Provincia Meccanica remembers Antonioni's "Deserto Rosso" for the theme of spaced out (human) beings, and the inability to suit the present society. Marco (Accorsi) is an industrial worker, married with Silvia (Cervi) with a daughter. The hardships complicate themselves when Silvia, mentally instable (only hungry of love, in reality) leaves home with the child (afraid to lose the custody), and in the meantime, Marco hosts a foreign sailor who helped him to repair the car after an accident. Learning from their errors, during the Nove Colli (nine hills) walking race, they'll discover again to be a family.
Ravenna, where Provincia Meccanica is located, is the city where Antonioni filmed "Il grido" and "Deserto Rosso". Pictured as a noisy, industrial and dark city, Ravenna is actually a city with 6 UNESCO sites and a graceful town.
Stefano Mordini, a young, Romagna's native director, builds a heavy story, showing the hypocrites in the trade unions (and not the saviors for the workers), and the errors of the welfare officials (ruthless especially with poor people).
Adding the good acting of the actors, and the evocative (dark, melancholy) landscapes took by Mordini, with a story that could fit a lot of submerged family tragedies, a 7 isn't even enough. I usually like dramatic films instead of comedies, so I liked it; the large public should have understood it a bit more, though. Underrated.
My vote: 7,5 / 10
