Il supplente

Some artistic ability should go into a short, but this story of a boring obnoxious rich guy who goes into a classroom and pretends to be a substitute teacher has no such artistry.

He humiliates students, as some teachers I have known in the past, do, and then goes to his job.

The students may be real enough. They don't seem real, though, as it begins with a young school boy getting along well with a gorgeous girl, then ogling at a relatively pale and plain girl who walks by. Surreal perhaps, but not at all realistic.

The obnoxious title character has no value, and we never care about him, or the other characters. None of them are amusing. None of them are interesting.

Total garbage.

"Il Supplente" is a comedy short movie released in 2007, that stars Andrea Jublin as a substitute teacher in an Italian secondary school. Andrea Jublin, who also is the director of the movie, plays the lead role as a substitute teacher who must face a whole group of noisy teenagers. In the classroom, there are two teenagers that appear more than once: a boy, who is always asking for his ball signed by Del Piero, and a girl, who is always writing poems. The plot is about a substitute teacher who gets into a disordered classroom of teenagers to take the control and humiliate(in my opinion) the students. The film is really funny and has a lot of humor in all the different situations that it presents. The film has a good opening scene, just in the moment when the teacher gets in the classroom and confiscates the first little thing he sees: a little blue ball, that is signed by the Italian football player, Del Piero. This short movie takes place in a secondary school in Rome, Italy, and it has pretty good acting. The chosen place to film it is good, too, and I really liked the script.

Although it was nominated for academy awards, Italian short film "The Substitute" does not have the right stuff to be called an entertaining film. It has some moments of megalomania but they do not help much to attract viewers. This film's primary concern is the depiction of an 'Italian nation' especially its young people. This is something which can divide viewers' opinions. Those who consider Italy as a corrupt country are likely to see their joy getting doubled as too many irresponsible Italian youngsters have been shown in the film. They present a highly negative image of the Italian nation due to their lack of manners and claim to an irresponsible behavior. This would not be the same story with people who appreciate Italy as a land of culture. They would be able to observe how important football is for Italian youngsters in all places including a classroom. It is due to the grandiose arrival of a 'substitute teacher' that the film changes its trajectory. Alas, everything is spoiled as actor Andrea Jublin overacts as well as overreacts even when he has been credited as the film's director. This is something which irritates viewers to such a large extent that they do not bother to ask how an outsider has gained entry into a school as a substitute teacher ?

I also saw this at a screening of the Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts. I've only seen one or two other films in my life that have made me laugh this much; people in the theater were still laughing until well after credits. The energy and expressiveness of the actor who plays the teacher were a joy to watch, and the students also play their roles marvelously. The initial surprise is followed up by many more, and the unexpected jumps in the plot only add to the enjoyment. The whole thing is a fun new twist on the theme of trying to hold on to the creativity and joyfulness of childhood in the adult world.

On the off-chance that an Italian teacher is reading this, I'd highly recommend using this in class!

We saw the Oscar nominated shorts at our local Indie theater and loved them. The short films don't get enough credit. If they were shown more frequently I feel they would give budding artists a chance to display their work and people would come to see them. If they could get them shown before regular releases then more audiences would enjoy and be able to see them also.

This short was by far my favorite of all of them. I am just hoping at some point this will be available on Youtube or somewhere so we can watch it again. Does anyone know how to get it on video? I loved it and so did my husband. It was genius. It's not fair that I can't find it online so I can share with others. We will then watch for this writer/director to do other work. The main character was a great actor too. The whole idea was fun and inventive. Comedies never get the respect they deserve.