Bus de nuit

At the center of the exchange of a compromising microchip between opposing factions of secret agents, an unwanted thief and an impassioned chauffeur put in without wanting it. Between vicissitudes, deceptions and various pursuits, they will end up sharing their solitude and ... a great sum of money. Marengo debuts in the long run with a caricaturist metropolitan noir film that mimics the film with the sweetness of Mazzacurati master: the mirage of a different life for two lonely souls fleeing the past failures and the indigence of the present. The spy-story that is the background to the story is obviously a thin pretext that triggers around the subject of a postage stamp controversy, the tragicomic events of a stunning gallery of comic book characters that may arise as between professional failures and personal dissatisfaction, Up to the epilogue of an unlikely story of misunderstood feelings and disputed booties. If the parody of a mix of import registers that would like to contaminate action and reflection is poorly suited to the low quality of our screenwriters, the film shapes more on the side of a frayed and predictable action and the inconsistency of two- dimensional characters that reproduce so many stereotypes Of the overseas cinema: from the secret agent of a lonely Ennio Fantastichini to the bully with the golden heart of a corny Mario Rivera, from the dark lady of a two-bit Giovanna Mezzogiorno to the loser by the sad charm of a lazy Valerio Mastandrea. To make matters worse, the ridiculous overacting of an irritating Francesco Pannofino whirring and agitating throughout the film in the unusual attempt to play the card of a comedy over the lines to counter the unhappy sadness of sophisticated blues atmospheres. In the final, even the arithmetic game of a double cross between destiny fathers and prodigal sons with Cleopatra's complex in the unsatisfied reunion of an appointment for life ... or for death. All wasted effort, including the beautiful soundtrack of a talented Daniele Silvestri and two bus of the ATAC that were destroyed during the scene of the night-time pursuit between urban wreckage. Two nominations to David, two Silver Ribbons and one Golden Globe for an Italian-Polish production that spends three and picks one; Even here unfortunately the accounts end up not coming back at all.

"Hey, you hear the buses at night with certain broken mechanisms do Too much noise ... nobody is looking for anyone waiting for them Even the driver tell me ... what he does"

The spirit of 'Diva' hovers over this debut feature by the young Italian director Davide Marengo, which, like Jean-Jacques Beineix's classic 1981 first film neatly earns the designation, comedy/thriller/romance. In 'Diva' two sets of rival heavies were looking for a pirated tape of a recording-shy opera singer, whose innocent maker falls in with a guru named Gorodish and his cute Vietnamese girlfriend. There's a nasty cop involved in a crime ring too, but nobody can resist the devices of Gorodish, the smartest guru who ever puffed cigars in a free-standing bath tub.

Would that 'Night Bus,' which revolves around a similarly intense treasure hunt, were as clear as 'Diva,' or took the time to linger as satisfyingly over its main characters, soaking up their charisma and cruising their nifty pads. There's a lot of running around in Marengo's plot (adopted from the eponymous novel by Giampiero Rigosi) and the result isn't as satisfying and debonair as the little novel by Delacorta Beineix worked from. But Night Bus still has fun with its wistful romances; and its double-double-crosses provides a fun ride.

This time there's no Diva. Instead the prize is a microchip worth a lot of money to some shady foreign billionaire. It's fallen into the hands of somebody shady--a barman named Andrea (Ivan Franek). Almost immediately, a soulful young woman who lives by her wits named Leila (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) steals it from Andrea. She's pursued by two heavies who're on the trail, Diolaiti (Roberto Citran) and Garofano (Francesco Pannofino), and, losing her shoes and her wallet and her composure to the chase, she pals up with Franz (Valerio Mastandrea), driver of a night bus to Rome airport. Franz is a lonely guy. He's also a former philosophy student ("an intellectual!" exclaims Leila) who owes a big gambling debt to his old pal Titti (Mario Rivera). Meanwhile, working for a mysterious billionaire whose face we never see is a sophisticated, but also like Franz lonely, ex-cop called Carlo Matera (Ennio Fantastichini). Matera is in constant touch with the billionaire, as one of the heavies is in touch with his boss and his wife and mom, each of whom has a comical identifying cellphone ring. Matera has $4 to pay for the microchip, which needless to say is an important detail.

