User reviews

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 would risk losing 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.