It was the “most beautiful speech in the world” on the right to happiness, given by the former Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica to the United Nations, which inspired the setting of Rocco Papaleo’s new directorial effort, Onda su onda [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], which was shot almost entirely in Montevideo. Part buddy movie, part romantic comedy, this story both bittersweet and musical, like his previous works, is hitting Italian cinemas today. “I had to see this nation, which had produced a head of state like this, for myself”, Papaleo explained, “and I discovered a simple yet proud country, sandwiched between the two giants that are Brazil and Argentina, and reminding me of my own little Italian region of Basilicata”.

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The Lucanian director’s fascination with the South American capital can clearly be seen in the film, as it takes in passages, landscapes, signs from old food and drink joints, and then the port, cranes and skyscrapers. Set against this decadent metropolis - which we enter into after a prologue spent aboard a ship which introduces us to the two protagonists - we follow the dry-land adventures of Ruggero Chiaromonte and Gegè Cristofori (Alessandro Gassmann and the director himself), the former a reserved ship’s cook with a passion for books and the latter an exuberant but disgraced singer. Two men, lonely and frustrated in their own ways, who will be forced, in spite of themselves, to spend time together.

Written by the director with his close friend Valter Lupo, in league with Federica Pontremoli, the script is well-thought-out and isn’t short on dramatic plot twists: Gegè is due to perform in Montevideo, but he suddenly loses his voice and has to find a replacement so as not to lose face. Ruggero offers to sing in his place, and thus begins a pantomime rife with identity-swaps and lessons on how to hold a microphone charismatically in order to win over the beautiful and much-admired organiser of the event, Gilda Mandarino (Argentine actress Luz Cipriota). But the latter isn’t quite who she says she is either.

Following on from Basilicata Coast to Coast [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Rocco Papaleo
fiche film] and A Small Southern Enterprise [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], the themes of journeys and personal redemption are back once again to add flavour to Papaleo’s particular universe, alongside a stylish soundtrack: “In all my stories, I start out with a musical offering”, the director explains. “[…] this time, the title is a super-homage to Paolo Conte, who I love like an uncle”. Wes Anderson, Aki Kaurismaki and the Coen brothers are Papaleo’s strongest reference points for his poetic realism, “directors who try to be funny in rarefied settings, who can be ironic and melancholy simultaneously”. A tender Massimiliano Gallo also stars in the cast, as a captain who’s afraid of drowning. Produced by Warner Bros Entertainment Italia, Indiana and Less Is More, Onda su onda is being distributed in 330 Italian cinemas from today, courtesy of Warner.