Well, that's about enough, but I have to tell you that Carlo is engineering a reunion with an old flame (Anna Romantowska) whom he regrets jilting long ago. She was too revolutionary for him. I wouldn't say like the Variety reviewer that this is "a major detour." This movie, after all, is one "major detour" after another: Matera's reunion rhymes nicely with Franz and Leila's tentative attraction of opposites. It's just that, as I said, things are never as neat as Delacorte's and Beineix's 'Diva,' and it would be much nicer if they were.

Marengo and everybody involved has a good time. The music is a bit obvious, but it does the right things at the right times and highlights the sense of fun. The movie tries a little too hard in its look and its content to rival American thriller romances, particularly in a chase sequence involving two buses that feels clumsy and unnecessary, though at least it rides along with the bus theme and helps build Franz's cowardly lion persona. The latter sequences, in which there are more double-crosses and escapes and we're held in suspense to the last minute over whether the couple will run off together or not, do not disappoint. The closing credits, in which evidently everybody who worked on the film and some of their children march happily out of a bus, again recalls the happy cinema of the Eighties by invoking the early Jonathan Demme.

Shown at the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema series at Lincoln Center in June 2008.

I recently saw this at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival. It's producer Sandro Silvestri was on hand for an audience Q&A following the screening. This is a good action/drama/comedy from Italy. It's fast paced espionage-chase story and simple straight forward story line is almost like an American movie or television movie and one could easily see being remade as an English language film. A Polish billionaire needs a microchip with some important information on it and is willing to pay $4 million Eros to get it. Matera (Ennio Fantastichini), Andrea (Ivan Franek) and Garofano (Francesco Pannofino) and Diolaiti (Roberto Citran) are prepared to battle a violent war against each other to get their hands on the microchip. The microchip ends up in the possession of Leila (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) who enlists the help of Franz (Valerio Mastandrea), a down on his luck bus driver to help her out. This is a strong debut film from director Davide Marengo based on a story by Giampiero Rigosi and adapted for the screen by Fabio Bonifacci. It's nicely photographed by veteran cinematographer Arnaldo Catinari with naturally almost all the scenes shot at night. Some interesting support characters, most memorably Mario Rivera as Titti. This would be pretty appealing to a general audience but it does have some scenes of violence and is by no means an art film. I would give this a 7.5 out of 10 and recommend it.

Finally: a thriller with a sense of humor. Sure, people get killed, but who says that's always a bad thing? A life of crime can be so much fun! Technically speaking, there is a blackmail-based plot here (revolving around a stolen microchip), but this is really an actors' movie. Pretty much all characters are lovable creatures of narrow habit: Bald-headed Trippi, the loan shark who just can't help beating people up on sight. Francesco, Trippi's debtor, an addicted gambler by day and a bus driver by night. Matera, the supposedly hard-headed intelligence veteran, who really has nothing but soft spots. Garofano, the mob's short-tempered bloodhound, who is kept on a very short leash by incoming calls from his boss and his wife, much like Paul Giamatti's Hertz in "Shoot 'Em Up". Finally Leila (aka Serena aka Alessandra), the compulsive liar and habitual thief. Leila goes by more names God himself and is aptly played by the divine Giovanna Mezzogiorno, the Italian Romy Schneider. Dolled up pretty badly in her hooker's personality, she shines all the more brightly when she gives up the gutter gear for a plain T-Shirt and the wig for her real hair to charm Francesco out of his melancholy. Stay for closing credits.

The initial part is quite interesting. The pursuit for the chip is gripping, the actors are some of the best in the Italian film industry and here they work well. The usual problem in Italian films is that there must be always the love story that redeem the bad guy and make him (or her) try to change his (or her) life. No real plot twist, no surprises. Love wins all. If you want to see a noir film really different in Italian film production, check "Senza nessuna pietà" with Pierfrancesco Favino. It will give you a different prospective on Italian films and will wipe away that sense of "already seen".