Ci are stories that cross their time. Works that escape the cages of genres and critical labels to impose themselves as totalizing experiences. The art of joyseries in 6 episodes directed by Valeria Golino which debuts today on Sky with the first episode, It is one of these: a sensual and disturbing journey, a story of emancipation and desire who has the magnetic face of Tecla Insolia, perfect in restoring the strength, ambiguity and charm of modest, One of the most controversial heroines of Italian literature.
The art of joysummary of the plot of the Sky series (and the book by Goliarda Sapienza)
The starting material is The cursed novel by Goliarda Sapienza (1924-1996), written between 1967 and 1976 but published in full only in 2008. A work that had to wait decades to be recognized, just as its protagonist had to fight to impose himself in a world that wanted it a slave to pre-packaged rules. Modesta was born very poor in 1900 Sicily, but does not accept misery as a destiny. He soon understands that the body is power, Sex an instrument of affirmation. Pleasure is an escape route from the control imposed by men and institutions.
Golino manages to return this awareness with a direction that does not censor or idealizes the sensuality of modestbut the exhibition as the engine of its social ascent. Desire is not a sin, nor pure sentimental expression: it is strategy, survival, domain. Already in adolescence, welcomed in the convent after a family tragedy, modest experience the power of seduction through the relationship with Mother Leonora, played by an extraordinary Jasmine Trincaperfect in balancing authority and restlessness.
It is the first of a series of relationships that will scan its trajectory: Sapphic love with Beatrice (Alma Noce), the carnal understanding with Carmine (Guido Caprino, charismatic and animali), The wedding of interest with Ippolito (Giovanni Bagnasco), the fragile heir of the noble Brandiforti family.
Modesta’s path is an ascent that challenges conventions: use pleasure as a key to breaking class barriersrefuses the role of victim and moves in a world dominated by men without ever bowing to their rules. Insolia embodies this evolution with impressive naturalness, restoring modest intelligence. Its predatory instinct, its ability to adapt and seduce without ever betraying itself.
Tecla Insolia and Alma Noce in a scene of “The art of joy” (Sky)
The review of The art of joy
Visually, the series embraces a Gothic and sensual aesthetic, alternating shadows and lights, pomp and squalor. The music of Tóti Guðnason surround the scenes in a hypnotic aura, while photography enhances the contrast between the rigor of the convent, the aristocratic decline of the Villa Brandiforti and the inner tumult of the protagonist. Assembly plays with flashbacks and symbolisms, recalling trauma and memory as elements always alive in the modest psyche. If the first part of the series conquers with a compelling and well -rhythmic narrative, in the second the story becomes more dilated. Perhaps with the aim of leaving room for a future continuation.
Nevertheless, The art of joy He never loses his strength: he is a courageous work, which returns the heart rate of the original novel without falling into the trap of a school adaptation. Golino translates the subject of wisdom into a visceral experience, guided by the passions and determination of a protagonist who refuses to be pigeonholed in a univocal definition.
Sensual and ferocious, politics and intimate, The art of joy It is a series that conquers for its courage, its intensity and its extraordinary interpreters. A story that, just like its protagonist, rejects compromises and imposes itself strongly. And leave the mark.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is Princess Gaia. (Sky)
The cast. Who is Tecla Insolia, Modesta’s magnetic face
Born 2004, Tecla Insolia is one of the most promising young actresses on the Italian scene. Born in Varese but raised in Piombino, he initially stands out in the world of music, participating in Sanremo Young in 2019 and then as a finalist among the new proposals of the Sanremo 2020 Festival with the song March 8th.
At the same time, he cultivates his actor career: after some minor roles, his talent explodes in 2021 with The girl who did not want to sing, TV movies in which I play Nada Malanima, gaining the applause of criticism.
The following year he is in the cast of the series Blanchwhere it is distinguished by intensity and naturalness. With The art of joyInsolia faces the most complex and stratified role of his career, demonstrating surprising artistic maturity. Confirming himself as one of the most interesting faces of contemporary Italian cinema.
In addition to Insolia, the cast of the series includes Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in the role of Princess Gaia Brandiforti; Guido Caprino, Carmine, the man who manages the lands of the Villa dei Brandiforti; And Jasmine Trinca In the role of Leonora, mother superior of the convent in which Modesta will still be welcomed as a child.
Alma walnut It is instead Beatrice, the youngest of the Brandiforti family. While Giuseppe Spata Interprets Rocco, driver of Brandiforti. In the end Giovanni Bagnasco It is Ippolito, son of Gaia and the only true heir of Brandiforti.
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