28/03/2003

“Of course it’s slightly scary to be here presenting a comedy at a time like this, but, I think that it’s always good to laugh and forget about our darker thoughts.” Director Daniele Luchetti’s words falls somewhere between the facetious and the seriously preoccupied and were uttered “confidentially” to a group of friends prior to the press screening of his latest feature, Dillo con parole mie (Say It With My Words).
Comedy is precisely the right definition of this fresh and light story that comes after a five-year silence from the man who made Il Portaborse and Piccoli Maestri, and it’s also a change of register. Luchetti appears to have (re)discovered the pleasure of laughter and humour. Stefania Montorsi, who also wrote the screenplay with Ivan Cotroneo as well as starring in this film with Giampaolo Morelli and newcomer Martina Merlino, came up with the idea for Dillo con parole mie. It is about a woman in her early thirties, who’s just broken up with her boyfriend after seven years, and is the aunt of a 15-year-old girl desperate to lose her virginity. They decide that the solution to both their problems is a holiday on the Greek island of Ios, during which each gets to know the other much better. The aunt also re-examines her failed love story while the teen falls for a man who’s much too old for her.
Produced by Conchita Airoldi for Urania Studio Canal and distributed by Medusa, Dillo con parole mie is scheduled for its domestic release on 4 April.
“I really like the idea of making a film that was so very different to my past work,” confessed Luchetti. “I enjoyed turning traditional Italian comedy on its head. Usually it’s the men who get together and talk about sex; I did that with a fifteen-year-old and a woman in her thirties.” This is a cross-generational film that compares the prevailing credos of the eighties with those of the 21st century. The film is also full of hilarious misadventures and misunderstandings underlined by some great dialogue. “I really wanted to get away from anything with a political connotation, even though the older woman in this film did grow up during the disenchanted eighties,” added Luchetti. “The teen isn't into politics or culture either: she is driven by a raging hormonal storm. I wanted the characters to represent themselves and not their respective generations. Comedy is an act of love between the audience and the director that only works when the public enjoys itself.”

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(Translated from Italian)