Rome in the mid-1980s: the marriage of Charlotte Gainsbourg, a man-eating musician and Gabriel Garko (Italian TV idol), a hyper-superstitious actor, is a whirlwind of vanity and narcissism. In the eye of this a familiar storm is their 9-year-old daughter Aria (the enchanting Giulia Salerno). It is utterly inexplicable how her older sisters routinely succeed in putting the blame on their little sister for absolutely everything. In addition, both parents unfairly neglect their only common offspring. Speechless, the audience follows the development of systematic nastiness. Not one person offers the youngest child reliable support; she is isolated both at home and at school. Even her best friend shamefully betrays her. The story is told in such an absurd way that it an incredulous laugh is difficult to suppress. But ultimately MISUNDERSTOOD is a dark film. Aria takes a piece of anarchic behavior out of her experiences of feeling unloved and ignored. Perhaps she’ll succeed in the medium term to pull herself out of her emotional misery through writing. Director Asia Argento, an underground icon and herself the child of eccentric artistic parents, has said that although the film is not autobiographical it is highly personal, but not therapy. The unloved child in every one feels him/herself to be understood.

Anna Stemmler