This delicate and heartwarming new italian dramedy is a welcome surprise from seasoned producers Groenlandia (a fashionable moniker these days:). Behind the studio are 2 very skilled directors in their forties, producers and writers: roman Matteo Rovere, more action inclined ("Primo Re" a muscular retelling of the "Romulus & Remus legend that competes with Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto"; recent serie "Super Sex" about the italian stallion Rocco Siffredi; etc) and selftaught napolitan partner and wunderkind Sidney Sibilia who has a special feel for surprising comedy subjects plus an aesthetic talent for vintage looks ("The Island of Roses" about free radio in the '70's; "Mixed by Erri" on 80's bootleg music in Naples; etc). Now despite selling out (like many italian excellences) to a french uber reality tv group, the duo has become a trio, and a new star is born: former struggling actress GRETA SCARANO (married to Sibilia) brings with LA VITA DA GRANDI (Growing Up) an apt feminine touch with this endearing comedy about a generation Z young woman (perfect Matilda De Angelis) forced to come home for a week in winter to the resort town of Rimini to look after her older autistic brother (scene-stealing Yuri Tuci: a talented actor with some real autism)...Omar is kind, wise, direct ("people think we autists don't like people, but it is not so: sometimes we stay apart to do our own thing, like everybody else"), who keeps secrets: he loves driving, very slowly, and escapes at night to sing Trap at amateurs' nights while dreaming of a big Talent show; that's where his reluctant sister is needed!
The film is based on 2 real characters that briefly appear in the end credits, like in Untouchables. It is dream Remake material, eventhough it could be a risk to lose the proximity, the authenticity and the original writing and directing talent showcased here by Greta Scarano, who brightly joins a recent wave of italian women filmmakers.
