A few months ago, I wrote about how scenes of Abu Dhabi in Sex and the City 2 seemed too forced and too promotional. Last weekend, I saw the completely opposite concept in The American.

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George Clooney stars as an assassin who must hide out in Castelvecchio, a small town in the mountains of Abruzzo in Italy. He also spends time in Sulmona, Italy. Unlike in Sex and the City 2, we were not clobbered over the head with the location and it left a much bigger impression.

Admittedly, some of my ancestors came from the Abruzzo region, but that is not the reason I felt such a difference. In The American, the locations are left as a backdrop. Clooney often visits a pub to enjoy a latte or other beverage. It is a typical real Italian pub. He drives along the beautiful, winding and mountainous roads. He befriends a priest and interacts with some townspeople. As Clooney works on his assignment, we see architecture, nature and businesses in the region.

All the while, it feels like you are being drawn into Italy, as opposed to being battered by it. The locations seem warm and inviting, not blatant and overbearing. I have never been to Italy, so I am not just homesick or nostalgic. I didn’t particularly like the movie, so it isn’t residual feel-good memories speaking.

The reason might be that Clooney’s character easily blended into the Italian way of life. He is comfortable, therefore we are comfortable. Italy wasn’t larger-than-life to him. It was home to him and I was envious.

Whether intentional or not, the makers of The American left my friends and I longing to be in the Abruzzo area. This did more than any tourism board could accomplish.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist