Patagonia

Shot in Abruzzo, "Patagonia" is director Simone Bozzelli's first feature film. Thanks to its two strong points, good acting and beautiful visual aesthetics (colours, light, landscapes), the film has a unique atmosphere. The story mainly takes place within a travelling community. We follow the complex relationship between Yuri, a naive young man with a slight mental handicap, and Agostino, an enigmatic clown who becomes his mentor. Alternately charmed and humiliated, Yuri suffers and so did I. Some of the scenes are indeed harrowing. I felt uneasy about this exploration of toxic human relationships and the ending did not convince me.

Patagonia is a bit misleading, as the film is Italian, set in Abruzzo and does not take us to Patagonia. That's maybe a hint about the fact that life is journey and the destination is either an illusion or an unrealistic goal.

Yuri is a neurodivergent young man who is bored with his life until he meets with a clown, Ago, who seems to be free, nonconformist, and very assertive about his vision and values. Ago becomes the figure of temptation and Yuri follows him, experiencing a bohemian lifestyle and a deep bond with Ago.

The relationship between Ago and Yuri is probably the main topic of the film: it is certainly toxic, as Ago is a possessive and manipulative man who needs hurt Yuri and clips his wings. Some scenes are hard to watch because they portray abuse in a realistic way. As a nomadic clown who needs to be very social but feels very lonely and misunderstood, Ago resonates with Zampano in La Strada and with the Magician in Thomas Mann's novella Mario and the Magician.

Ago's darkness meets with Yuri's vulnerability, but also resilience and idealism, triggering a tumultuous love with passion, fear, and lessons learnt in a painful way.

Both actors give an amazing performance and the region Abruzzo is beautifully represented. The film is raw, poetic, and highly disturbing. I am very impressed to know that it's the director's first feature.

Yuri is a 19 years old man in the care or his aunts. Ingenuous, he is seduced by an entertainer at the party for the birthday of his cousin.

The invitation of entertainer, Agostino, young man, manipulative, cruel, cynic, egocentric, using , humilating Yuri , their travel and life in an artists camp, the baby of Agostino and the status of babysitter of Yuri , thelure for keep near him of Agostino and the rebelion when the lure is only a lie are pieces of fair remind of simple, basic truths , precise defined, beautiful crafted, defining the transformation of a naif young man and the seduction of liberty represented by an egocentric guy burning all what can connect him with past.

The final, against good intentions, seems, for me, unrealistic. Beautiful acting of Andrea Fuorto , inspired use of nuances defining Agostino by Augusto Mario Russi and touching portrait of Alma.proposed by Elettra Dallimore Mallaby, not ignoring the work of Alexander Benigni.

Yuri is 19. He's the family urchin, and nobody, even his little nephews don't take him seriously. His aunt treats him kindly, but ever like a little child.

Agostino is a wandering children's entertainer. His charm to his audience leans more towards certain charisma and subtle manipulation rather than harmless humour and slapstick. Consciously or not, he instantly knows, from Yuri's eyes full of nervous fascination to him, that he can easily have Yuri under his control. Whenever Yuri seems to slip away, Agostino tightens his grip - when Yuri gets close to another guy Morgan, Agostino masturbates Yuri, and whispers, "Does Morgan do this for you too?" in the secure knowledge only he could do that to Yuri.

In a lot of regards, 'Patagonia' reminds me of Fellini's La Strada... except it's somewhat more intense and stickier. Yuri is not entirely pure and passive as Gelsomina. He has his needs, he has his wants, he gradually starts to think for himself. When Yuri finally stands up for himself, we see Agostino is not entirely a cold manipulator. After all he is just as lonely and lost figure, who, if in a very twisted way, needs somebody next to him too.

My biggest compliment goes to Fuorto who portrayed Yuri so convincingly. Right from the first scene, we see the close up shot of his eyes, and his eyes capture Yuri's constantly fleeting nervousness, desire, confusion and pain. Russi's Agostino is by nature not quite as detailed, but his charismatic performance balances Fuorto's Yuri very well.

It is not an entirely comfortable watch considering how exploiting their relationship is. But if you put the moral judgement aside, and just focus on the character's emotional journey, I'm sure you'll find something to appreciate from this work.

Yuri is a twenty year-old boy who lives a cocooned life with his elderly aunts in a small provincial town in central Italy which is his whole world. At a birthday party he meets Agostino, a wandering entertainer and children's charmer, who promises him the independence that Yuri didn't know he was looking for. Dreaming of the freedom of Patagonia, the two set off on a journey of self-determination that will transform into a frenzy of control and imprisonment. The movie is a reflection on relationships, on how "toxic" love can be and on how much, in the same way, it can help people get to know each other and grow up; it's a reflection on bonds and on freedom, on what it really means to be free; this story of discovery, of sexuality and of their own way of being together, different from all the others, is told in an intense and effective way.