A Cecchi Gori Distribuzione release (in Italy) of a Mario and Vittorio Cecchi Gori presentation of a CGG Tiger Cinematografica production. Produced by Vittorio and Rita Cecchi Gori. Directed by Paolo Virzi. Screenplay, Francesco Bruni, Virzi, with collaboration of Furio Scarpelli.
Fast, funny and refreshingly generous with its characters, "Ovosodo" charts a boy's coming of age in a working-class quarter of Tuscan harbor town Livorno. Having reinvigorated the classic commedia all'italiana formula in 1996 with "August Vacation," director Paolo Virzi again captures the vintage spirit of directors like Mario Monicelli, adding a judicious thread of social realism that recalls Ken Loach and Mike Leigh. Performed with gusto by a mostly novice cast, this delightful youth comedy should click in Euro territories, and while it appears a long shot for English-language markets, its Special Grand Jury Prize at Venice may help prompt distribs to take the plunge.
Considered a risky choice to play in Venice's official competition given the incongruousness of a breezy commercial comedy next to so many more sober arthouse offerings, the film's surprise win is a fitting payoff, and validation of a genre often snubbed by fest programmers. Having scored with local and international critics, it looks likely to become a substantial hit when released in Italy this month.
The exhilarating opening stretch recaps the birth, in 1974, and the childhood and adolescence of Piero (played at age 7 by Matteo Campus, in his early teens by Malcolm Lunghi, and at 18 by Edoardo Gabbriellini). Nicknamed Ovosodo, or "Hard-boiled Egg," after the low-rent part of town in which he was born, Piero lives with his retarded brother (Alessio Fantozzi), his father (Pietro Fornaciari), who is in and out of prison for criminal association, and his irascible stepmother, Mara (Monica Brachini), who moves in, already heavily pregnant, directly after the funeral of Piero's mother (Barbara Scoppa).
Piero's first romantic and sexual stirrings are chronicled, along with his first sighting of a naked woman, which is pinpointed to just three hours before the Italian soccer team's World Cup win. At school, his natural intelligence steers him to literature, an interest fostered by sweet-natured teacher Giovanna (Nicoletta Braschi), who has been prone to depression since the death of her husband right after their marriage. At her urging, he ignores Mara's efforts to get him employed at her cousin's garage and enrolls to study the classics at an exclusive high school.
Class distinctions are amusingly observed as Piero --- a weakling in any other environment --- suddenly appears tough by comparison with the pampered rich kids at the school, thanks to his upbringing among budding criminals. His life takes a different turn when he meets enigmatic, dreadlocked eccentric Tommaso (Marco Cocci), whose rebellious attitudes and vagrant-chic apparel hide his background as the son of a wealthy industrialist. Piero also falls for Tommaso's bratty cousin Lisa (Regina Orioli), an icy beauty given to spouting cooler-than-thou philosophy.
Almost despite herself, Lisa eventually develops affection for her clumsy suitor, but Piero meanwhile takes a liking to his neighbor and fleeting childhood sweetheart Susy (Claudia Pandolfi), who has blossomed from a drippy romantic with braces on her teeth into a gorgeous, independent-minded woman. He receives a further jolt into adulthood from the suicide of Giovanna, who had been in a clinic with a severe case of depression after being seduced and abandoned by Tommaso.
Less able hands might have turned this into a simplistic indictment of the insensitivity of the privileged classes as opposed to the purity of soul in the poor and humble ranks. But Virzi's script, written with regular collaborator Francesco Bruni and veteran Furio Scarpelli, is rigorously nonjudgmental and tinged with affection for every one of its characters. Even when Tommaso accepts his destiny and leaves for the U.S. and a business administration degree, he remains more an affable rogue than a sellout.
Full of hilarious vignettes and warm observations, the script brings a light touch to its view of upper-class snobbery, nepotism, leftist politics and student revolutionary fervor, even adding a witty literary strain through Giovanna's passionate lit-crit lessons, Piero's dissertation on Leopardi in relation to his romantic disappointment with Lisa, and his elucidation of the finer points of Dickens for his co-workers at a factory owned by Tommaso's father.
Virzi already has shown a firm hand with actors in his previous two films. With the exception of Braschi (best known for "Down by Law" and roles in Roberto Benigni's pics) and rising star Pandolfi, the ensemble cast here is made up of non-actors, and not one of them misses the mark. Gabbriellini carries the film with his natural verve and effortless timing; Cocci makes a sympathetic bad boy; Orioli is sexy and supercilious, and terrific contributions from Fornaciari, Brachini and Fantozzi bring real heart to the chaotic family scenes. Casting of key characters at different ages is highly credible.
The animated score by Battista Lena and Snaporaz, a Livorno group that includes the director's brother Carlo Virzi, keeps the comedy's energy level high. Accommodating constant, back-and-forth time jumps, Jacopo Quadri's fast editing fits neatly with the well-honed dialogue's buoyant rhythms.
Camera (Technicolor), Italo Petriccione; editor, Jacopo Quadri; music, Battista Lena, Snaporaz; art direction, Sonia Peng , Giancarlo Basili; costume design, Francesca Sartori; sound (Dolby), Tullio Morganti; assistant director, Gianluca Greco. Reviewed at Venice Film Festival (competing), Sept. 2, 1997. Running time: 100 MIN.
With: Edoardo Gabbriellini, Malcolm Lunghi, Matteo Campus, Alessio Fantozzi, Pietro Fornaciari, Barbara Scoppa, Monica Brachini, Nicoletta Braschi, Marco Cocci, Regina Orioli, Salvatore Barbato, Daniela Morozzi, Claudia Pandolfi, Enrica Pandolfi.
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Date in print: Mon., Sep. 15, 1997