This Italian drama should be as golden as the truffles they find.
“Trifole” is an Italian drama that treats truffles like gold and has a grandfather-granddaughter story that could be emotionally complex, but starts to become uneven during the third act. As we begin to watch it, we are marveled by the gorgeous scenery with a vibrant of colors (in yellow, blue, and green) and houses that look like something Wes Anderson would appreciate. I appreciate them, too, but I need something a little more in the story. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
It tells the story of a young woman named Dalia (Ydalie Turk), who is studying literature in London but needs to find her purpose in life. She also must travel to Piedmont to take care of her ailing, dementia-stricken grandfather Igor (Umberto Orsini). He’s a truffle hunter and has a vineyard, which he might lose considering that he’ll be evicted because he didn’t pay his mortgages. At this point, her only recourse is to take his dog Birba out in the woods to find some truffles, only to find out it’s not as easy as it sounds. It’s cold, wet, and muddy, and she’s guaranteed to lose her phone in the leaves. Of course she has to lose her phone.
Dalia speaks very little Italian in front of her grandfather, and mostly speaks in English to her mother Marta (Margherita Buy) on the phone, in the woods, and before a truffle auction. And you should see the truffles they the grandfather and granddaughter respectively find-they look like gold pieces. I may not be a farmer of any kind, but I know when they know their plants and nature.
Igor is struggling to remember Dalia, and there are moments when he completely forgets she exists. AT one point, he nearly attacks her and tells her to “go away,” until she convinces him she’s “Marta.” That’s when he kisses her like he hasn’t seen her in ages, and the movie likes to go for realism that we can relate to. I know, because I’ve mentioned before that my grandfather had dementia, and my family and I sympathized with his pain.
Seeing how Dalia is struggling to figure out herself, acknowledging how Igor has a legacy he wants to keep, and knowing that things can change, we see that “Trifole” wants to convey those messages and displays them in honest fashions. And the performances from Turk and Orsini are excellent in the ways they express their emotions and adjust to their own pathos. Now these qualities should make the film a gorgeous and charming film, but the problem is mostly the third act.
It regards a chase, a stolen golden truffle that is huge and the auction I’ve mentioned. We understand that not every movie has to be exactly the same movie, but we also like some patience and consistency within. It seems a little desperate and wants to give the film a little more action and of the ambiance of all the genres it places itself in. And you also have to get one of those “what if” scenes, but it’s more of a “woulda coulda shoulda” moment that feels forced.
I wanted to enjoy “Trifole” for exploring the right themes and having good taste in the underground fungus, and it could all develop into something delightful and consistent. But I can’t really endorse this movie for how it handles them in the end. It’s a dirty job, and maybe that’s how the film should also explore it. A blend of family and farming. Or maybe it’s been told before, and it doesn’t want to go into the details as much.
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