After Death of a Neapolitan mathematician or theater of warItalian filmmaker Mario Martone continues to explore his hometown in Nostalgia, presented in official competition at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. Led by actor Pierfrancesco Favino, the film invites its audience to get lost in the alleys of Naples but also in the memories, both happy and painful, of the character.
Felice is back home after 40 years of absence and a brilliant career abroad. He arrives alone from Egypt, where he lives with his partner. In Naples, he finds his mother, with whom he had no contact for a long time. Faced with the deteriorated state of health of this weak and very old woman, he decides to extend his stay to accompany her in her last days of life. After the funeral, he sets out to find the one who was his best friend until he left Italy at 15. Felice then discovers that Oreste Spasiano, whom all Naples nicknames “the Malomo”, has become the boss of the local mafia, feared by the entire population.
Allegory of nostalgia
Mario Martone’s film, known for its polished and demanding cinema, is built like a long wandering. Its strength lies in its total immersion in the atmosphere of Naples. On the visual level first, the camera of the 62-year-old director forgets nothing of the charms of the old town, from its trattorias to the orange trees passing by the laundry hanging from the balconies. But it also best reflects its dark side, with its rubbish strewn on the ground, its sulphurous inhabitants and the danger that reigns in the narrow streets after dark.
As we go back in the memories of the main character, the melancholy ballad gives way to mystery and tension. Actor Pierfrancesco Favino wonderfully plays this man tormented by a heavy past and obsessed with his need for redemption. The expected reunion between the two childhood friends makes it possible to lift the veil on the drama that separated their paths. However, this face-to-face – just like in the overly predictable final scene – lacks that touch of intensity and surprise that would have made an impression. And to watch Naples go away with a little more nostalgia.
“Nostalgia”, how was it❓
✍️ The polished and demanding cinema of Mario Martone transports us to Naples both by its photographic beauty and by its sulphurous mafia. Just like nostalgia, we dream of rediscovering it while being relieved to have moved away from it. #Cannes2022 ✨ pic.twitter.com/aEXxC2fMYJ
— Anthony Jammot (@AnthonyJammot) May 25, 2022
The sheet
Gender : drama
Director: mario martone
Actors: Pierfrancesco Favino, Tommaso Ragno, Francesco Di Leva, Sofia Essaïdi
Country : Italy, France
Duration : 1h57
Exit : October 19, 2022
Distributer : ARP Selection
The film is presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2022
Summary: hasfter 40 years of absence, Felice returns to her hometown: Naples. He rediscovers the places, the codes of the city and a past that eats away at him.