Favolacce

Seen at Berlinale 2020, it is a film that looks at the relationships between parents and children. There is a lot going on in this little Italian suburb, but one thing is for sure, the parents make much more noise than the children. It is a story about growing up or never managing to do so. Worth seeing.

It's a good movie. Plot is well worked but they didn't really make the best of it. Dialogues are solid. All together it's a good movie but not as good as it could've been.

My personal favorite of the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival and winner of the Berlinale Bear for best script. The film introduces itself as: A true story inspired by a false story. The false story is not very inspired. Sounds mysterious? It better be, for this is a film enjoyed more the less you know. Okay, I'll give you this much: a dark look at life in the subjrbs outside Rome, where people's aspiration clash with reality. The story of a summer broken down into a sequence of immersive scenes, each containing its own drama and driven by an atmosphere of suspense. All is mostly viewed through the eyes of the kids. Highly recommended! On a side note: this is the second film of the D'Innocenzo Brothers that I've seen, and it is astonishing to observe how much they've matured as film makers and story tellers. Their first film - La Terra de'l abbastanza - had all the pieces but lacked a forceful plot to tie them together. Favolacce deliverd this force, in a unique way.

This Italian Swiss TV coproduction with Sky TV won a screenplay award at the Berlin Film Festival. We saw it in a group of cinephiles. In the discussion afterwards we could not find one reason how this could have been possible. Maybe every other film in the contest was written worse, but that is hard to imagine. Maybe the jury wanted to play a practical joke. Even the narrator in the film apologizes for the senslessness and boredom of these random and badly written script. Any of the scenes could have been replaced with any other. It makes no difference. It was sad to witness how the art of film has deteriorated both in the making and in a venue of appreciation that once held some prestige. Nice cinematography though, one star for that and one for casting.

In an atmosphere shrouded in the gray banality of the Roman outskirts, "Favolacce" by the D'Innocenzo Brothers offers a raw and uncompromising look into the lives of some families grappling with their own frustrations and contradictions. It's not a masterpiece, but rather a film that manages to capture some peculiarities of the human condition with a certain degree of effectiveness. The portrayal of family dynamics, laden with tensions made palpable by tight dialogues and direction unafraid to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche, is one of the film's most intriguing elements. Despite their evident dysfunctionality, the characters manage to evoke a certain empathy in the viewer, thanks also to the strong performances of the cast. However, "Favolacce" is not without its flaws. The narrative, while incisive and direct, risks at times to be too raw and lacking in nuances, leaving little room for the complexity of the characters and their relationships. Some scenes, moreover, might come off as overly verbose or repetitive, diluting the emotional impact of the situations depicted. Nevertheless, the film still manages to keep the viewer engaged until the end, thanks also to its ability to provoke reflections and debates on universal themes such as love, family, and the very meaning of human existence. While not a perfect work, "Favolacce" stands out for its audacity and frankness in depicting the brutality of everyday life, without seeking easy consolations or pre-packaged solutions."Favolacce" proves to be a good film, with its peculiarities and its flaws. Despite not reaching peaks of excellence, it still manages to offer an interesting and provocative look into human nature, inviting the viewer to reflect on their own choices and relationships. A must-see for those in search of an intense and stimulating cinematic experience.