L'amministratore

This documentary, mostly of hand-held closeups, follows a manager of several residential buildings in Naples as he deals with the complaints,squabbles and laments of several residents, all of whom have strong and distinctive personalities. There is no script, no voice-over and no actors.

The manager — a charming, empathetic 60-ish fellow trained as a lawyer — functions as a mediator, peacemaker, and cajoler. The buildings he manages range from a neglected and subdivided old villa whose prime tenants no longer speak to one another (two brothers of noble origin, fallen on hard times) to decrepit apartment houses in rough, and mobby neighborhoods, whose residents have trouble making their meager monthly payments. A film following the workdays of a building manager doesn't sound terribly promising as a premise, but thanks to the colorful characters, and the affectionate rendering of their often-difficult personalities, this film is really alive and moving. The subtitles are complete and reasonably literal, but knowledge of Naples, of Italian, and especially of the Neapolitan dialect, will deliver depth and nuances that no subtitles can fully convey.

But that shouldn't discourage English-only viewers: my companion, who speaks no Italian, loved the movie as much as I did.