“Rueful, funny and wise.... A warm yet melancholy film of quiet yet inescapable charm, it has a feeling for character and personality that couldn’t be more delicious..... Di Gregorio...has an impeccable gift for character, for capturing the nuances of personality conveyed by an expressive array of quintessentially Italian faces, his own countenance being first among equals.” —Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
“The movie’s sensuous appreciation of ripeness and abundance extends to food, clothing and foliage; the lushness of a city in bloom virtually bursts from the screen.” —Stephen Holden, The New York Times
“It’s two fine comedies in a row for Di Gregorio, previously touted for Mid-August Lunch... A winning talent!.” —Gerald Peary, The Boston Phoenix
“Easygoing and naturalistic! Di Gregorio conjures a Rome that’s homey and literally warm.” —Mark Jenkins, NPR
“The pixie-dust ending will leave you smiling ...and likely singing an unexpected tune.” —Paul D’Agostino, The L Magazine
“Di Gregorio keeps the action and the jokes lissome and fluid, rather than locking them into a rigid formula. As actor, director and writer, he approaches the idea of ever-present longing with the suppleness of a dancer. On the surface, The Salt of Life may seem like a movie made just for old folks. The trick is that it really is about the youth that stays with you, even when your aging body is working hard to convince you otherwise.” —Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline
“Gianni Di Gregorio proves that the delicate touch and comic understatement of his acclaimed 2008 directorial debut, MID-AUGUST LUNCH, were anything but beginner’s luck.... Di Gregorio...has the kind of innate comic timing that elicits chuckles even when he literally does nothing, and he’s unafraid to bare himself—wrinkles, puffy eyes and all.” —The Hollywood Reporter
“Funny, poignant, life-enhancing, and much cheaper than a ticket to Italy! Delighting its audience...Gianni Di Gregorio’s follow-up to his surprise hit MID-AUGUST LUNCH sees the writer-director reprising the mild-mannered ageing Roman mamma’s boy character from that film. This time round he’s required not to look after four old ladies but to prove he’s still got what it takes by finding himself a lover.... Like Nanni Moretti or Woody Allen, Di Gregorio mines his own long-suffering face and character for comedy, and he has such sympathetic presence and charm.” —Screen International
“A tremendous achievement. Di Gregorio navigates his film with such a sense of delicacy that its tone is never coarsened.”
—Jay Weissberg, Variety
“Full of rich visual detail that will make you smile.”
—Val Kermode, Eye for Film
“Gianni Di Gregorio is fantastic and should be getting more attention.... Of all of the movies I’ve seen this time in Rome, this is the one I most hope will make it to American theaters.”
—Cheri Passell, I Love Italian Movies
“The film is packed with subtly observed details of behaviour and gesture of a kind we associate with Ealing comedy at its zenith, and an elaborate Chekhovian story is being told before we realise it.”
—Philip French, The Observer (UK)
“Eminently worth seeing for its sheer warmth and humanity.”
—Derek Malcolm, This is London
“Shrewdly observed and sensitively handled this is a warm-hearted, civilised treat for anyone seeking refuge from the summer blockbusters.”
—Allan Hunter, The Daily Express (UK)
“Swingers for sexagenarians, Salt is perfect for older audiences who like a little spice in their cinematic offerings.”
—James Croot, Flicks.co.nz
“4 STARS. Lustrous, effortless, entrancing, it infects your mood as happily as a hazy Roman afternoon.”
—Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times (UK)
“This thoroughly delightful Italian comedy by screenwriter-turned-auteur Gianni Di Gregorio is a kind of romantic realist-fantasia with Fellini in its DNA, and a little of Woody Allen.”
—Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK)
