Les opportunistes

Although not always for people involved or those who actually want to make a lot of it. Then there are others who just don't care about it (having a lot of it might add to that secure feeling of course). This movie is about getting rich, about getting into families, about greed and about human behavior in general.

In the beginning I thought this was going to be simple. And in a way I guess it is simple. But the way the movie works (the structure, the backtracking, the seeing things from a different perspective and so on) could and might suggest otherwise. You might feel a bit annoyed seeing a couple of things "twice", but in the grand scheme of it all, it will make sense in the end ... although some decisions are so bad, you do wonder why they were taken in the first place ... still nicely told.

I have always been struck by the sentence in F. Scott Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY (1925) used to describe Tom and Daisy Buchanan as "destructive" in the sense that they have a lot of money, but that renders then totally indifferent to human suffering, especially that of the eponymous hero.

Through the ingenious of three interlinked stories, each depicting the same incident, Paolo Virzi's film achieved a similar effect. A man is knocked off his bicycle on Christmas Eve by someone driving an SUV; the action leading up to and including that incident over the previous six months is narrated from Dino Ossola's (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) perspective, from that of his daughter Serena (Matilde Gioli) and that of their rich acquaintance's wife Carla (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi). The story is relatively straightforward, involving Carla's husband Giovanni (Fabrizio Gifuni), her son Massimiliano (Guglielmo Pinelli), and a young man wrongfully accused of drug possession who has received psychiatric counseling (Gigio Alberti).

What we learn from the narrative is how Giovanni lives an affluent existence that renders him totally insensible to the sufferings of others. He believes that money can buy anything, even justice. We see him mostly in interior sequences, in a rich-looking house surrounded by guests. Carla believes there is more to life than simply money, but apparently cannot countermand her husband's will. Money produces servility. Massimiliano has the same indifference to others as his father; so long as he has the chance to sleep in his own bed and enjoy driving his new "beast" - the SUV involved in the accident - then his existence is fulfilled.

Morally speaking. Dino's existence is not much better, as he invests €700,000 in one of Giovanni's schemes and loses virtually nine- tenths of his capital. In revenge he tries to blackmail Carla for €900,000 plus a kiss; the fact that this scene takes place in a theater underlines the theme of the film, that these people are merely performing in life, rather than trying to understand its vicissitudes.

In plot-terms, HUMAN CAPITAL can be approached as a murder-mystery, as we are led down various blind alleys until we discover who actually killed the cyclist. In thematic terms, however, the film is far more preoccupied with showing the depths to which people can sink in their attempts to avoid confronting the truth about their existences and live instead in their financial bubbles, both mental as well as tangible.

"Human Capital" (2013 release from Italy; 110 min.) brings the story of two families, whose fates are so different yet intertwined. As the movie opens, we see a staff person bike home late at night after having worked at a big event of some sort. We also see a speeding SUV and the SUV appears to accidentally hit the biker, but doesn't stop. Whoa! Who was that? What just happened? After the opening credits, we are told we are "Six Months Earlier - Chapter 1 - Dino" and we get to know a number of characters: there is Dino, the real estate guy whose daughter Serena is dating Massimiliano, the son of a hedge-fund manager. Dino convinces the latter to let him buy in, but soon regrets doing so when the market tanks. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: first, this is the big screen version of American author Stephen Amidon's acclaimed 2005 novel of the same name. How often do you see a big screen adaptation of an American novel that is made abroad, rather than in the US? Director Paolo Virzi transposes the story from Connecticut to Northern Italy very nicely, and along the way adds other elements to make this his own story. Second, the movie works on different levels: there is the immediate question as to what exactly happened at that hit-and-run late night accident (?). Then there is the social commentary about today's society and the influence of money on people (keep in mind: this is Italy, where they have been going through a Great Recession for YEARS now). The movie is split into 4 chapters, and we rehash more or less the same events from different people's perspectives (Dino, Carla, Serena). It's a technique that has been used before, but when executed well, as in this movie, it elevates the movie, as you discover new details in each new perspective of the same events. Last but not least, the movie features a great ensemble cast (there are about 7 or 8 key characters to keep track of). Bottom line: this is a movie that caught my attention from start to finish.

