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Şahane Misafir

A Magnificent Haunting (Magnifica presenza)

Movie · 2012 · 15 people

A ghost-story twist runs through Magnificent Presence (Magnifica presenza, released in Turkey as Şahane Misafir), an Italian comedy-drama. Director Ferzan Özpetek wrote the script with Federica Pontremoli, and the production companies include Fandango and Rai Cinema. It opened in Italy on 16 March 2012 and in Turkey on 6 April 2012, reaching France in the summer of 2013. At the 34th Moscow International Film Festival it won the audience award, and its lead, Elio Germano, received a Globo d'Oro for the performance in 2012. Özpetek's ninth feature runs 105 minutes.

The hero, Pietro, is a 28-year-old from Sicily whose one wish is to become a known actor. To pursue it he settles in Rome, earns his living in a pastry shop. First he stays as a guest at his cousin Maria's home, then he takes a flat of his own. The charm of the new place soon fades: objects shift, whispers are heard at night. Pietro learns that the flat has other residents, seven and a half of them. Elio Germano plays Pietro, with Margherita Buy and Cem Yılmaz among the cast. Paola Minaccioni, Giuseppe Fiorello and Vittoria Puccini also appear.

Much of the score is by the Italian composer Pasquale Catalano, and Sezen Aksu wrote special songs for the production.

DirectorFerzan Özpetek
Production companyFandango

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Cast

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Margherita Buy Margherita Buy Actor · 64 years old Cem Yılmaz Cem Yılmaz Actor · 53 years old Elio Germano Vittoria Puccini Giuseppe Fiorello Paola Minaccioni Andrea Bosca Claudia Potenza Alessandro Roja Gea Martire Bianca Nappi Platinette Massimiliano Gallo Anna Proclemer Ambrogio Maestri

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Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

What Ferzan Özpetek attempts in Magnifica presenza is a ghost story built not on fear but on loneliness and the search for belonging. Blending the surreal with light humour gives the film a distinctive tone; the strange goings-on in the flat become less a suspense device than a way into character. The Moscow audience award shows that warmth found its viewers, and Elio Germano's Globo d'Oro-winning performance is the film's load-bearing column. The risk lies in giving every member of a crowded ghostly household meaningful space; with so many characters, the film can at times remain more atmosphere than story. Its easy movement between genres, though, is a reminder of how confident a director Özpetek is.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Magnifica presenza tells a story of migration and of trying to gain a foothold in the big city through an elegant metaphor. Pietro, who comes to Rome from Sicily and chases his acting dream while working in a pastry shop, is a familiar figure from a generation trying to make a place for itself in the city. Discovering that the flat he thought was his has other residents suggests how layered settling in a city is: every home carries the stories lived there before. The film also touches on the precarious lives of young people who dream of art and earn their living elsewhere, so beneath its light tone sits a serious social observation.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

The ghost theme may sound like horror at first, but this is a dramatic comedy that treats the surreal with a light touch. Even so, its subject and pace suit adults and older teens better; young children may get bored or be unsettled by the whispers at night. Older family members who love Cem Yılmaz and Sezen Aksu's songs will find something familiar and warm here. It is worth knowing up front that this is an Italian-language film.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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