious side through sex and drugs with the local boys and younger daughter Mary follows her mother’s ghost through the ancient winding streets of her new hometown. Catherine Keener is under-utilised as Barbara, a former colleague and old flame of Joe’s who plays the role of tour guide, possible love interest and wannabe surrogate mother.

Winterbottom’s portrayal of grief is astounding in the exploration of the minutiae of family life and the resounding fact that after the death of a loved one, life must go on. Whilst not a great deal actually happens (the girls attend piano lessons, they go to the local beach, they make dinner and explore the streets of Genoa), there is a sense of menace underlying the day to day activities of the family – you are left waiting for someone to snatch Mary as she wanders the dark, dangerous alleyways or for Kelly to fall during one of her helmetless scooter rides. Cinematographer Marcel Zyskind has done a remarkable job in highlighting the beauty and mood of Genoa (which almost becomes a character unto itself), shot in Winterbottom’s idiosyncratic cinéma-verité style – natural lighting and handheld shots – all on a handheld ‘prosumer’ Sony HD HVR-V1 rig.

The DVD extras consists of trailers, a ‘Making Of’ doco featuring cast and crew interviews and another doco ‘On Location in Italy’, providing a little more behind the scenes footage – which only serves to further highlight the accomplishment of this film, shot with minimal crew, minimal set-up and minimal fuss. Both documentaries are fascinating as they show the way in which a big name director can shoot a feature film without relying upon all of the bells and whistles of a multi-billion dollar studio and soundstage set-up.

Genova is a subtle ghost story, a realistic family drama and a paean to the beautiful and dangerous city of Genoa.

Written by Jess Fogarty