Zoran, mi sobrino tonto

This tiny movie made in a remote corner of Italy that basically even Italians don't really know is a delight. You know exactly what's going to happen plot-wise, but you still enjoy every bizarre minute of the ride: the absolutely realistic characters (Roberto Citran's prim and proper 'nice husband' with a nervous streak, the assorted drunkards in the Osteria...), the absurdist humour, young Zoran's Buster Keaton- ish demeanour. Giuseppe Battiston, the protagonist, is a big star in Italy and I hope his "bastard with a heart of gold" character shines through even to people who don't speak Italian. His charisma equals his constantly expanding girth. I actually *clapped* at his five-minutes monologue at the psychiatrist's, which I have the feeling he improvised on the spot, just loving the crescendo he was building. The whole movie is a no-budget piece of bravura and a great debut for the director; I'm looking forward to his next movie.

Paolo is a ne'er-do-well living in northern Italy, unhappily working in the kitchen of a retirement home, drinking as much locally fermented wine as he can get, and exploiting everyone he knows for whatever he can get (wine, food, sex, shelter from the police who are always trying to tag him with a DUI). Finally the police catch up with him, but only to tell him that his aunt in Slovenia has died. Paolo immediately drives across the border to Slovenia only to find that the aunt left him nothing but her ashes, a life-size porcelain dog, and five days with a 16-year-old nephew named Zoran who is bound for an institution.

In those five days, Paolo discovers that Zoran has a talent for darts: he never misses the bullseye. Paolo smells money in this nephew that he really doesn't like or want. But Paolo does want money, so he wraps increasingly ambitious schemes around Zoran's talents although he can't quite seem to get Zoran's name right.

This is a charming story about redemption with family, friends, and life. Can a scoundrel like Paolo find enough value in friendship and love to reform? Ah well, this is a fable. Maybe yes. Maybe no.

We saw this movie at Cinequest 2014 in San Jose, CA.