“Love & Gelato” is the new Netflix romantic movie set in Italy as Lina follows in her mother’s footsteps. Directed by Brandon Camp, the film is an adaptation of the novel by Jenna Evans Welch under the same name. As a clumsy teenager, Lina struggled to understand why her late mother would like to make a single trip to Italy. But the promise, once given, had to be kept. She missed her mother as he was supposed to accompany her if she lived and hoped that, with all her clumsiness, she would endure the tour on the mainland.
“Love & Gelato” can be aimed at young adults looking for romantic stories with an element of emotion. Although generally, as a woman in her 20s, this is just another romantic movie full of the usual sugar. Lina Emerson, played by Susanna Skaggs, is the clumsy protagonist we all know. the usual awkward nerdy teen who has never been in love (a character so common that it is almost sinful to do it over and over again). Then we have Andy, her best friend, whose only purpose in the movie is to be Lina’s cheerleader. The black, over-enthusiastic best friend is another main character who continues to exist. In the movie, we never know Addie beyond her screams every time Lina talks about the boys she met in Italy. She is good with Photoshop and loves social media. This is all the information we have. Although Anjelika Washington as Addie was a pleasure to watch, it made me long for more time on the Addie screen!
Lina is packing her bags to travel to Italy. Her mother had traveled there when she was her age and she wanted her daughter to do the same. The purpose of the trip was for Lina to find herself before starting college. Discovering herself is vital, and her mother wanted her daughter to be free from the kind of life she had built in the United States. While Addie’s farewell was difficult, she had the courage to travel to Italy. When her mother, Hadley, traveled to Italy, she stayed with a loving family and their daughter, Francesca, was her age. Lina did the same. lived in the house of Francesca, who was also her mother’s best friend, and promised to introduce her to everything her mother enjoyed during her stay. Lina met Francesca’s cousin, Howard Riley, who was also a friend of her mother. He had come to Italy to study at university when he met Hadley through Francesca. She handed over the camera used by Lina’s mother during her stay. he carried it wherever he went. Lina never knew that her mother was interested in photography. Every day of her stay she knew her mother better. Francesca gave Lina her mother’s diary, something Hadley wanted her daughter to read after arriving in Italy. Lina navigated Italy through her mother’s eyes. the diary instructed her to avoid the mistakes her mother had once made.
“Love & Gelato” deals with Lina’s exploration of her mother’s past. A past she had hidden from her daughter since birth. Lina did not know who her father was and on this journey she tries to trace the past. On the one hand Lina was studying her mother’s diary to find her father and on the other she had her own life to take care of. He met Alessandro Albani, the wealthy son of a wealthy family who had enrolled at Harvard and had a crush on the American, and Lorenzo Ferrazza, a chef under construction, who introduced Lina to the world of confectionery and gelatos. She had her first kiss and her first disappointment, and even though her mother was not there for her, the diary helped her make the right decisions. The goal has always been for Lina to get to know the world but never make a hasty decision. Who Lina chooses for her lover is revealed only at the end of the film.
Brandon Camp’s film has several graphic shots from Rome, ranging from St. Peter’s Square to the Colosseum. A film set in Italy would be incomplete without food, and fortunately, food was the binding force to bring people together. There is gelato in the title itself. What else to ask for? Lorenzo’s nonna (grandmother) had stopped him from mentioning the fifth ingredient of gelato, which happens to be the most important. Only at the end of the film does Lina express that she now knows what the ingredient was, although it is kept secret from the public. Guesswork? “Love & Gelato” may be the movie you should watch when you want to get away from the chores of everyday life, although it can be very sweet for your taste.
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