This movie is the May, 2015 release of Film Movement's on-going DVD Of the Month club. No idea why a 2013 release only now gets exposed to US audiences but better late than never I suppose. As always, the Film Movement DVD comes with a number of bonus materials, including an okay "making of", but far better is the bonus shortie. This time we get "Job Interview", an excellent 9 min. shortie from Germany about a woman (Lisa) being interviewed by another woman for a job. Just watch! Meanwhile, "Human Capital" is a worthwhile addition to Film Movement's ever-growing library of foreign and indie movies. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The Human Capital is a different and strange thriller by Paolo Virzì. Characters are introduced in a new world characterized by unsustainable pressure of life, in which the characters alternate between what they are and what they would be. The general framework of daily life is lost sight of when it happens a fact that upsets all the characters, which will be connected by a thin line of conjunction. The main event is unfortunately not strong enough to define all the subject of the film. The film with his conclusion leave the viewer with a feeling of lightness failing to make the film the masterpiece that everyone says. I appreciate the kind of change faced by Virzi, he has created a film based on the thriller by leaving the style of comedy that so far he had faced.

Greetings again from the darkness. The financial crisis-manslaughter-class warfare-thriller from novelist Stephen Amidon shifts from Connecticut (in the book) to just outside of Milan for director Paolo Verzi's look at class and character. A term used by insurance companies to calculate the value of a human life in settlement cases, "human capital" carries even more meaning in this twisted tale of greed and broken dreams.

After an opening sequence that shows an off-duty waiter getting knocked from his bicycle by a swerving SUV in the dark of night, the story is divided into chapters that provide the various perspectives of different characters affected by this hit-and-run. Dino (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) is a middle-class real estate business owner whose girlfriend (the too rarely seen Valeria Golino) is pregnant with twins, and his daughter Serena (Matilde Gioli) is dating a private school classmate Massimiliano (Guglielmo Pinelli) who comes from the upper crest Bernaschi family that is living the dream thanks to the dad's (Fabrizio Gifuni) hedge-fund success.

It's easy to see how the lives of these two families become intertwined, and how a few other characters are also affected, but the real joy here is in getting to know each through their own actions. Dino desperately wants a taste of the finer things in life, and risks everything by fraudulently obtaining a bank loan in order to buy into Bernaschi's hedge fund. His wife Roberta is a trusting and pure-hearted woman who accepts her place in society and warmly looks forward to being a new mom. Their daughter Serena proves to be the best judge of character and soon enough boots the spoiled kid Massimiliano to the curb, while connecting with the artistic and misunderstood Luca (Giovanni Anzaldo), though even Serena's moral compass shows its cracks.

Bernaschi is a smooth operator and the perfect face for a hedge fund so dependent on the financial collapse of its own country. His wife Carla (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) is a lost soul … enjoying the perks of a wealthy lifestyle, but still holding on to her artistic dreams of youth. Life as a trophy wife is evidently not so fulfilling for those with their own aspirations. Their son Massimiliano, as you might imagine, is unable to live up to the expectations of his father, and frequently handles his perceived lack of parental attention by over-boozing at every opportunity.

This film was Italy's submission to the Academy in the Best Foreign Language category, but unfortunately did not make the final cut. It is rich in texture and remarkable in its ability to convey depth in so many characters. The basic story has some similarities to the film 21 Grams, in that we witness the many ways in which people handle crisis. In this case, the mystery of the initial sequence is left unsolved until near the end, but there are so many personal "fork in the road" moments, that solving the case of the cyclist death somehow doesn't monopolize our thoughts.

Excellent acting throughout allows us to connect with each of the key characters, and especially worth noting are Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Matilde Gioli. Ms. Gioli is a newcomer with a bright future. She brings believability and strength to a teenager role that would more typically be over-the-top or one-dimensional in the hands of a lesser actress. Even more impressive is the performance from Ms. Bruni Tedeschi who perfectly captures the heartbreak of a woman living a life others can only dream about, while her own dreams are but shadows from the past.

With source material from a U.S. novelist, and subject matter involving the 1% and crisis of conscience, it's not difficult to imagine an American remake, but this version is highly recommended for those who enjoy a multi-faceted dramatic thriller.