In Alessandro Gassmann’s studio, a huge picture of 1999 stands out. He is 33 years old, his son Leo is one. They are naked and embraced. “The new male, so tender, so sexy,” said the title of the cover for which the photo was taken. In the interview, the actor called for “an exchange of roles between parents”. The neologism “mammo” was still to come. “I keep it there because Leo’s face makes me laugh, it’s gorgeous,” he says today, “I’m an esthete and, in fact, we were very beautiful.” Two years ago, he had shot The turkish bath by Ferzan Ozpetek and everyone realized that he was not the usual son of art, but a good strong actor, for whom a David, Nastri d’Argento and many other prizes would later arrive. The moment in which he experiences paternity is also that, he remembers, in which, for a while, he finds himself acting as a father to his father, the immense Vittorio, increasingly tried by depression. Two decades after that photo, Leo won a Sanremo Young (in 2020, with That’s okay), Alessandro is in his third direction. Today, he presents out of competition in Venice The great silence, to be released on the 16th and taken from the play written by Maurizio De Giovanni and which Alessandro has already directed in the theater. It is a film, starring Margherita Buy and Massimiliano Gallo, about the family and the unspoken, but also about a cumbersome father, Valerio Primic, a renowned writer with whom the two children have to confront. «A winner», Alessandro summarizes. Silence, pause. “Growing up alongside people who always win can be dangerous. I say this not only as the son of a great father, but as the father of an artist son twice preceded by ancestors who have a job close to his. In our case, the danger has been averted ». How they did it is not an answer that can be solved with a single question.
What is “the great silence”?
«Bettina, the maid of the Primic family, played by Marina Confalone, explains it well: it is that accumulation of small silences that pile up among people who love each other; then, this massing becomes such a great silence that it is almost impossible to tell each other what we would have liked to tell each other ».
How did the story start?
«He was born at lunch with Maurizio, on the set of Bastards of Pizzofalcone 2, a series that owes a lot to its writing, for the way it tells about human relationships. I told him: with this depth of yours, these dreamlike veins, you should write something blocking in a room a sensitive, artistic family that has read books, that when it argues it does so with elegance, a story that makes you move, has a beautiful aesthetic “.
De Giovanni had thought of her as the protagonist for her, why did he withdraw?
“It would have been misleading because the intent is not autobiographical. There is an important father and, both in the theater and on the set, Massimiliano seemed perfect to me, who besides being very good is the son of the great Nunzio Gallo. My intent is to give a caress to the viewer and to give one that I direct. In a dramatic and violent society like this it is also a therapeutic purpose ».
Why therapeutic?
«Because it is a story of people who speak and listen. Today, everyone is talking but no one wants to hear the other’s thoughts anymore. The great silence it is set in 1965 also to tell those families where we looked at each other, relationships were concrete, deeper. There was a slow, inexorable, abandonment of the parenting profession. I have been a loving father, but stern and rigid like my father to me. It is not true that one does his good by letting a child free. In fact, my generation has children in disarray, unprepared, frightened and profoundly ignorant ».
How did you manage to be a strict father these days?
“Even making me unpleasant. My son had a moped at 16, he was able to come back late in the evening at 18. This is: until 18, do what you are told. Indeed, for me, the age of majority should be raised to 21. I made myself respected, with gentleness, but firmly: with me, a discussion does not open. I say “don’t go out”; you don’t want to quarrel with me; so, don’t go out. You have to be tough, if you need to, and sweet the rest of the time. And always ready to listen. On listening, all the credit goes to my wife, who is much more present than me ».
What son were you?
“I did poorly in school and had a bit of a bully adolescence. I became the opposite thanks to my father who made me a straight line, always says please and thank you. Dad was frightening, as long as he raised an eyebrow. He made me work in the military, he took me to the theater to be a machinist, then he made me debut with him to keep an eye on me. At that point, I had already lowered the crest ».
Did your father have silences, big or small?
“On tour, we took long car trips and didn’t say a word. He was a silent man. Then, towards the end, the silences got longer and longer, but he remained very physical and caresses were what, as a son, I needed. I was then allowed to make fun of him. In Moby Dick, his entrance took place with a giant ark that raised him, the fanfares playing a piece by Nicola Piovani, then, there was a thunder and he appeared. Dad asked: How is my entrance? And me: Dad, you should put the fireworks on, you don’t notice enough. The character he had built was the opposite of what he was: at times shy, worried about being cumbersome, disturbing. I miss him hugs and laughter. Laughter was the first, second is my wife, stuff to say: please, enough ».
Have you been together for 28 years, what love is it?
“One where I was lucky enough to meet the right person. At home, she is the boss, all choices are hers. We fight, even a lot. About stupid things and not. It is a good sign of a strong bond ».
Have you kept faith in that regard on the fair distribution of roles?
“In our home, there is total democracy: we all do everything. I am a very good dishwasher and, when they get up, they find breakfast and coffee ready. I like all this very much ».
What remains of the turtle shown on the 2001 calendar?
“I’m back to training: I have to shoot an action movie for Netflix and muscles, if you played sports when you were young and didn’t have a dissipated life, they have memory.”
What can you anticipate about the Bastardi di Pizzofalcone 3 which runs from 27 September on Raiuno?
“Except that whoever caused the explosion with which the second series ends will pay.”
Is your future as a director or as an actor?
“As a director. I will only continue to be an actor if they offer me things I like. My tastes are not very popular. Now, I enjoyed doing the Rai series A professor by Alessandro D’Alatri, which will be broadcast in autumn ».
In the presentation of the Great Silence, it is said “to live does not mean to be alive”. Without spoiling, what does that mean?
“That we are not alive if we do not make sure that those around us notice it, if we do not share our thoughts with those we love.”
(this conversation was first published in the weekly F n.36)
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