‘Hungry Hearts’ DVD Review

Stars: Adam Driver, Alba Rohrwacher, Roberta Maxwell, Al Roffe, Geisha Otero, Jason Selvig, Jake Weber, David Aaron Baker, Natalie Gold, Victor Williams, Cristina J. Huie, Ginger Kearns, Katherine O’Sullivan, Toshiko Onizawa, Dennis Rees | Written and Directed by Saverio Costanzo

What do you do when the love of your life is in the bathroom next to you while you’re unfortunately experiencing some diarrhea? Get her pregnant and make her miss her flight to spend the rest of her life with you, of course!

Wow, that sounds much more exciting than what the film is actually about. Starring Alba Rohrwacher and Adam Driver as Mina and Jude respectively, the film follows the two as they meet, get pregnant, and try to raise their son. Directed by Saverio Costanzo and written by Costanzo and Marco Franzoso, Hungry Hearts offers a new perspective on life and how our circumstances lead to an end result.

Mina and Jude in a bathroom where Mina is stuck behind the door all the while Jude rushes in with explosive diarrhea from food poisoning. True love at first sound, the two hit it off immediately and they fall in love with each other. However, after Mina informs Jude that she has to return back to native Italy, Jude decides it’s time to move on to the next step and sleep with her. Needless to say, Mina gets pregnant and now has to stay with Jude and not return to Italy.

Because Mina strongly believes in traditional childbirth and is irrationally against modern medicine to an almost paranoia degree, Mina and Jude often struggle to overcome their adversity when it comes to childbearing and, worse, child development. Mina grows their son up on a vegan diet and the like, all the while, Jude becomes increasingly annoyed at her and starts acting out in spite of her and her beliefs, feeding the child meat and anything in contrary to Mina’s stance. With the two fighting over their relationship and the baby’s wellbeing, it becomes a riveting roller coaster of “Who gets to eat bacon” in the house.

Also starring Roberta Maxwell, Jake Weber, and Natalie Gold, Hungry Hearts stole the show at the 71st Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and Actress, as well as Pasinetti Award for Best Actress. Costanzo came home with the Cinema for UNICEF Award and the Special Pasinetti Award for Best Direction.