2023-12-20 22:11:41
by Valerio Cappelli
The Neapolitan actor in It also happens in the best families: «This film is a firework and I am the Oppenheimer of comedy. Behind the success of Paola Cortellesi, Italian cinema is faltering. We are held back by political correctness”
Alessandro Siani, with Succede also in the best families (produced by Fulvio and Federica Lucisano, from 1 January on 400 screens) is on his seventh film as director. «I apologize, I won’t do it again. The important thing was to change course.” After the death of their father, a wealthy surgeon, three quarrelsome brothers, the unresolved Alessandro and the successful Cristiana Capotondi and Dino Abbrescia, take care of their mother, Anna Galiena, who immediately wants to remarry a sweetheart from her youth, Antonio Catania, a survivor, a hippy, a flower child. From there the castle of affections collapses.
«I move towards realism. I’m talking about a family full of secrets, hidden things. With pure, straight, physical comedy. Today those who make comedies go against the trend. Only those from the past on platforms are strong. There is no more classic Christmas movie. Paola Cortellesi made the perfect film about an important moment in society, but she is not linked to a positive wave of Italian cinema. You have intercepted a topic on everyone’s lips. A bit like what happened with Benvenuti al Sud which came out amid Umberto Bossi’s controversy when he said: SPQR, these Romans are pigs. They are two films that interpret the mood of the time. But behind Paola everything is shaky. Let’s hope there is a rebirth. At our preview I heard a lot of laughter.”
For Paolo Del Brocco (Rai Cinema) there is a saturation of comedies, too many bad and banal ones.
«And one is as good as another. This is a simple story that goes straight to the gags, the jokes, the misunderstanding. The first enemy of the irreverent comedian is political correctness. We have to limit ourselves, it’s like asking a journalist not to talk about unemployment. However, I have never speculated on swearing and vulgarity, focusing on tenderness. Which in this film, however, I abandon. I had Weekend with the Dead as a model.”
He smiles: «I’m the Oppenheimer of comedy. It’s all a firework. I wanted fast pace and improvisations. Many in the industry complained about the excessive length of the films. The development of a comedy is dangerous.”
Have you ever felt like a black sheep, like in the film?
«The comedian lives in the dilemma of incomprehension. Sometimes he is more dangerous when they understand you. Comedy comes from inadequacy.”
Life begins at 70, Anna Galiena says in the film.
«Life begins when you are born. Each of us has a more beautiful season. Mine was at 24 years old. I came from a theater tour in the province of Naples which hadn’t gone well, it wasn’t sold out. A theater organizer told me: you have talent but people don’t follow you. He made a spark. With the next one, Fiesta, I did 300 performances, including the stadium.”
Is today’s Neapolitan different from yesterday’s?
«There has been a big change. In the distant past it had an accommodating lightness. In the post-war period there was survival, cunning. Eduardo inserted the thoughtful Neapolitan, who listens to what is happening. With Troisi the Neapolitan there was doubt, I remember his continuations that is. I try to put everything together.”
Have you ever thought about leaving Naples?
“Never. Today it is an amplified city. The downs are no longer shady but tourist corners. The loss of identity is a risk of every metropolis. In Naples I still feel a beautiful carnal anarchy.”
He will be on tour directing the musical Mare Fuori.
«I spoke with the creators of the record series. It is successful because it speaks to young people. And he is without heroes: he is not a criminal. I asked myself: if the two protagonists hadn’t fallen into crime, what life would they have had? I looked for a glimmer of optimism in a story that wasn’t mine. But let’s talk about a drama. Many young people on stage call me dad.”
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December 20, 2023 (modified December 20, 2023 | 9.11 pm)
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