REVIEW: 365 Days: This Day Is Like A Long Music Video For A Summer Hit. The Core Of The Movie Is Sex, Mafia Is Rarely Mentioned

The Polish movie 365 Days brought a sequel which is lustful, exotic, but nonetheless boring. The new 365 Days: This Day offers the development of the relationship of successful Laura who was kidnapped by mafia boss Massimo whom she then fell in love with. The craze around the first part of the movie as well as the book trilogy that inspired the movie creators guarantees that many people will watch the second part. How unfortunate.  

The first part of the movie is missing a plot. The only action is sex and practically the only sound accompanying it is music. They have sex in various positions, in different rooms and luckily (or not?) we get to see more than the main characters. Even Massimo's friend and employee and Laura's best friend find their way to each other. The way is rather slippery, includes a lot of whipped cream and an unbelievably clichéd scene which combines fruit and sex. It was a far throw from the artistically more elaborate one set on the porn film festival in Vienna. 

The main impression after the first 15 minutes is assuredly one we gain after watching countless summer music videos from which someone forgot to cut the porn scenes out. 

365 shades of Italy

Sunsets in Sicily, luxury houses and cars, beautiful naked bodies, intertwined at almost all times. Everyone is clothed for a minute there - at a wedding, but they did just enjoy sex shortly before that as well as prior to the departure to their honeymoon. Massimo and Laura have sex instead of playing golf, they even talk about having sex during Christmas dinner. The bedroom fully equipped with sex toys, handcuffs with a "f*ck me" sign, whips and other BDSM equipment. 

No, you're not imagining this. We didn't just spend more time talking about a movie that revolves around sex for longer than an average Pornhub user spends on their website. Many scenes do not even look fake, considering the angle they were shot from. 

Thanks to Laura's comprehensible but not so sophisticated acting capacity, we find out she  is unhappy and angry about the marriage after their return from vacation. The mafia doesn't wait, Massimo cannot keep her company as often as she would like and besides, he even wants to manage her life. He decides when they are leaving and where they are going, or he sends her away with her friend Olga so he can do business in peace.

Laura doesn't seem to get that being a Mafia boss is far from safe or easy, so she either attempts to seduce Massimo, or provokes him and argues with him. We see a breaking point when Laura gets so jealous that se leaves her husband, not knowing that it is a trick orchestrated Massimo's twin brother. 

Shortly before her departure, a new gardener named Nacho appears on set. No, we really haven't switched to Pornhub - the character causing the downfall of marriage of the sad and beautiful Laura is the new family gardener. He is, of course, muscular, attractive, has an accent and comes from Spain. So, Laura leaves with him. 

The story could fit into one act

Nacho's arrival to the film finally brings some action to the movie. Laura remains faithful to her husband long after their separation, so we can  watch the development of their actual relationship. At a certain point, as we could already tell, they fall in love and end up having sex: it is the first deep look at sexuality offered by the movie. 

The plot twist with the two brothers and pre-planned mafia war is intriguing. Yet, we remain unsure whether we feel sorry that its development got so little time. The acting abilities would probably not cut it for sharp dialogues and bold mimics. Although it was a conflict between two mafia clans, it did not feel like anyone's life was actually in danger. We did not feel concerned about the characters, since there is no time for the audience to form a connection to them. We simply know their naked bodies more than their minds or personalities. 

That makes the unnecessarily tragic deaths in the last minute all the more surprising. Whereas the film is based on a book trilogy, there is a fair chance the characters did not die. But we have no idea which one is not going to wake up after the gun fight. 

The sequel to the 2020 film which faced criticism for a romantic depiction of a serious mental illness is still lame. It reeks of inspiration by 50 shades of grey and a slight attempt for a romantic yet passion-fuelled sex, by which we were meanwhile stunned in Bridgerton. The choice of music was incredibly basic , the lyrics often literally speaks instead of the characters who just move to the music (usually during sex). 

There is very little plot, but we have to admit, it is catching. We understand it will find its target audience, despite the script and performances not being worth a mention. A positive thing is that the creators kept it authentic. The film contains a considerable amount of Italian and even more Polish. Netflix will likely attempt to give more space to European production. It is refreshing to see a mixed, un-dubbed film, although reading the subtitles may be annoying for some. 

Neither the motif book, nor the film will not impress with quality. Thousands of reviews on bookstore websites and ratings on the most famous movie websites can attest to that. We cannot rate the film with more than 3.5/10 points, since this "sexy music video" was 90 minutes longer than it should have been. 

Nonetheless, the story of the mafia boss Massimo and his wife Laura has found its fanbase and is now a trending movie on Netflix. Although we cannot object to movies which help you relax, this one certainly did not do the job. We kept rolling our eyes and smirking for the first hour, but not because we were fed up with se in movies. It can simply be done with more quality. If you want to rest after a long week, please do, but you can also pick a movie from the countless tips offered by Refresher which actually deserve your attention.

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