Edgy and Timely, Bruno Pischiutta's "...Maybe?" Asks All the Hard Questions...

Premiere Issue (P. 36)

By Jane Delson

The eighteenth century British author and lexicographer, Samuel Johnson, astutely observed that “Hunger is never delicate.” His contemporary, William Hogarth, depicted hunger and gluttony alike, in graphic engravings that speak to the issue of appetite…both unappeased and over-sated…physical and emotional.

It is about appetite that acclaimed filmmaker Bruno Pischuitta's docu-drama "...Maybe?" centers, and like Johnson's observation and Hogarth's engravings, his explorations of appetite examine both absence and over-abundance.

In his powerful drama, filmed on location at Toronto Pictures' state-of-the-art studios, Pischiutta scrutinizes the esoteric topic of appetite from many perspectives, utilizing a cast of young men and women of widely varying social, economic, cultural, ethnic, political and sexual orientations to test his hypotheses about the commonalities of hunger and satiation.

The appetites with which Pischiutta's cast collide are as divergent as the young men and women who experience confusing and contradictory feelings about them. A desire for fulfilling sex and intimacy. A hunger for lasting yearning for independence. A longing for a strong sense of personal identity.

Adrift in their early twenties, each character must find his or her way through the conflicting maze of cultural morays and “norms” that 21st century society embraces as "acceptable." And each must decide where he or she fits on the continuum of acceptability.

Written in Pischiutta's typically deft style, "...Maybe?" unfolds as a series of vignettes, each focusing on a personal or interpersonal issue. The characters interact in intense conversations, using one another as a litmus test for unearthing their true feelings. Pischiutta allows them to flow seamlessly from one vignette to another, where their further interactions with other characters both compliment and contrast with previous self-discoveries.

For Kay (Christina Macris) - the leading figure among the circle of friends who constitute the cast of "...Maybe?" - the dilemma is deciding if her two-year relationship with Mark (Adam Garynes) offers her enough by way of fulfillment and a dynamic future together. Kay desires a more worldly future than she believes Mark envisions for himself, and throughout the film, her conversations with others…an older woman, a former boyfriend, her male and female contemporaries…help her sort through her confusion and lead her to a life-altering decision about her relationship.

Just as Pischiutta explores sexual satisfaction and its impact on the depth of emotional intimacy in relationships, so too is the more basic issue of sexual identity examined. For Elliott and his female friend Sandy, there is confusion and frustration, as Elliott looks to his innermost feelings and his strong physical attraction to his closest male friend. Kay, too, experiences conflictive feelings about her sexual identity as she examines her potential future with Mark. A chance intimate encounter with her friend Brenda adds to her ambivalence.

Interspersed in all of the dialogue about intimacy and gender identity are anxious references to AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Pischiutta's characters' lives are further complicated by fears of contacting STDs, and their concerns for one another relative to the topic are revelatory of their love, compassion and true concern for one another.

Another unique and painful personal issue is explored in "...Maybe?" as, for the first time in a major feature film, food, per se, takes on a symbolic significance in the conflicting emotions surrounding emotional growth and stability. Bulimia, a once-taboo subject not unlike anorexia, is seen in the fresh light of Pischiutta's camera, and the devastating physical and psychological effects of the disease are captured with candor and compassion.

For one young woman, “Ellen” (Nelida Nin), who falls prey to the insidious and often fatal eating disorder, bingeing and purging is a frantic expression of misplaced self-identity. Beset by low self-esteem exacerbated by an inattentive male friend and a controlling father, Ellen's feelings of loneliness become inextricably bound up with her self-image and a self-loathing conviction that she is undesirable because she is fat. Secretive purging begins to put her physical and mental health in a state of rapid decline. Only when her younger sister intervenes with the help of Kay and their circle of close friends, does a confrontation with reality take place…and even then, Ellen's perception of the mirror's image is wildly disparate from her body's dimensions in actual fact.

"...Maybe?" derives its unique title from the many questions its central figures ask of one another and themselves. While urgently seeking definitive "answers" about relationships, values and goals, they come to a more mature realization that there really are no absolute answers and that their most compelling questions can best be answered with an unsatisfying "...Maybe?" And unsatisfying it is.

Early on in Pischiutta's film, a young man asserts, "You have to know what you want." But in this intrinsically complex screenplay, knowing what one wants is the dilemma. Finding what one wants proves even more elusive. Gradually, Pischiutta's characters come to terms with the

fact that acquiring maturity and wisdom to cultivate a satisfying life requires life-long personal and interpersonal introspection and evolution. Collectively, they discover it is a never-ending process, and the revelation poses an abrupt and rude awakening that crosses all their backgrounds and beliefs.

Working closely with a group of fresh, young actors, most of whom are seen on the screen in "...Maybe?" for the first time, Pischiutta has used an "actors' studio" approach in developing his cast. Numerous and intensive workshops and rehearsals were scheduled prior to the film's actual shooting, and his meticulous focus on detail and performance nuance demonstrate that his preparation was time well spent.

Pischiutta, who not only wrote the screenplay but also directed, edited and produced the film, is passionate about its message. “To be twenty-something and middle-class in North America today is not an always-enviable place to be," he asserts. "While every conceivable 'advantage' society can offer our young people is readily available to them, the sheer pace and complexity of their lives often preclude any real enjoyment of the mere process of becoming a young, responsible adult."

Daria Trifu, Vice President of Toronto Pictures, Inc. adds, "The candor shared among the film's characters is reflective of the way young people converse with one another, today; there are literally 'no holds barred.' Bruno has captured that raw conversational tone in his screenplay." She goes on to note, "Our society is traveling at such a rapid pace, we have literally accelerated the maturation process for teens and young adults. "...Maybe?" applies the brakes a bit, and offers us a provocative, thoughtful glimpse into the truly complex issues these young adults must deal with everyday."

"...Maybe?" is a film carefully constructed from script to screen. The music, coordinated by Robert Duncan, further establishes both mood and pace for the movie.

Toronto Pictures recently held the world premiere of its new feature film "...Maybe?" at the Web Cafe, sponsored by Film Festivals Entertainment Group and Intel, in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes (France). The film has since netted Pischiutta "The Visionary in Film Award" from the Bahamas One World Film Festival. D

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