21/01/2009

Umberto Spinazzola’s L'Ultimo Crodino [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“The Last Crodino”), which closed the Premieres section of the festival Per il cinema italiano in Bari, is based on real events from 2001.

A few weeks after the death of banker Enrico Cuccia, two debt-ridden, bumbling thieves stole his coffin from the cemetery of a small town on Lake Maggiore where he was buried, and ransomed it the family. The attempted crime, in which even the secret service became involved, ended with the arrests of both men, who were mistaken for terrorists.

The movie, starring Ricky Tognazzi, Enzo Iacchetti and Serena Autieri, is reminiscent of other tragicomic films based on true events, such as Holy Tongue and ...e se domani, and is also a "tribute to the commedia all’italiana", according to Iacchetti. "The two men resemble the thieves of Mario Monicelli’s Big Deal on Madonna St.".

Mikado is set to distribute the film domestically on March 27 although the director says the release date may be moved up to February.

(Translated from Italian)