TIFF 2017 Review: Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle



Despite it's lengthy title (there are a fair number of them this year in the festival),  Mike van Diem's "Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle" is short and sweet and pretty much what I was looking for in a week of my otherwise mostly dark and violent film selections.

The story follows Anna, a young Montreal woman with Italian family heritage. Following her mother's final wish to have her ashes scattered in her home town, Anna travels out to Italy to discover the complicated and wacky history regarding her father and mother's relationship. Throw in some murder accusations, loan sharks, and loads of tulips and you have quite the plot.

Despite the twists and turns, the film isn't particularly deep and nor is it trying to be. Some sequences veer from lighthearted into ridiculous, but I went along for the ride and tried not to overthink anything. A few heavier dramatic scenes land more successfully than I expected and the performances all around are solid, particularly that of Anna's father, Gauke, played by Gijs Naber.

I took the film for what it was and enjoyed it, but I can't see much of the film sticking with me in the long run. For something light, colourful and featuring some pleasant Italian scenery, this will do you just fine.

6/10

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