Ardenza review – beguiling cine-essay about the angst of the 90s youth generation

Daniela de Felice’s impressionistic, sensuous documentary meditates on the romantic relationships and student activism of her youth in 1990s Italy

Bittersweet memories rise like mist in Daniela de Felice’s impressionistic, sensuous documentary recalling the halcyon days of her youth in 1990s Italy. Ardenza employs strikingly tactile visual techniques: it begins with roving camera movements that cruise through long, cavernous hospital corridors. Alluding to her gruelling treatment for an unnamed condition, De Felice’s narration then rolls back to the past as she speaks of romantic relationships and student activism under Silvio Berlusconi’s administration, all charged with tumultuous passion. Sepia-toned images are projected on what looks like a fluttering fabric screen whose surface is flecked with subtle black ridges and marks.

Presented in this unusual fashion, footage of this era gains a highly textured, at times ghostly, quality. Scenes of nocturnal streets, tranquil forests and fervent protests are punctuated by De Felice’s stunning watercolour drawings, which focus on small, intimate details that can hold a world of meaning. From a first kiss to a faded blood stain on a jacket, these poignant strokes of colour convey the unspoken angst of a generation.