Hey Tu!

There are many moments and people that shape the tapestries our lives. The slightest decision can influence our future in innumerable ways, shaping our path and sending us down roads previously concealed to us. Each choice we make shapes our fate, for better or for worse. ‘Hey tu’, demonstrates this fact, but does so in such overly sentimental, cheesy fashion that it is nothing more than an eye-rolling experience.

It is produced by Make a Wish film productions, whose tagline ‘where dreams can come true’ is rather indicative of the entire message of the film. It is wistful and sentimental - two things that can make of fun and endearing cinema, but not when they lack any sense of grounded realism, or any sense of struggle. The title derives from the first words said by a robber, Francesco played by Gabriele Moio. The initial interaction between the robber and his victim, Diego (played by Al Fenderico), is strong, however it quickly descends into schmalzy chaos.

The robber is rather foolish to begin with. He gives the victim his name and forgets to take both his phone and wallet. The victim recognises this and begins to play games on the robber, eventually weakening him to the point where the robber’s pent up aggression and anger becomes a confession of his miserable and desperate life. The victim then takes pity on him, with so-called happy music playing in the background, as he comforts his would-be assailant and helps to transform him into a reformed man with his life all put together.

It is a modern day version of a biblical parable, only without the guile and wisdom of those ancient tales. There is no weight to hold the story down, we never get a sense of the robber’s struggle or the victim’s success. Neither character appeals, and in the moment when the robber changes from antagonist to protagonist there is very little about him to suggest that the transformation has taken place. It is a film with a message, yet it doesn’t know how to translate that message effectively.

The directing is pretty poor, with no sense of space and poorly framed shots, whilst the writing is weak and overly sentimental. Overall, ‘Hey tu’ is a film that fails to convey its feel-good message effectively, instead coming across as far too hokey and contrived, even for the most sentimental of its viewers.