Fidanzati, I (1963) review

Simple film of the adage "Distance makes the heart grow fonder," as two lovers are separated in the middle of a spat - the man gets a promotion at his job and has to move away from his home - and their affection for each other blossoms in the meantime. Actually, it's less about love and more about loneliness, since the majority of the picture consists of the man's travels through this new town (it's irrelevant what his job is all about): he witnesses children in church, he talks to sad waiters and even has pranks played on him by his peers. It has an odd, quiet power to it - an unspoken beauty - which makes it so outstanding, and Olmi's jigsaw editing only enhances the effect of the main character's being lost in his thoughts and memories.