22/04/2009

"My name is Matteo and I’m a cliché", says the protagonist of Massimo Venier’s Generazione Mille Euro [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“Generation 1000 Euros”). He is a young man with a precarious job, like countless others, "one of those that makes people shake their heads when they appear on TV".

Produced by Andrea Leone Films and RAI Cinema, the film is being released in Italy on April 24 by 01 Distribution.

Despite the timely and pressing subject matter, the film by Venier, known for having directed comic trio Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo is a comedy. "I like finding a balance between many tones – comical, sentimental and social – but I wanted the latter to stay in the background and be relatively light,” he said "I depicted moments of our current situation without any pretence of offering answers to the problems.”

The story of Matteo (Alessandro Tiberi), a 30-year-old maths graduate who works in the marketing office of a telecommunications company about to cut back on personnel, is based on the eponymous novel, which began as a blog, by Antonio Incorvaia and Alessandro Rimassa. "We used several of the book’s stories, without betraying its narrative line, revealing its less self-pitying sides, blending sarcasm and optimism,” said screenwriter Federica Pontremoli.

The result is a fresh and entertaining film, less dramatic than Paolo Virzì’s Her Whole Life Ahead [+see also:
trailer
film profile] of last year. This is in part due to the spot-on dialogue and the likeability of the actors flanking Tiberi: Francesco Mandelli, Matteo’s best friend and a movie theatre projectionist; Valentina Lodovini, the new roommate with whom Matteo falls in love; co-worker Francesco Brandi; and Carolina Crescentini, the charming boss of the marketing office where Matteo works, who will push him to reflect upon his future and make certain choices.

(Translated from Italian)