Feminine names


Anybody can explain why Domenico writes a list of feminine names the night before his first day of work?

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I didn't get that either. But just now I think I understand. My theory is that he was trying to remember Antonietta's name. It makes sense to me because later at lunch he tells the older lady that he doesn't remember the name of the girl he's looking for.

The more I think about the film the more I realize that Domenico may not have been very smart. He forgot Antonietta's name and he also got the math question wrong. He even dropped the teaspoon in the coffee shop, which seemed inconsequential albeit embarrassing at the time, but may have been the director indicating to us that he isn't destined for greatness.

I liked the movie and I liked Domenico, but in hindsight they both seem much more sad than they did while watching. Throughout the film his future seemed to hold the promise of love and a successful career both at his fingertips. But looking back on it now I see it differently. Frightening, as it makes me think how that can mirror real life when it doesn't work out the way one once dreamt. Perhaps Domenico will see that 40 years too late.

Or perhaps he realized that for himself at the very end of the movie when he was looking like a mouse trapped in a cage. I'm going to picture this: right after the screen fades to black, he bolts out of the room and never looks back. He goes back to school and becomes a surveyor like he mentioned he wanted to be, before he was made to cut his schooling short and get a job prematurely for his younger brother's sake.

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I was confused by the writing of the names at first too, but I came to the same conclusion as you: he simply forgot Antonietta's name. As someone who is bad with names, I can attest that it's easy to forget someone's name after only meeting them once.

As for his intelligence level, he did mention that he basically left school early to get a job.

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