When Netflix premiered ‘365 Days’ at the beginning of 2020 (becoming one of the most watched movies during quarantine), we couldn’t get out of our amazement at such a plot: a mobster kidnaps a Polish girl and gives her 365 days to fall in love with him Perhaps the level of expectancy that it caused could only be overcome by that caused by the completion of this second part (and even more so considering how the previous one ended).
Sex and musical transitions
The movie starts with Massimo and Laura’s wedding who, indeed, he didn’t die in that tunnel as implied in the outcome of its predecessor, although he did lose a son (how was he saved? Who cares?). After that, they start a new life together in which she is accompanied by her best friend Olga (who also finds a new Italian and mafioso flirt, it is seen that they are given away).
The argument is almost non-existent: Until after the first 40 minutes of the film, some kind of conflict does not arise and on top of that it is a script twist worthy of the least inspired soap opera. The structure of the film is made up of two types of scenes: sex scenes and transition scenes with background music while the characters put on a face of having fun. This already happened in the previous film but here it rises to the nth degree.
It’s not just that those transition scenes are very long and do not contribute anything (the characters laughing at a party/on a yacht/in a car/on a beach/etc) is that, in the end, they are not so different from those of sex (supposed claim of this franchise), which is they become tedious as they lack a minimum of context and that they continue to be more demure than one would expect from a +18 production.
Qualifying this saga as “light porn” is being too generous because, although no one expects to see a 100% explicit production, the visual tricks they have to do to avoid showing frontal nudity are sometimes too orthopedic (the use of the dildo to replace the absence of this type of shot is more laughable than anything else). Sex sells but these movies have shown that it can also be incredibly boring.
Is this never going to end?
Not even making the titanic effort of ignoring the film as something cinematographic and valuing it solely and exclusively as a product designed to satisfy the expectations of a certain audience, is it still indefensible and even less considering the ridiculous facelift that they have tried to give it in this sequel.
There are several simply embarrassing moments where the film denies itself, attempting to whitewash the primary relationship by disguising it as a “consensual relationship”, citing concepts such as “healthy relationship”, introducing a supposed sisterhood plot… come on. The public that has reached this sequel has already bought you (much to their regret) the crazy premise, throwing the stone and now hiding the hand is as absurd as it is implausible.
Perhaps the only good thing about this phenomenon is that it is reassuring to be able to see it knowing that there is enough general awareness that no one has as a romantic ideal that you be kidnapped by a mobster.
‘365 Days: That Day’ is the worse version of its predecessor: it has no plot, it is repetitive, incoherent and longer than a day without bread. Yes, it is true that it has many unintentionally comic scenes (special mention to “sensual golf”, as ridiculous as it sounds) and if that is what you are looking for, then you are going to laugh, although there are surely shorter options that appeal more. It is based on a trilogy so it is likely that we still have to put up with another installment…