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BIF&ST 2017

La ragazza dei miei sogni: a mix of love and spiritualism

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- The second work by Saverio Di Biagio is an urban fantasy which had its premiere at the Bari Bif&st as an out-of-competition special event

La ragazza dei miei sogni: a mix of love and spiritualism
Miriam Giovanelli and Primo Reggiani in La ragazza dei miei sogni

The title could be misleading and make you think the film is romantic. And to some extent that is exactly what La ragazza dei miei sogni [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Saverio Di Biagio is, but there comes a point when it swerves towards a genre you don’t expect. The second work by the writer of Qualche nuvola [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 (Venice Film Festival 2011, Controcampo Italiano section), opens on an unfulfilled and slightly clumsy man in his thirties looking for the love of his life, and then transforms into a story of magic, demons and spiritualism. “My last film was a social comedy and I wanted to take on the challenge of something that seemed far from that”, explained the director, as he presented his new film in its world premiere at the 8th Bif&st in Bari as an out-of-competition special event, before it is released in theatres next Thursday.

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The film, which is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Francesco Dimitri, who also wrote the screenplay, keeps the suspense at an all-time high for most of its duration. Who is this woman who suddenly appears in the dreams of the protagonist? Can fantasy become reality? Why are so many people dying in their sleep? P. (Primo Reggiani) is secretly in love with his friend Margherita (Chiara Gensini), and dreams of her often. One night though, he dreams of another girl, who he’s never seen before. The same girl who he then happens to start passing in the street: her name is Sofia (Miriam Giovanelli) and she’s beautiful, sweet and mysterious. The two start seeing one another and fall in love. But an old friend of P., Alessandro (Nicolas Vaporidis), who he also bumps into after years of not seeing him and is into the occult and tarot cards, warns him off the girl: nothing is as it seems and behind her charm could lurk a fatal trap.

The film plays heavily on ambiguity: what’s real and what’s make believe? Who are the people around us? Are we sure we really know them? You can be betrayed by a friend (the cast also features Marco Rossetti in the role of P.’s lady-killer roommate), the person you love can hurt you, the fantasies that play out in your head can turn against you. An intriguing aspect of the story that is somewhat lost in the last part of the film when the occult takes over, with its corollary of rituals, magical spells and strange extras, and when what seems to be heading towards the thriller genre takes a definitive turn towards the esoteric. A fantasy that plays out in an urban dimension, in the middle of traffic and bars, docks and dark alleys (the film was shot in Apulia, in Bari and the surrounding area), and without the usual special effects: an unusual setting that is carefully constructed (“We wove together a city that doesn’t exist, found views and streets in Bari’s old town, Molfetta, Giovinazzo and Bisceglie, and made a collage with all the pieces”, explained the director) for a film that is brave and features some strong performances, and deserved a less vague screenplay in some parts, especially at the end.

La ragazza dei miei sogni was produced by Corrado Azzollini for Draka Production in partnership with Seven Dreams and with the support of the Apulia Film Commission. The film will be distributed by Draka Distribution on 27 April 2017, in a hundred or so copies.

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(Translated from Italian)

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